Mike McCarthy is the Browns’ 1st interview on Thursday; a pairing with Eliot Wolf being considered Updated Dec 31, 2019;Posted Dec 31, 2019
By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio — Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy didn’t interview with the Browns last year when they put him on the back burner a few times, but he’ll be their first interview this time around.
McCarthy, 56, will meet with the Browns on Thursday and try to get back in the game after the Packers fired him with four games left in the 2018 season. He’s also set to interview with the Giants over the weekend.
If the Browns like McCarthy, he could pair with Browns assistant general manager Eliot Wolf, with whom he spent 12 seasons with Green Bay. Such a pairing is under consideration, a league source told cleveland.com.
Wolf, who joined the Browns under GM John Dorsey in 2018, was retained on Tuesday when Dorsey was let go, and could remain depending on who’s hired as head coach. The Browns are leaving their head of football job open to make sure their GM and coach are aligned.
McCarthy and Wolf would certainly fit that bill. They went to the playoffs nine times together in Green Bay, including four NFC title games and a victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
McCarthy, 125-77-2 in the regular season and 10-8 in the playoffs, has also had two interviews in recent weeks with the Panthers, who are continuing their search.
In his year out of football, he embarked on the The McCarthy Project with fellow coaches Jim Haslett, Frank Cignetti Jr. and Scott McCurley. The colleagues, according to NFL.com, spent months helping McCarthy prepare for his next head coaching job, studying college concepts and league trends, and embracing the world of analytics.
The analytics piece is important to the Browns, because Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta plans to incorporate more of the Moneyball concept in the Browns’ game plans and play calling, and the new coach will have to be on board if DePodesta remains with the team.
It was a sticking point with Dorsey and Kitchens, who were old school football men. One source said the extensive analytics input every Monday only served to further complicate things for Kitchens, who was already in over his head as head coach and play caller.
McCarthy told Tom Pelissero of NFL.com that his year-long football study made him “definitely a better coach” than before.
"To do it right and to be in position to win it every year, that's what I'm looking for," he said. "So that's the opportunity, that's who I want to be paired with. And I'm not trying to just go win one, I'm trying to win them all. And I've always taken that approach. That's always been my outlook. And every decision that's ever been made towards the football team, it was A, number one, what's best for the locker room? And it's about moving that locker room forward, 'cause nothing ever stays the same. You're either getting better or you're going the other way. And that's in life and in football."
Another positive for McCarthy, a former longtime quarterbacks coach, is that he’s coached both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, two quarterbacks with strong personalities. The Browns believe he’d have the firm hand and extensive offensive background to help get Baker Mayfield back on track, which is a high priority in 2020.
Other candidates for the Browns are Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and 49ers defensive Robert Saleh, league sources say. They’re also expected to interview 49ers offensive assistants Mike LaFleur and Mike McDaniel.
I sure wish we would get Wolf and McCarthy, but you know it's not going to happen, because it is the right direction to go.
The Haslem's will hire some damn inexperienced coordinator like they always have. NEVER AN EXPERIENCED HEAD COACH WITH A PROVEN HEAD COACHING RECORD.
If they sign another clown like McDaniels,(who moved up to get Tebow... etc, the fan base should revolt, because we have seen this same movie for 20 years.
Thanks, but no thanks. That's basically what the Cleveland Browns heard when they reached out to University of Baylor head coach Matt Rhule following the conclusion of the 2019 regular season, hoping to land an interview with him regarding the head coaching seat made vacant by the dismissal of Freddie Kitchens on Sunday.
Rhule is garnering heavy interest from NFL teams in need of a new head coach following another successful year with the Bears, with the apparent frontrunners to land him being the New York Giants or Dallas Cowboys -- assuming the latter does as expected and parts ways with longtime head coach Jason Garrett, at least in that capacity. The Browns know what they could have in Rhule, but he's recently noted his "plan" of remaining at Baylor, which is simply a hint at the possibility of him leaving if the right NFL position presents itself.
Clearly, he doesn't believe that is possible within the Browns organization, having reportedly declined to interview with the team, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Although disappointing to hear for Dorsey, there's no shortage of candidates for Cleveland to sift through going forward. They have heavy interest in three assistant coaches on the San Francisco 49ers staff, including Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel, and Mike LaFleur, all three of whom the Browns could meet within the next several days. They'll also look to interview former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, but McCarthy is garnering a ton of interest from teams like the Giants and the Carolina Panthers -- increasing the level of difficulty for the Browns in their courtship of him.
It's a fairly wide net being cast by Dorsey in Cleveland, but Rhule won't allowed himself to be caught in it.
