- The Browns settled on a new head coach in Kevin Stefanski, but they’re still searching for a new general manager. One potential candidate is Vikings assistant GM George Paton, but he’s apparently hard to pin down. Paton has been very picky with interviews in recent years, and the Browns still haven’t gotten a firm commitment from him on whether or not he’ll interview, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). It was initially reported that Paton had agreed to interview, but that turned out not to be true. Eagles executive Andrew Berry and Patriots exec Monti Ossenfort are also candidates.
49ers defensive backs coach Joe Woods is on track to become the Browns’ next defensive coordinator, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). All that remains, Schefter hears, is figuring out a contract. 
The Browns, reportedly, were down to Woods and incumbent Steve Wilks as of last week. Today, the Browns told Wilks that he’s out, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com tweets. Barring something unexpected, Woods will get the job.
Woods, 49, has history with new Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski – Woods was a Vikes assistant between 2006-2013. All in all, Woods comes with 16 years of NFL coaching experience for five different teams. Before he hooked on as the Niners’ LBs coach, he spent four years with the Broncos, including two as their DC.
While Woods’ two Broncos defenses were solid, the 49ers’ rise from 23rd to second in pass-defense DVOA has obviously been key to the NFC No. 1 seed’s success. The 49ers’ Richard Sherman-led secondary has become a much better unit compared to last season, when Sherman did not play at a Pro Bowl level. Woods also oversaw the Broncos’ dominant No-Fly Zone secondary that helped the team to a championship in 2015, working under Wade Phillips.
The Browns have hired former Dolphins OC Chad O’Shea as their new WR coach and passing game coordinator, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports. O’Shea lasted one year in Miami and drew some criticism for installing an overly complex offense, and he was recently fired in favor of spread offense guru Chan Gailey.
But despite the talent limitations on Miami’s offense, the team did perform reasonably well down the stretch and actually ranked in the top-10 in passing offense and top-15 in scoring offense after Ryan Fitzpatrick reentered the starting lineup in Week 7. As such, O’Shea’s dismissal came as something of a surprise, though recent reports indicated that, while he is an excellent receivers coach, he is not a great coordinator.
O’Shea spent 10 years as the Patriots’ WR coach, so he comes to Cleveland with plenty of experience. He will also have a great deal of talent to work with, and he will be tasked with continuing to get the most out of Jarvis Landry while also helping Odell Beckham Jr. return to prominence. As passing game coordinator, he will also help develop game plans for Baker Mayfield, who struggled in his sophomore campaign but who still has plenty of potential.
As for the Browns’ vacant offensive coordinator post, Rapoport says the team has interest in 49ers passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur and run game coordinator Mike McDaniel. Cleveland had some interest in both men for their head coaching post but never requested interviews with them. The Browns may not request OC interviews either, because San Francisco is unlikely to grant such requests. The Browns may also go without an official OC given new head coach Kevin Stefanski‘s offensive prowess.
Unlike LaFleur and McDaniel, 49ers passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Joe Woods is not under contract through 2020, so he can join the Browns if he so chooses. We recently heard that Cleveland had narrowed its defensive coordinator search to Woods and incumbent Steve Wilks, though Rapoport says Wade Phillips remains a possibility as well.
The arrest warrant Odell Beckham Jr. drew in New Orleans this week has since been rescinded, according to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal (on Twitter).
The Browns wide receiver allegedly slapping a New Orleans police officer’s buttocks after Monday night’s national championship game prompted the warrant, but NOPD confirmed that is no longer an issue for the 27-year-old standout. While this incident was captured on video and drew a fair amount of attention, it will not lead to an arrest.
In the video, a Superdome police officer is seen exchanging words with an LSU player. Beckham intervened and appears to smack the officer’s rear end. Initially, authorities originally sought a warrant for a misdemeanor sexual battery charge, but it was declined by a judge. A simple battery charge was then on the table. Now, Beckham appears to be in the clear after the officer signed an affidavit indicating he did not want to press charges, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer notes.
Although Beckham still has much to prove after a disappointing season, he will almost certainly not face any NFL suspension. The 2019 Browns trade acquisition caught 74 passes for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns — career-low figures (by far) in a season in which Beckham played 16 games — and showed little chemistry with Baker Mayfield. Beckham’s 12-game 2018 season produced better numbers. Trade rumors already began to follow the ex-Giants superstar, but Beckham is expected to be one of the key players for Kevin Stefanski‘s first Browns team.
While working on their GM and defensive coordinator roles, the Browns are now moving along with their offensive coordinator search. New HC Kevin Stefanski plans to interview recently fired Broncos OC Rich Scangarello for the role, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
The interview is expected to take place Monday or Tuesday, per Cabot. The Broncos fired Scangarello less than a week ago, bringing in former Browns HC Pat Shurmur to head up their offense.
Stefanski is expected to call plays in Cleveland but has indicated he is not committed to doing so. Scangarello worked as the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach prior to moving to Denver in a play-calling role. The Broncos’ offense ranked 28th in both points and yards this season, but the first-time NFL OC did not have too much to work with, talent-wise. That would be less of an issue in Cleveland.
Scangarello, 47, oversaw an offense forced to use three quarterbacks due to injury. But the Broncos finished 4-1 once Drew Lock took the reins, and it came as a surprise when Vic Fangio fired his first-year coordinator. Perhaps Scangarello’s most impressive showing, however, came when he helped first-time starter Brandon Allen to a midseason victory over the Browns.
