Browns forcing HC candidates to do bizzare homework assignments

Despite firing Kevin Stefanski on Jan. 5, the Cleveland Browns are nowhere close to finding their next head coach. 

The Browns are not compliant with the league's Rooney Rule, requiring teams to interview two minority or female candidates. 

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was expected to be the first minority candidate to interview with the Browns, but he pulled out of the race to focus on becoming the next offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Chargers of head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders or Buffalo Bills. 

The reason behind McDaniel choosing to bow out of Cleveland's process might be because of how the team operates its interviews. When speaking on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Friday, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network said the Browns require more than showing up in a suit to answer questions.

"I would just say this, the Browns' search process and interview process, which they have run a number of times, is unlike any other in the NFL, and it plays to certain types of candidates," Pelissero said. "They are a data-driven operation in Cleveland, and so they spend an extraordinary amount of time gathering data on their coaching candidates.

"You're talking about taking a personality test, you're talking about writing an essay. You're talking about completing homework assignments going into both the first and the second rounds of interviews. It plays toward the types of candidates that they have in the mix, which is very, very smart people, in a lot of cases."