Cleveland Browns

The Browns have added another name to their list of head coaching candidates.

They announced that they interviewed Commanders running backs coach/run game coordinator Anthony Lynn on Saturday. Lynn also interviewed for the Bills’ head coaching job this weekend.

Lynn has been on Dan Quinn’s staff in Washington for the last two seasons. He had a similar role on the 49ers’ staff in 2022 and 2023 and spent the 2021 season as the Lions’ offensive coordinator.

Prior to those jobs, Lynn went 33-31 over four seasons as the Chargers’ head coach. They went to the playoffs once in that run and won in Baltimore before losing to the Patriots in January 2019.

The Browns have held second interviews with Jim Schwartz, Todd Monken and Grant Udinski. They are expected to speak to Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase this week and interviewing him and Lynn will satisfy the Rooney Rule requirements needed for the Browns to hire their next head coach.

As a wise man once said, “The Browns is the Browns.”

Even after the departure of chief strategy officer Paul DiPodesta (whose strategies rarely bore fruit in the form of on-field success), the Browns remain obsessed with data. To a fault.

But, no, they’re not dysfunctional. They just function differently from the other 31 teams.

Appearing on Friday’s edition of The Rich Eisen Show, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network explained that the Browns continue to put an excessive focus on transforming the subjective into the objective.

“The Browns’ search process, which they have run a number of times, is unlike any other in the NFL,” Pelissero told Eisen. “And it plays to certain types of candidates. 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 that just often happen to be tall, thin guys who came from Ivy League schools, though that’s certainly not a requirement. That’s the type of candidate generally that is going to fit into a data-driven environment.”

Eisen was flabbergasted. “There’s a written test? Really? Like they want you to write an essay. ‘This is why I want to be the coach of the Cleveland Browns’?”

“Questionnaires, a multi-part essay, and a personality test,” Pelissero said. “And then additional homework assignments if you get through the first round to get into the second round.”

It was implied that former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel opted to withdraw from consideration based on this uniquely cumbersome process. (That said, he went to Yale.) Jesse Minter also withdrew, but he was on the brink of getting the job in Baltimore.

The ultimate question is whether the process leads to the right coach, whose job will ultimately have less to do with crunching numbers and more to do with making real connections with professional athletes. Teaching them. Motivating them. Pushing them to collectively achieve more than the sum of the individual parts would otherwise suggest.

Yes, there’s a place for analytics and data. But it can’t hijack the process. And it can’t impose a burden on candidates that dramatically exceeds the usual process. When that happens, coaches with options will opt to go elsewhere.

Look at Minter. If the Browns job was viewed as highly desirable, he would have chased it in lieu of taking the job in Baltimore. Which means that, in the end, the Browns will hire someone that no one else currently wants to hire.

Which is more than enough reason for them to reconsider one of the various failed strategies that DiPodesta devised.

Former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel will interview for the Bills’ head-coaching job. Unless he won’t.

Per multiple reports, McDaniel canceled Friday’s interview with Buffalo, which is seeking a replacement for nine-year head coach Sean McDermott.

Given McDaniel’s propensity for verbosity, and Wednesday’s never-ending press conference featuring Bills owner Terry Pegula and G.M. Brandon Beane, maybe it’s a good thing. Once the three of them started talking, who knows when they would have stopped?

McDaniel recently opted not to go through with a second interview for the Browns’ head-coaching job. It was later reported that the Chargers plan to make him their new offensive coordinator.

Why would McDaniel not go through with a head-coaching interview? Such situations are both rare and ripe for all sorts of speculation. If it’s as simple as he doesn’t view a given job as an ideal spot for his next shot (which could be his last one) at a team of his own, it’s one thing to pass on the perennially dysfunctional Browns. But the Bills? With Josh Allen?

Maybe, after digesting Wednesday’s press conference and the widespread reaction to it, McDaniel realizes it’s a no-win situation, since the primary expectation will be to win enough games to get to the postseason — and to win more than one game once he gets there.

In Cleveland, there’s nowhere to go but up, but there’s no clear reason to think an ascension will happen under current ownership. In Buffalo, there’s nowhere to go but down, and there’s every reason to think that will happen under current ownership.

Again, dysfunction flows from the top. McDaniel already worked for one of those teams. For his next head-coaching job, it becomes critical to find a stable organization in which the owner stays out of the way (i.e., not Cleveland) and doesn’t make rushed, illogical decisions in the heat of the moment (i.e., not Buffalo).

The Browns will be continuing their second round of interviews on Friday.

According to multiple reports, they will be meeting with Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. He is the third candidate to meet with the Browns a second time.

Their own defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken are the others who have interviewed twice. Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase is expected to have a second meeting with the team after the NFC Championship Game and the Browns still need to satisfy the Rooney Rule requirements before they can move forward with a hire.

