A couple of intriguing reports emerged on Thursday regarding Josh McDaniels’ candidacy for the coaching job in Cleveland. And now there’s a third.
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer got the ball rolling with a report that McDaniels was a candidate until the end, and that he wanted the job. We then reported that he was a safety-net candidate, and that the Browns didn’t necessarily want to hire him.
In response to those reports, he’s another key piece of information we’ve obtained from a source with knowledge of the situation -- shortly before hiring Mike Pettine, the Browns made a formal request for permission with the Patriots to interview McDaniels a second time. And he declined.
On the surface, that cuts against the notion that he wanted the job. Unless, of course, McDaniels wanted a wink-nod commitment that he’d also be getting an offer.
Regardless, the Browns wanted to interview McDaniels a second time. For whatever reason(s), McDaniels wouldn’t do it.