Dawgs By Nature
The NFL is a brotherhood. Coaches come and go, and at some point, a lot of coaches end up working together, even if for one season. Then guys move to another opportunity, and a new tutor appears on the coaching staff. So, the relationships that these coaches foster just keep growing.
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The Cleveland Browns fired their head coach, Kevin Stefanski. He was at the helm of the franchise for six years. For this team, that was a long tenure since the new Browns appeared on the scene in 1999. Six years of stability is a blessing for most clubs.
And the decision to let Stefanski walk probably wasn’t an easy one for owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam. After all, Stefanski was named NFL Coach of the Year twice. And he got the Browns into the playoffs in 2020 after a 17-year drought.
However, the NFL is a results league, and losing 14 games in 2024 and 12 this year were just too much to ignore.
And now, the interview process is underway. Eight NFL teams have fired their head man. That means that eight new head coaches will patrol the sidelines in 2026, including the Browns.
There are plenty of rules that teams must follow if their candidate is employed by a team that is in this year’s playoffs.
However, it does not appear that former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh will become the next guy in Cleveland. Before this past weekend, reports came out that Harbaugh was going to weigh his options, take the playoff weekend, then pare his list down from eight to just a few.
Now, after this past weekend, Harbaugh reportedly has his choices: the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Football Giants.
The Falcons are an odd choice. Harbaugh grew up in Ohio and Michigan, attended college in Ohio, and then every coaching job he has had was in a cold-weather environment. Five college gigs, the Philadelphia Eagles, and Baltimore. All in freezing temps in the latter months.
Atlanta is not only a Southern area where it gets hot for at least nine months of the calendar, but they have a dome. Their practice facility is air-conditioned.
The Giants make more sense. Their stadium is outdoors, although their main practice facility is indoors, mainly for rainy days.
The point is: Harbaugh is not coming to Cleveland, it seems.
So, who is? Mike Tomlin? What will most likely happen with Tomlin is that he will accept a broadcasting job in a studio rather than a booth, take a year off, then return, just like Sean Payton did, and select the team he wants.
So, again, who will become the next head coach with the Browns?
Jim Schwartz.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam love Schwartz. Browns GM Andrew Berry loves Schwartz. He came into Cleveland and took some talent and transformed the defense into one of the league’s best. Continually.
Because the Browns are not involved in this...