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio: Talking to myself about the Browns as they look for a coach to replace Freddie Kitchens.
QUESTION: How many assistants are they interviewing from the San Francisco 49ers?
ANSWER: One.
Q: I heard there were three.
A: It’s only one, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. The others mentioned elsewhere are incorrect.
Q: So how does Saleh fit?
A: He’s been in the NFL for 15 seasons, the last three as defensive coordinator for the 49ers. He is working for Kyle Shanahan, who is the hottest NFL coach right now. He was the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2014.
Q: Don’t you think Shanahan would warn his coaches to stay away from Cleveland?
A: Shanahan left after the 2014 (using a power-point presentation to illustrate why he wanted out), but his main problem was with former GM Ray Farmer texting the sidelines and second-guessing him. He also wanted no part of Johnny Manziel.
For what it’s worth, here’s what Shanahan told the Bay Area media: “I don’t think any of those people (he clashed with) are there anymore. I’m pumped for Saleh to get this opportunity. Mr. and Mrs. Haslam are great people and I think they’re great people to work for. We’ll see how the interview goes for him.”
Q: Do you think he’s sincere?
A: I don’t know. But I do know his main issues were with Farmer, Manziel and that circus.
Q: Is Saleh the right guy?
A: This is where I really end up talking to myself. All of these assistants who have never been head coaches before at any level . . . who knows? He is a good defensive coach because Shanahan runs the offense for the 49ers. Saleh basically is the head coach of the defense. Respected football writer Peter King has a very high opinion of Saleh as a leader, insisting he’ll soon be a head coach.
Q: How about Brian Daboll?
A: Another former Browns offensive coordinator, having that job here in 2009-10 under Eric Mangini. He did call the plays here. It feels as if Daboll has been around forever. He started in the NFL in 2000 with New England. He’s only 44.
He’s been an offensive coordinator in a lot of places: Browns (2009-10), Miami (2011), Kansas City (2012), University of Alabama (2017) and Buffalo (2018-19). He has had two stints with New England (2013-16 and 2000-2006) as a position coach.
Q: Is he any good?
A: Who knows? He’s done a nice job developing Josh Allen with the Bills. When he was in Cleveland, he seemed like a pretty decent guy in the few casual conversations I had with him.
Q: That’s a a big endorsement?
A: I’m just shooting straight. It’s hard to know. They also will interview Baltimore offensive coordinator Greg Roman. The John Carroll product did a good job building an offense for Lamar Jackson. He did the same with Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco. Like Daboll, lots of experience (except being a head coach) and he’s only 47.
You can add Minnesota’s Kevin Stefanski to the list of experienced offensive coordinators along with Daboll and Roman. He was the runner-up to Kitchens for the job last year. At least one of those three will probably end up being an effective head coach in the right spot, but it’s so difficult to pick which one.
Q: Aren’t they interviewing anyone who has been a head coach in the NFL?
A: Thursday, they plan to talk to Mike McCarthy, who had a 125-77-2 record in 13 years with Green Bay. He sat out last season. He supposedly spent time studying modern offenses and analytics. Things went poorly for him at the end in Green Bay, but he had a lot of success with Aaron Rodgers. He’s also talking to the Giants and has interviewed with Carolina.
Q: What about Josh McDaniels?
A: I keep hearing he’s the favorite of the Haslams. Don’t know if that’s true, but they have tried to interview him at least three times when the Browns were looking for a coach in the past. He had an 11-17 record (2009-10) as a head coach in Denver.
McDaniels has turned down other coaching jobs, such as the Colts last season. In Denver, he tried to run everything and that was a huge mistake. How would the front office look with him? Would New England Player Personnel Director and John Carroll product Nick Caserio also leave for Cleveland? Lots of moving parts with McDaniels.
Q: So what do we really know about the coaching search?
A: We know names. We know McDaniels has intrigued the Haslams for years. We don’t know exactly who will pick the coach, especially now that John Dorsey and the Browns announced they parted ways Tuesday.
Q: Anything else?
A: More names will probably emerge. It also could take a while with all the different candidates they are considering.
MM with Wolf would seemingly be the smoothest transition while keeping a nice mix of old school footbal and analytics at the forefront. Keeps Wolf, who has had his finger at least on the pulse of the team to somewhat advise MM on personalities and such. Less disruptive would be better and might lead to less renovation of the squad. I'll take playoffs 9 of the next 12 seasons!
MM with Wolf would seemingly be the smoothest transition
I don't know if this is the case. There are report saying they weren't all that chummy together when in GB. Still, Dorsey and Highsmith are gone and Wolf is not. For now, that means something.....to me, at least.
At DT, context and meaning are a scarecrow kicking at moving goalposts.
