It looks like Mike McDaniel will not be the next head coach in Cleveland.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that McDaniel informed the team that he is withdrawing from their head coaching search. McDaniel interviewed with the team earlier this month and was slated to meet with them a second time on Wednesday.
McDaniel has also interviewed with the Raiders, Ravens, Falcons, and Titans since being fired by the Dolphins after Week 18. The Falcons and Titans have found their new head coaches, so McDaniel will not be landing either of those jobs.
There has also been offensive coordinator interest in McDaniel from teams like the Chargers and Buccaneers. Teams with new coaches could join them as they begin to fill out their coaching staffs, so there are still a lot of potential landing spots for McDaniel as the coaching carousel continues to turn.
The Browns had a second interview with their own defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski, and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase also remain in the mix in Cleveland.
Chargers Clips
The Raiders have kicked off their second round of head coaching interviews.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter has completed his second interview with the team. The Raiders have interviewed 14 candidates thus far, although two of them — Kevin Stefanski and Jeff Hafley — have been hired by other teams.
Hafley was on the list of second interviews with Las Vegas, but his agreement with Miami leaves Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero as the only other reported candidate set to meet with the team again.
The Ravens and Browns have also scheduled second interviews with Minter, so the Chargers may be looking for a new defensive coordinator in the near future.
With each coaching hire that the Steelers nail — and they’re three-for-three since 1969 — the pressure builds to get the next one right, too.
So here they are, 19 years after their last search. With plenty of good options from which to choose.
The problem with having a bunch of quality candidates is that, eventually, a choice needs to be made. So who will they choose?
For now, the candidates are: Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, and former Cowboys and Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.
As to the franchise’s three most recent coaches, dating back to the first term of the Nixon administration, each one (Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin) was a defensive coordinator with no previous head-coaching experience. That formula, if followed again, would point to the likes of Shula, Weaver, Evero, and Minter.
But here’s the basic reality. Since hiring Tomlin in 2007, the game has changed. It has skewed more and more toward offense, with the post-2009 emphasis on player safety making it harder to play old-school, hard-nosed, Steel Curtain defense.
When the NFL started aggressively flagging and fining players for illegal hits on defenseless receivers, there was a disconnect between the league’s application of the rules and the manner in which Tomlin was coaching them. Eventually, the league put Tomlin on the Competition Committee in part to get him to buy in to the new way of playing the game.
As of 2026, it’s impossible for the Steelers to ignore the evolution of the game. And, frankly, their offense has been sluggish at best in the years after the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger. If the Steelers intend to never be in position to draft a franchise quarterback, they’ll need to find and develop one another way, either by hitting on a lower draft pick or getting more out of a veteran than he has done elsewhere. Having an offensive mastermind as the team’s head coach will help.
Then there’s the question of whether they want another coach who’ll stick around for 15 years or longer. The availability of Pittsburgh native Mike McCarthy is intriguing, but he’s 62. Noll (23 seasons), Cowher (15), and Tomlin (19) were each in their 30s when hired.
At first blush, Shula feels like a perfect fit, given that his grandfather, Don, recommended Noll for the job. Only 15 days after Don Shula and Noll worked together in Super Bowl III (which their Colts lost to the Jets), Noll was hired by the Steelers.
But perfection is revealed after the fact. With a coach who isn’t fired because he performs well enough to not be. Plenty of first-time coaches fail, largely because the coordinator and head-coach skillsets are very different.
Wherever it goes, the weight of hiring three straight Super Bowl winners is palpable. And if it’s obvious from the outside, it’s inescapable on the inside.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter remains in the mix for several head coaching openings.
Jeff Zrebiec of TheAthletic.com reports that Minter is expected to have a second interview with the Ravens this week. Minter had a virtual interview with the team last week and would have an in-person meeting this time around.
Minter is also slated for second interviews with the Browns and Raiders after completing his second season as the coordinator for the Chargers. Minter has also been a defensive coordinator under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and he was on John Harbaugh’s Ravens staff earlier in his career.
Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady are others who have advanced to the second round of the search process in Baltimore.
