Wise Mike McDaniel decision reemphasizes Browns' bleak state

The Browns have a host of issues, most notably at quarterback. The organization is still in a hole from the disastrous 2022 Deshaun Watson trade. The former Clemson star has flopped since returning from a 2021 season-long absence and subsequent suspension over multiple sexual assault allegations the following season. He's started 19 of a possible 68 games since the start of the 2022 season, averaging 177.1 yards per game with 19 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions. In 2026, the final year of his five-year, $230M contract, Watson has an $80.7M cap hit.

Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders showed little to suggest they're long-term solutions, giving the team no clear future at the position.

Outside of star defensive end Myles Garrett and a couple of promising first-year players — linebacker Carson Schwesinger and tight end Harold Fannin Jr., most notably — nothing about the Browns should excite any head coach candidate.

It certainly wasn't alluring enough to McDaniel, who would be much better off somewhere like Baltimore or even Las Vegas, which is expected to take Heisman winner and national champion Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft.

Taking a step back and spending a year as an offensive coordinator somewhere, such as with the Chargers or Philadelphia Eagles, could be a ticket to a prime coaching job next offseason, too.

The Browns, meanwhile, could be a professional death sentence. Of their nine previous full-time head coaches dating back to Butch Davis, only two (Romeo Crennel, Kevin Stefanski) received a second NFL head-coaching job after being fired by Cleveland.

McDaniel was wise to politely decline advances from the Browns. While these jobs are hard to come by, they aren't all built the same. Cleveland has shown countless times it doesn't have the proper infrastructure in place to appeal to top-flight candidates. Even as one of 32 jobs of its kind on the planet, that isn't enough to make up for decades of futility.