Udinski, who just wrapped up his first season running the offense in Jacksonville, is set for an interview with the Bills on Sunday.

Another day, another serious candidate for the Browns’ head-coaching job opts not to proceed with a second interview.

Earlier this week, former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel canceled his second interview with the Browns. Now, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has canceled his second interview.

Here’s the full tweet from Cabot: “Jesse Minter is not interviewing for the Browns HC job today as scheduled, likely because he feels like he has other HC opportunities that are more certain.”

Of the jobs still open, Minter has been interviewed by the Cardinals, Raiders, and Ravens. Some believe he’ll become the next head coach of the Ravens.

The 42-year-old Minter has spent the past two years in L.A. He spent the two prior years as Michigan’s defensive coordinator. He has four years of NFL experience, from 2017 through 2020 with the Ravens, serving as defensive backs coach in his final season there.

The 2025 regular season has come to an end and 14 teams will be moving on to the postseason in pursuit of a Super Bowl title.

For some of the 18 teams who have played their final games, attention will now shift to finding new head coaches and/or General Managers to help their own bids for success in the future. This tracker will keep tabs on who has been let go and who is in the mix for the vacancies around the league.

Arizona Cardinals: Fired head coach Jonathan Gannon on January 5. Expected to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Requested interviews with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Requested interview with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Requested interview with Patriots passing game coordinator Thomas Brown. Set to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy on January 9. Expected to interview Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Requested interview with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Requested interview with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Scheduled to interview Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter on January 13. Requested interview with Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke. Requested interview with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Interviewed former Falcons coach Raheem Morris in person. Scheduled to interview LaFleur on January 16. Scheduled for second interview with Saleh for January 20. Interviewed Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady on January 20. Scheduled second interview with Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile for January 22. Scheduled second interview with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver for January 25.

Atlanta Falcons: Fired head coach Raheem Morris and General Manager Terry Fontenot on January 4. Requested interviews with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Expected to speak with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. Requested interview with Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham. Requested interview with Panthers executive vice president Brandt Tilis as well as Lions COO Mike Disner for their president of football operations job. Requested interview with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Completed interviews with Disner and Tilis for the president of football operations job. Completed interview with 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams for the president of football ops job. Completed interview with Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham for the president of football ops job. Hired Matt Ryan as president of football on January 10. Interviewed Kubiak and Weaver on January 10. Interviewed Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde on January 10. Interviewed Stefanski on January 11. Requested interview with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Requested interview with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Set to interview former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on January 12. Announced completed interview with former Ravens HC John Harbaugh on January 12. Completed interview with McDaniel. Requested interview with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Expected to interview former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce. Interviewed Hafley on January 15. Scheduled to interview Pierce on January 16. Scheduled to interview Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady on January 18. Conducting second interview with Stefanski on January 17. Hired Stefanski as their new head coach on January 17. Requested G.M. interviews with Steelers assistant G.M. Andy Weidl, Cunningham, Texans assistant G.M. James Liipfert, and 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams. Interviewed Weidl on January 22. Interviewed Liipfert on January 22. Requested interview with Eagles senior personnel director Joe Douglas. Interviewed Cunningham, Williams, Douglas and Chiefs assistant GM Mike Bradway on January 23.

Baltimore Ravens: Fired head coach John Harbaugh on January 6. Requested interviews with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Set to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb on January 8. Set to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy on January 11. Set to interview Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores the week of January 12. Requested interview with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Completed an interview with Webb on January 8. Requested interview with Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Interviewed Kubiak on January 9. Interviewed former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on January 9. Interviewed Nagy on January 11. Requested interview with Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Set to interview former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel. Scheduled interview with former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury on January 12. Scheduled interview with Weaver on January 12. Requested interview with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Requested interview with Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Interviewed Flores on January 13. Interviewed Schwartz on January 14. Interviewed Minter on January 14. Scheduled to interview Saleh on January 18. Interviewed McDaniel on January 15. Scheduled to interview Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula on January 16. Scheduled to interview Scheelhaase on January 16. Announced interview with Brady on January 18. Announced interview with Saleh on January 18. Interviewed Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile on January 19. Scheduled for second interview with Weaver on January 20. Expected to interview Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi. Set for second interview with Brady. Expected to have a second interview with Minter. Hired Minter on January 22.

Buffalo Bills: Fired head coach Sean McDermott on January 19. Scheduled interview with Commanders running backs coach/run game coordinator Anthony Lynn for January 24. Expected to interview their offensive coordinator Joe Brady and former Giants head coach Brian Daboll. Requested interview with Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Requested interview with Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. Completed interview with Brady on January 21. Scheduled to interview Udinski on January 25. Completed interview with Daboll on January 22. Requested interview with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Scheduled to interview Weaver on January 24. Interviewed former Chargers and Colts quarterback Philip Rivers on January 23. Interviewed Weaver on January 24.

