The Browns‘ search for an offensive coordinator appears to have been one of the league’s more expansive hunts so far, with nearly a dozen candidates linked to the position at some point, though many have since found other jobs. Still, perhaps no name among Cleveland’s candidates is more surprising than the one Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets today. According to Rapoport, former Rams head coach Mike Martz recently interviewed with the Browns for their OC job. A source tells Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (Twitter link) that Martz is indeed interested in returning to coaching after essentially being retired since leaving the Bears after the 2011 season.
Here’s more on the Browns and a few other teams from out of the NFL’s two North divisions:
- It’s not clear if the Browns have requested permission to interview him at this point, but Packers offensive coordinator Tom Clements is on the club’s radar, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. While a move to Cleveland’s offensive coordinator job would technically be a lateral move for Clements, he doesn’t currently call the plays in Green Bay, with head coach Mike McCarthy handling that role.
- In the wake of the Packers’ loss to the Seahawks on Sunday, right tackle Bryan Bulaga wasn’t ready on Monday to speculate about whether or not he’ll be back in Green Bay next season, as Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes. “Right now, I’m really not even thinking about it to be honest with you. That’s really the last thing on my mind,” Bulaga said. “It’s a ‘we’ll see what happens’ kind of deal. This just ended yesterday. It’s kind of hard to look at it right now.”
- With 14 players, including Bulaga, eligible for free agency this offseason, the Packers almost certainly won’t be able to retain everyone, but the “dream scenario” is to re-sign as many of those potential FAs as they can, says Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap takes a look at some of the notable upcoming offseason decisions facing the Vikings, identifying Greg Jennings‘ deal as one worth restructuring, and Adrian Peterson and Chad Greenway as likely cap casualties.
- In addition to working out Shawn Lemon, who signed a contract, and Delvin Breaux, whose tryout was previously reported, the Steelers also auditioned offensive linemen Brett Jones and Erle Ladson, punter Kasey Redfern, and kicker Jake Rogers, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.