MM with Wolf would seemingly be the smoothest transition
I don't know if this is the case. There are report saying they weren't all that chummy together when in GB. Still, Dorsey and Highsmith are gone and Wolf is not. For now, that means something.....to me, at least.
I cant say. That's a long time to work together and have bad blood if so. Possibly, as things started to go south, the friction grew between them. I'd definitely get into that discussion in an interview though!
Now you may have the reason that Dorsey is gone.. I don't think he and McCarthy got along... Same with Highsmith
I think the reason Dorsey is gone is because after the huge blunder that was the Kitchen hire and flexing his muscles (the fact he actually went on record saying that is laughable), the Haslems lost faith in his ability to hire a new one. And I'm guessing Dorsey still wanted a hand in hiring the next Hc, which is a more than fair position to take considering the GM and HC need to be in lock step. I'm guessing the Haslems wanted him to take a back seat in the hiring process and he didn't want to.
Coupled with the bad roster moves and signings some posters here don't want to admit to, I think the Haslems were fine with moving on, clearly.
At DT, context and meaning are a scarecrow kicking at moving goalposts.
I was running through a list of candidates and possible candidates jobs, experience, age etc. A few Superbowl rings scattered around and then you get to McDaniels...the BIG 6 hits you square in the face! 6 Superbowl rings and he's in his 40's! If this guy has learned anything from past experience, if he's anything like his father in nature, if anything rubbed off from Bill B (hopefully not personality) and he's had a sit down with himself (somewhere there's a story out there about just that) then he must be looked at hard. He kinda, in some odd way scares me but..
McDaniels is one of those high-risk, high-reward kind of guys. He was one of the more innovative offensive minds going back over a decade now, but also has that side of him that is fiery and commands respect.
He will rub some people the wrong way (not necessarily a bad thing) but then snubbing the Colts is probably the biggest concern I have. This is especially the case since I have long thought that he'd take over in New England when Belichick retires.
It would have been nice for New England to clinch that bye against Miami so we could interview him this week and get a better feel for where McDaniels is. Sure, those conversations can take place behind the scenes, but then that Colts SNAFU rears its head again.
Saleh intrigues me ... of course, who knows who he’d hire as an OC
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
I expected the same for him when BB retires, which Brady will certainly help to determine.
He may be the technician with the tools we need. Owning the toolbox is not what makes you a craftsman or an NFL HC necessarily. It is a good place to start, though, And something we have ignored. In coaches and QBs IMO.
"Every responsibility implies opportunity, and every opportunity implies responsibility." Otis Allen Glazebrook, 1880
I want McCarthy or McDaniels. We need someone who has seen a winner up close. Someone who can instill discipline, manage staff and run the game. We have a playoff caliber roster. We do not need to “discover” the next great coach.
There was a story out there and I have not been able to find it again that says near the end that Kraft made McD a HUGE monetary offer to stay and he did. I dont know. I'd sure clear it up in the interview!
Can you imagine going through an interview process with Depodesta in charge?
While the Browns go through a lengthy interview process that will take weeks..other teams will be hiring the best coaching talent while Depodesta is still interviewing.
Mixed messages to candidates? Sunamabiotch! Here we go again. I owe mac a sincere apology for doubting him.
Berea is in utter chaos right now. 'Mixed messages' is the best you can hope for when a majority of the large offices are being put into boxes.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
His choices last time around were certainly more sound than what we got!
Not at all an issue for me! At least his numbers dont add up to Bill Gates or something way off the charts!
It wasn't an issue for me either, when he was just providing data for the FO to use in making decisions. Now we have coaching candidates getting mixed messages and PD running the coach hunting process from his remote location...this is sounding like a royal clustermess. (Provided Rappaport's tweet is accurate).
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
We don't know what happened, all that is apparent is Haslam called Dorsey in and told him that instead of him running the Head Coach search, Depo was going to, based on the fact that Freddie was in no way ready and Dorsey flexed his muscles to make sure Freddie got the job last time. This time, Haslam wanted a more analytical approach and Dorsey's nose got out of joint.
The Cleveland Browns - WE KNOW QUARTERBACKS ( Look at how many we've had ... )
Can you imagine going through an interview process with Depodesta in charge?
Yes. Yes, I can.
The guy that preferred McDermott to Hue and Stefanski to Kitchens leading a thoughtful, deliberate HC search is a good thing.
Sorry it chaps your ass.
I agree. I bet he has been looking at various candidates for weeks now in the likely event Freddie was fired. His job is to come up with names of possible candidates.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
etc, the fan base should revolt, because we have seen this same movie for 20 years.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)