Cleveland Browns: Fired head coach Kevin Stefanski on January 5. Requested interview with Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Requested interview with Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde. Requested interview with Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. Will interview Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees on January 8. Will interview defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on January 8. Will interview Durde and Pitcher on January 9. Requested interview with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Interviewed Monken on January 10. Requested interview with Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Set to interview former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on January 12. Requested interview with Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. Scheduled to interview Scheelhaase on January 16. Scheduled a second interview with Schwartz on January 18. Interviewed Minter on January 16. Interviewed Udinski on January 17. Scheduled for second interview with Monken on January 20. Set for second interviews with McDaniel, Minter, Scheelhaase, and Udinski. Completed second interview with Schwartz on January 19. McDaniel withdrew from consideration on January 20. Completed second interview with Monken on January 20. Held second interview with Udinski on January 23. Interviewed Commanders running backs coach/run game coordinator Anthony Lynn on January 24.

Las Vegas Raiders: Fired head coach Pete Carroll on January 5. Expected to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Requested interview with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Requested interview with Broncos quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Davis Webb. Scheduled to interview Webb on January 7. Set to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy on January 8. Scheduled to interview Joseph on January 8 and Kubiak on January 9. Set to interview former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on January 8. Requested interview with Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Expected to interview Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. Requested interview with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Requested interview with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Requested interview with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Requested interview with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Completed interviews with Minter and Evero. Scheduled to interview LaFleur on January 16. Scheduled to interview Scheelhaase on January 16. Interviewed Hafley on January 15. Scheduled to interview former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on January 19. Scheduled second interview with Evero for week of January 19. Scheduled interview with former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel on January 19. Scheduled second interviews with Minter and Hafley. Interviewed Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady and 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak on January 18. Completed second interview with Minter on January 20. Completed second interview with Evero. Interviewed former Giants head coach Brian Daboll on January 24.

Miami Dolphins: Fired General Manager Chris Grier on October 31. Fired head coach Mike McDaniel on January 8. Requested interviews with 49ers vice president of player personnel Tariq Ahmad, Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby, Rams assistant GM John McKay, Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, and 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams on January 5. Requested interview with 49ers assistant GM RJ Gillen on January 5. Requested interview with Chargers assistant GM Chad Alexander. Announced a final four of Alexander, Sullivan, Williams and their interim GM, Champ Kelly. Set to interview Alexander and Sullivan January 8. Hired Sullivan as their GM on January 9. Interviewed Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak on January 10. Requested interview with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley. Requested interview with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Requested interview with Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard. Requested interview with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Interviewed former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski on January 13. Requested interview with Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Requested interview with Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. Interviewed Hafley on January 14. Scheduled to interview Minter and Saleh on January 15. Completed interviews with Minter and Saleh on January 15. Scheduled to interview Shula on January 16. Scheduled second interview with Hafley for January 19. Interviewed Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady on January 18. Interviewed Graham and Sheppard on January 19. Hired Hafley as the 12th full-time head coach in team history on January 19.

New York Giants: Fired head coach Brian Daboll on November 10. Expected to speak with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. Expected to interview Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Requested interview with Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Requested interview with Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Scheduled interview with former Cowboys and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy for January 13. Set to interview Stefanski on January 7. Completed interview with interim head coach Mike Kafka on January 7. Set to interview former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on January 8. Set to interview Giants Super Bowl winning linebacker and former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce on January 8-9. Requested interview with Broncos special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi. Set to interview Rizzi on January 10. Requested interview with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Requested interview with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Interviewed former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh on January 14. Finalizing deal with Harbaugh on January 14. Announced Harbaugh as their new head coach on January 17.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Tomlin stepped down as head coach on January 13. Requested interview with Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Requested interview with Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Requested interview with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Requested interview with Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. Requested interview with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Requested interview with 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak. Scheduled to interview Shula on January 16. Scheduled to interview Scheelhaase on January 16. Scheduled to interview Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley on January 17. Expected to speak to former Cowboys and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. Expected to have in-person interviews with Flores and Weaver. Scheduled to interview McCarthy on January 21. Completed interview with Flores on January 20. Interviewed Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. Had second interview with Weaver on January 23. Hired McCarthy on January 24.