Previous Browns OC Todd Monken recently accepted an offer to become Georgia’s OC. The Browns have used three different offensive coordinators since the start of the 2018 season, going from Todd Haley to Freddie Kitchens to Monken.
The Browns’ 2019 offense, despite being one of the league’s most-hyped units, was a massive disappointment. The Kitchens-orchestrated attack ranked 22nd in both points and yards, frequently prone to mismanagement and failing to fully unleash prized trade acquisition Odell Beckham Jr. Stefanski and the new OC will be tasked with rejuvenating Baker Mayfield, who took a step back after a strong finish to 2018.
The Tampa Bay Vipers have signed former Browns wide receiver Antonio Callaway, per a club announcement. The one-time University of Florida standout is looking to work his way back towards the NFL following his release from the Browns and a ten-game suspension from the league office. 
Callaway was drafted by the Browns in the fourth round of the 2018 draft. He clicked with Baker Mayfield as a rookie and finished out with 43 catches for 586 yards and five touchdowns. In 2019, however, it was a different story. The NFL suspended Callaway for the first four games of the year after violating the substance abuse policy and he’s now looking at an additional ten-game ban.
Callaway was suspended during the 2019 season for four games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy and, when he returned, he clashed with Browns coaches. The receiver was already teetering on the edge in November when he was hit with an additional ten-game ban for another substance abuse violation, so the Browns cut him. Despite his talent and inexpensive rookie contract, none of the team’s other 31 teams picked him up when he was available.
If Callaway can demonstrate personal growth and perform in the XFL, he might have a chance of someday returning to the NFL.
4:20pm: Paton may not be as interested in the position as Berry or Ossenfort. The experienced exec does not, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling, have an interview scheduled with the Browns (Twitter link). Paton has been especially selective over the years, so further deliberation would not exactly be a surprise.
2:26pm: The Browns’ GM search will include an interview will include a meeting with George Paton. The Vikings’ assistant GM will meet with the Browns this weekend, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Paton joins Eagles executive Andrew Berry and Patriots front office staffer Monti Ossenfort as candidates. A few more names have been mentioned in this search, but the Browns’ interview itinerary has formed.
In the GM mix for years, Paton would seemingly be a natural fit for a team that just hired longtime Vikings assistant Kevin Stefanski. A career-long Vikings coach, Stefanski has worked with Paton for 13 years. Paton has been with the Vikings since 2007 and previously worked with current boss Rick Spielman in Miami and Chicago.
Paton was in the mix for the 49ers job that went to John Lynch three years ago but turned down an opportunity to interview with the Jets last year. He did the same when John Dorsey‘s ouster created a Chiefs GM vacancy in 2017. The Browns prioritized hiring their head coach first this time around, with chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta overseeing the coaching search that produced Stefanski after Dorsey ran last year’s process.
Andrew Berry, the Eagles’ VP of football operations, will interview for the Browns GM job on Friday, Jim Trotter of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.Patriots college scouting director Monti Ossenfort will also be in the building on Friday to interview for the same job, but as Trotter notes, the Browns had similar overlap in their head coaching search.
[RELATED: Arrest Warrant Issued For OBJ]
Berry has been the rumored favorite for the job, in part because of his relationship with the organization and owner Jimmy Haslam. The exec spent the 2016-18 campaigns as the Browns’ vice president of player personnel. Prior to that, he served as the Colts’ pro scouting coordinator from 2012-15.
Recently, the Eagles denied the Panthers’ request to interview Berry for a front office position. They have no such ability here, since the GM job would give Berry authority over the roster.
It remains to be seen whether a front office headlined by Berry, Ossenfort, or anyone else would still include assistant GM Eliot Wolf or VP of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. after he allegedly slapped a police officer’s buttocks (link via Ramon Antonio Vargas of the Times-Picayune). The incident took place in LSU’s locker room following the championship game and was captured on video.
In the video, a Superdome police officer is seen exchanging words with an LSU player. In the video, Beckham intervened and appears to smack the officer’s rear end. Initially, authorities originally sought a warrant for a misdemeanor sexual battery charge, but it was declined by a judge. Now, they’re seeking to arrest him for simple battery.
At maximum, it’s a charge that would likely result in nothing more than a fine for the Browns superstar. In theory, however, it could have ramifications with the league office, if a conviction arises from the arrest.
In his first year with the Browns, Beckham notched 74 catches for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns. On the whole, the Browns offense sagged under the guidance of Freddie Kitchens, who was fired after just one season at the helm. Meanwhile, rumors have swirled about Beckham’s dissatisfaction and the Browns buyer’s remorse, but both sides insist they’ll move forward together.
The Browns will interview Patriots college scouting director Monti Ossenfort for their GM job on Friday, sources tell Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). This marks Ossenfort’s first his first GM interview, even though he’s been a popular name for previous vacancies.
Two years ago, Ossenfort was blocked from pursuing the Texans job. Then, after the surprising dismissal of Brian Gaine, he was connected to the club yet again. That didn’t materialize, either, because the Texans zeroed in on fellow Pats employee Nick Caserio, only to be shot down by Bill Belichick & Co.
Ossenfort‘s contract is believed to be up after this year, so he should be free to join up with the Browns if there’s a fit. The Browns also have Vikings assistant GM George Paton and Eagles vice president of football operations Andrew Berry on their radar.