The Chargers completed an interview with Cardinals receivers coach and passing game coordinator Drew Terrell on Monday, the team announced.
The Chargers are seeking a replacement for Greg Roman, whom they fired after the season.
Terrell, who has eight seasons of NFL coaching experience, also interviewed for the Commanders’ offensive coordinator opening.
Terrell, 34, joined the Cardinals’ staff in 2023 after spending 2020-22 with the Commanders under Ron Rivera. He was assistant receivers coach and then receivers coach for Washington.
He also coached under Rivera with the Panthers from 2018-19 as an offensive quality control coach.
Other candidates for the Chargers’ offensive coordinator position are Chargers passing game coordinator Marcus Brady, Patriots passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, former Titans head coach Brian Callahan, former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Chargers quarterbacks coach Shane Day, former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
The Chargers have completed an interview with Arthur Smith for their vacant offensive coordinator job, the team announced Monday.
Smith served as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator for the past two seasons.
He also had an interview with the Lions for their offensive coordinator position and is on the list of candidates for the head coaching jobs of the Titans and Cardinals.
Smith, 43, served as the Falcons’ head coach for three seasons. Atlanta went 7-10 in each of Smith’s years as the club’s head coach.
He spent most of his coaching career with the Titans, having been with the franchise from 2011-20. He began as a quality control coach and worked his way up to becoming offensive coordinator in 2019. Tennessee went to the AFC Championship Game in Smith’s first year calling the team’s offensive plays.
The Chargers also have interviewed or scheduled interviews with Chargers passing game coordinator Marcus Brady, Patriots passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, former Titans head coach Brian Callahan, former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Chargers quarterbacks coach Shane Day and former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel.
A couple of defensive coordinators have set up second interviews for the Raiders’ head coaching job.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Raiders are scheduled to meet with Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter on Tuesday and Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley on Wednesday. Former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero are also scheduled for interviews with the team this week.
Hafley is also scheduled for a second interview to replace McDaniel in Miami on Monday and there’s been chatter that he is the current focus of their search. He’s also set to meet with the Titans on Tuesday, so he may not make it to that Raiders interview later in the week.
Minter is slated for a second interview with the Browns as well.
Former Giants head coach Brian Daboll could wind up with another job in the NFC East.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Daboll is expected to interview with the Eagles for their offensive coordinator vacancy. Daboll has interviewed for the Titans’ head coaching job and Saturday brought word that he’s expected to meet with the Chargers about their offensive coordinator job.
Daboll coached the Giants for three-plus seasons before being fired during the 2025 season. Running back Saquon Barkley was on the Giants’ roster for the first two of those seasons, but he left for the Eagles as a free agent in 2024 and helped Philly win a Super Bowl.
That result was not warmly received by Giants fans and one imagines that they’d feel similarly if Daboll joins the Eagles and helps their offense improve on their 2025 performance.
The Browns are moving into their second round of interviews with head coaching candidates and the list is up to six names.
According to multiple reports, the Browns are set to interview former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski a second time. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken are also on the list.
Scheelhaase’s second interview will have to wait at least a week if the Rams beat the Bears on Sunday as coaches for teams in the conference title game are not eligible to interview until after that game has been played. He interviewed with several teams this weekend.
McDaniel is set to interview with the Raiders on Monday and he’s also in the mix for offensive coordinator opportunities. Minter has interviewed with most of the teams that made head coaching changes while Udinski’s only interview thus far has been with Cleveland.
Brian Daboll could be headed to Southern California for his next job.
Per a report from NFL Media, Daboll is set to interview with the Chargers for their offensive coordinator vacancy.
Daboll is in the mix for a few offensive coordinator openings, but he also interviewed with the Titans for their head coaching job earlier this week.
Daboll, 50, was 20-40-1 in the regular season and 1-1 in the postseason as Giants head coach from 2022-2025. New York fired Daboll in November.
But he had plenty of success as Buffalo’s offensive coordinator from 2018-2021, helping develop quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills finished No. 3 in points and No. 5 in yards in 2021 and No. 2 in both total yards and points in 2020.
The Chargers fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman after last weekend’s 16-3 loss to the Patriots in the wild card round.
