As hyperbolic adverbs go, this one is right up there with “strenuously object.”
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is “enthusiastically interested” in the Browns’ vacant head coaching job, according to Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository.
Per the report, the Browns have used “back channels” to indicate interest in McDaniels. However, the Browns have yet to request an interview with McDaniels. If the Browns don’t interview McDaniels during the New England bye week, they can’t interview him until the Patriots’ playoff run ends, not even during the dead week before the Super Bowl teams head to Atlanta.
An interview may not be necessary; the Browns interviewed McDaniels in early 2014, during the cycle that resulted in the hiring of Mike Pettine. Although G.M. John Dorsey wasn’t working for the Browns at the time, Jimmy Haslam was still the owner, and that could be good enough for the Browns now.
McDaniels held a private workout with Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield in the days before the draft, and it’s believed McDaniels had a very high opinion of the player who became the first overall pick in the draft.
When McDaniels jilted the Colts a year ago, it was believed he’d wait for Patriots coach Bill Belichick to retire. But with Mayfield showing all the signs of being a franchise quarterback, with Belichick showing no signs of slowing down, with Cleveland’s trophy case devoid of any Lombardi Trophies, with McDaniels being a native of the area, and with Mayfield being short enough so that McDaniels could actually look him in the eye (unlike Tom Brady), the time could be right for McDaniels to accept another head-coaching job -- and this time to actually show up for it.