Tennessee Titans: Fired head coach Brian Callahan on October 13. Requested interview with Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy on January 5. Requested interviews with Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph and Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on January 5. Requested interview with Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo on January 5. Will reportedly interview former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris later in the week of January 5. Expected to speak with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. Scheduled interviews with Stefanski for January 10 and with Morris for January 11. Scheduled interview with Anarumo for January 7. Scheduled interview with Nagy for January 8. Expected to interview Joseph. Scheduled interview with Spagnuolo on January 8. Requested interview with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. Requested interviews with Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Requested interviews with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula. Scheduled interview with former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel for January 14. Interviewed Stefanski on January 10. Scheduled to interview former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on January 18. Scheduled to interview former Giants head coach Brian Daboll on January 16. Scheduled to interview Hafley on January 13. Scheduled to interview Minter on January 13. Interviewed McDaniel and Smith on January 14. Scheduled to interview Saleh on January 18. Scheduled to interview former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy on January 17. Scheduled second interview with Hafley for January 20. Set for second interview with Nagy. Scheduled for in-person interview with Saleh on January 19. Completed second interviews with Nagy and Saleh. Finalizing deal with Saleh on January 20.

Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski is scheduled for an interview with the Bills for their head coaching job.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Udinski is set to meet with the team on Sunday. The Bills fired Sean McDermott in the wake of last weekend’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Broncos in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Udinski is also in the running for the head coaching job in Cleveland. He’s slated for a second interview with the Browns on Friday.

Udinski was hired by the Jaguars after Liam Coen took over as the team’s head coach in 2025. He worked with Coen to construct an offense that helped the team finish sixth in the league in points scored and win the AFC South.

The Browns may take both of the defensive awards handed out at this year’s NFL Honors.

Defensive end Myles Garrett is the favorite to be named the defensive player of the year after setting the single-season sack record and linebacker Carson Schwesinger has the best odds of being named the league’s defensive rookie of the year.

Schwesinger was a second-round pick last year and he went on to start all 16 games he played during his rookie campaign. He finished the year with 156 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, and 11 tackles for loss.

Two Falcons — safety Xavier Watts and edge rusher James Pearce — join Schwesinger, Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter, and Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori as the finalists for this year’s award.

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is expected to be named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year after breaking the league record for sacks in a season. Sacking the quarterback is what every nominee for the award does best.

The NFL announced the five finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year, and all five are edge rushers.

In addition to Garrett, the finalists are Houston’s Will Anderson, Denver’s Nik Bonitto, Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson and Green Bay’s Micah Parsons.

Garrett had 23 sacks, Hutchinson had 14.5, Bonitto had 14, Parsons had 12.5 and Anderson had 12.

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II, and he’s a rare winner from the secondary, as pass rushers win the award. In fact, this year’s finalists are so heavily skewed toward edge rushers that it’s fair to question whether enough voters are fully considering every defensive player, or simply filling out their ballots with five famous pass rushers.

The same panel of Associated Press voters who vote on the Defensive Player of the Year also choose the All-Pro team, and oddly that panel ranked Hutchinson sixth and Bonitto seventh among pass rushers. It’s odd, to say the least, to think Hutchinson and Bonitto are not among the Top 5 players at their position, but are among the Top 5 defensive players in the entire league.

We’re nearly certain the Defensive Player of the Year will be Garrett, and we’ll find out for sure at the NFL Honors. We can say for sure who it won’t be: Any interior defensive lineman, inside linebacker, cornerback or safety.

Jim Schwartz’s ship could be coming in again, 13 years later.

The Browns defensive coordinator has had two interviews for the head-coaching vacancy in Cleveland, after three years with the Browns as defensive coordinator. Now that former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel has withdrawn his name from consideration for the job in Cleveland, Schwartz is the only remaining candidate with NFL head-coaching experience.

Beyond the obvious message sent by Schwartz getting a second interview, there’s a sense in some circles that Schwartz could indeed be the guy. As one source put it, the Browns ultimately have to weigh promoting him against potentially losing him.

When owner Jimmy Haslam spoke to reporters earlier this month, after the firing of coach Kevin Stefanski, Haslam said as to whether he wants Schwartz to remain with the team: “Absolutely. Great coach.”

The Browns ranked fourth in yards allowed during the 2025 regular season, with 283.6 per game. In 2023, Schwartz’s first as Cleveland’s defensive coordinator, the Browns allowed 270.2 yards per game, putting them at No. 1 by nearly 20 yards per game.

Back then, Schwartz got no sniffs in the ensuing hiring cycle. After the 2017 season, when he coordinator the Super Bowl-winning defense in Philadelphia, Schwartz got two interviews. He also interviewed for the Browns’ job in 2020, when it went to Stefanski.

Schwartz, 59, coached the Lions from 2009 through 2013, with one playoff appearance and a record of 29-51. He worked as Buffalo’s defensive coordinator in 2014 before spending 2016 through 2020 with the Eagles. In 2021 and 2022, Schwartz worked as a senior defensive assistant with the Browns.

Now, 13 years after he left the Lions, Schwartz could end up being a head coach for the second time in his career.