Cleveland Browns could hire head coach sooner than later

With the Cleveland Browns already losing out on one candidate for the open head coaching position to the New York Giants, the team may need to act sooner than later.

There’s plenty of work to do in the draft and free agency, as well as seven other teams trying to find their guy as soon as possible. The Browns need to establish a direction and an identity for the future.

Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot was recently interviewed on 92.3 The Fan, where she said the Browns could hire a new coach as soon as next week, unless the guy they want is making a deep playoff run.

“In a perfect world, I think they’d love to name their guy by next week. The dominoes are starting to fall, staff are being assembled and I think if they had their druthers, of course, they wouldn’t mind doing that,” Cabot said. 

Cabot made sure to send a message of the risk of moving too fast as well. If it makes more sense to wait for a candidate who is still busy, the Browns shouldn’t rush, even if that means losing out on another candidate.

“If you want to have a head coach that just so happens to be moving forward in the playoffs, then you’re just going to have to be a little bit more patient. I don’t think that they should hurry and hire someone just because some of their candidates are heading to championship games,” Cabot said. “So you have to be really really careful about doing that. You have to be sure you’re getting the right guy, and if you have to wait a few weeks, then you have to be willing to do that.”

So far, the Browns have interviewed three coaches still making playoff runs. They met with  Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde, and two Rams in defensive coordinator Chris Shula and pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.

Browns second interview list

Just current Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken are expected to be getting second interviews so far, though Monken could be joining Harbaugh in New York.

If those interviews go well enough, or another coach like Mike McDaniel or Grant Udinski get second interviews, the Browns could make the decision right away to avoid missing out.

However if next week passes and no decision is made, it should be clear Cleveland is waiting to get another chance to talk to one of the playoff candidates. If the search waits that long, guys like Monken, McDaniel and Udinski may all already be off the board.

The pressure is on for Cleveland. Fans are hungry for the team to turn around, and it all starts with hiring the right guy at the right time.