In this hiring cycle's "shocker," Baltimore's John Harbaugh instantly became the hottest candidate when he and the Ravens parted ways after their 18th season ended in a disappointing loss to Pittsburgh.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The Browns kicked off their first head coach search in seven years by requesting permission to interview Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde.
Monken was Freddie Kitchens’ offensive coordinator in Cleveland in 2019 and most recently was John Harbaugh’s coordinator in Baltimore.
Topping this year’s NFL hiring cycle’s “shocking news” category, Harbaugh “parted ways” with the Ravens on Tuesday after 18 years partly because he declined to follow an organization demand to fire Monken, per reports.
Harbaugh, a native of Toledo with several relatives in Northeast Ohio, is expected to be the No. 1 coaching target in the hiring cycle. He could be headed to the New York Giants.
Durde, 46, is an out-of-box candidate because of his background. He’s a native of England who played as a linebacker in British American Football Leagues and the defunct NFL Europe.
Durde’s coaching career started as an intern with the Dallas Cowboys, who then hired him as defensive line coach in 2021. Durde became the first British born NFL coordinator when Mike Macdonald hired him in Seattle last year.
These initial Browns candidates already show the breadth of GM Andrew Berry’s coaching search. One offense, one defense. One an established NFL coordinator who’s had several head coach interviews. One a complete unknown.
“Our responsibility is to search far and wide,” Berry said on Monday. “There are good coaches out there. You know, we’ve just got to do our homework and find the right fit for us. We’ll have no preconceived notions as we go into the search.”
Below is our roster of other possible coach candidates for the Browns.
Re-treads with NFL head coach experience
Comp: Mike Vrabel
1. John Harbaugh, 63: The second-longest tenured coach in the NFL won’t be out of work long after his stunning departure from the Ravens after 18 seasons and an overall record of 193-124. Seldom does a long, successful coach switch teams in the same division, however. Would Harbaugh want to coach four games a year against Pittsburgh and Baltimore without an established quarterback waiting for him on the Browns? We think not.
2. Jim Schwartz, 59: Over three years as defensive coordinator, he’s taken the Browns’ defense to an elite level, capable of winning games. His players love him. Had a .363 win percentage and one wild-card appearance as Lions head coach from 2009-13 upon inheriting an 0-16 dumpster fire. He makes the most sense, to me, for a lot of reasons.
3. Mike McCarthy, 62: A gruff and hard-nosed Pittsburgh native, his .608 overall win percentage in 18 years with Green Bay and Dallas, one Super Bowl triumph and 13 non-losing seasons are hard to dismiss. Scored high (Grade A) in NFLPA players survey for leadership with the Cowboys.
4. Brian Flores, 44: Went 24-25 with the Dolphins from 2019-21 and blew through four offensive coordinators in three seasons. Was fired for “poor collaboration,” per owner Stephen Ross, but claims in ongoing lawsuit that he refused Ross’ instruction to “tank” for a better draft position. Has a great reputation as defensive coordinator, but has always run a 3-4 base system.
5. Robert Saleh, 46: The runner-up in 2020 to Kevin Stefanski for the Browns’ job, he landed with the Jets a year later and went 20-36 in 2021-24, which has aged better than in real time. Highly respected defensive coach who favors a four-man front.
6. Matt Nagy, 47: Road the coattails of Chieftain Andy Reid to the Bears’ job from 2018-21 and went 34-31 with two wild-card appearances. Rejoined Reid in Kansas City in 2023 and is considered worthy of a second chance. He is considered a favorite in Tennessee.
Young, unproven, up-and-comers (offense)
Comps: Ben Johnson, Liam Coen, Dave Canales, Kellen Moore
1. Joe Brady, 36: Joe Burrow’s pass game coordinator at LSU, he’s had more success in his second coordinator stint in Buffalo than his first with Carolina. Restored a run game to Josh Allen’s offense and has kept the Bills in top 10 in points, total yards and rushing yards in each of his three full seasons as coordinator.
2. Dan Pitcher, 36: Has emerged from the scouting side while in Indianapolis with Berry to a highly respected offensive assistant in Cincinnati in 10 years with the Bengals, the last two as coordinator. Burrow loves him and the Bengals consider him a future head coach.
3. Klint Kubiak, 38: Son of Stefanski-mentor Gary Kubiak, he should have been hired as Browns OC in 2024 but management wanted a shotgun spread guru for Deshaun Watson. Kubiak got his feet wet calling plays in New Orleans instead, and then moved on to Seattle to join Mike Macdonald in a splendid career move.
4. Mike LaFleur, 39: A Browns offensive intern at the age of 27 under then-coordinator Kyle Shanahan, he followed Shanahan to Atlanta and San Francisco and then joined Saleh as Jets offensive coordinator. That didn’t go well, but he rejuvenated his career under Sean McVay as Rams offensive coordinator the past three years. Younger brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.
Young, unproven up-and-comers (defense)
Comp: Mike Macdonald
1. Jesse Minter, 42: Has done excellent work with both Harbaughs – four years in Baltimore with John, and four years as coordinator with Jim at Michigan and the Chargers. The Chargers have been first and ninth in points allowed with Minter in charge. He probably is the prize catch of the unproven candidates from either side of the ball.
2. Chris Shula, 39: Grandson of Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, he was a college teammate of McVay at Miami (Ohio). McVay hired him to his first Rams defensive staff in 2017 and Shula has worked his way up to coordinator the past two seasons. The Rams improved from 17th to 10th in points allowed under Shula.
3. Jeff Hafley, 46: The defensive backs coach under Browns coach Mike Pettine in 2014-15, he worked for Chip Kelly and Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco and then ran up a 22-26 record as Boston College head coach from 2020-23. He’s been DC for Matt LaFleur in Green Bay the past two years. His run defense has been a bane of the team this season.
Outside the box
Comp: Jim Harbaugh
1. Curt Cignetti, 64: The man who put Indiana University on the college football map just wins. Google him. A key assistant coach on Nick Saban’s first staff at Alabama, he transformed programs at James Madison and Indiana. His turnaround of IU, which knocked off Ohio State in the B1G Ten championship game and is the top seed in the college football playoffs, has been called “the greatest coaching job I’ve seen” by Urban Meyer. Would the Browns consider a college coach? Reportedly, they showed interest in Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame.
Now here’s a look at the latest NFL head coach interview guidelines:
1. Coaches not employed by any team can be interviewed any time.
2. Coaches under contract but not involved in playoffs can be interviewed three days after their final games, beginning this week.
3. Coaches on teams with byes (Denver and Seattle) can be interviewed via Zoom starting this week. Zoom interviews are limited to three hours in length.
4. Coaches on wild card teams can be interviewed via Zoom beginning January 13. Coaches on Houston and Pittsburgh, which play on Monday night, can be interviewed beginning January 14.
5. In-person interviews with coaches can begin January 19, unless their teams are involved in conference title games.
6. Coaches involved in conference title games can be interviewed on January 26 (either they’ve been eliminated or during bye week before Super Bowl).
7. Coaches on Super Bowl teams can only interview during bye week if they already have received Zoom interview.
8. No coach can sign a contract or agree to sign a contract until their season is completed.
9. Rooney Rule: Teams must conduct in-person interviews with up to two minority candidates outside the organization. Same with coordinator jobs. One minority must be interviewed for quarterback coach job.