Browns Have Reached Out To Mike McCarthy

One of the league’s most high profile coaching candidates has already been contacted by the Browns. Cleveland has reached out to former Packers coach Mike McCarthy about their vacancy, a source told John Kryk of the Toronto Sun. 

With a franchise quarterback in place and a roster full of young talent, the Browns have one of the most attractive head coaching openings of the past few years. Plenty of candidates will be interested, and the Browns are reportedly planning on conducting an exhaustive search. Current interim coach Gregg Williams is expected to get an interview, but isn’t viewed by most to be a realistic option for the full time job.

As soon as Green Bay canned McCarthy, he became the hottest candidate around. He’s been linked to virtually every opening, although one report earlier today said McCarthy is likely to sit out the 2019 season. There were other reports that he was interested in the job in Arizona, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network said recently that McCarthy “has been connected most to” the opening in Tampa Bay. While this is just a preliminary action, it seems like there’s a decent chance McCarthy could be pairing up with Baker Mayfield. While he was the subject of a lot of criticism the past few years, he’s still one of the most successful coaches to hit the open market in recent memory.

The Browns finished the 2018 season on quite a roll, going 5-3 after firing Hue Jackson, and became relevant nationally for the first time in many years. They’ll be one of the most buzzed about teams this offseason, and will have high expectations in 2019. They’ve also been linked to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, and Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus recently.