Dorsey vows to cast wide net for Browns’ next coach

the search for the ninth full-time head coach of the Browns since 1999.

Dorsey wouldn’t disclose who is on that team, but it’s a safe bet that the group includes his right-hand men, assistant GM Eliot Wolf and vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith.

Dorsey said he will focus on three main attributes when the Browns interview candidates.

“I would like to see a man of character. I would like see a man who can lead young men. I would like a man who has high football acumen,” he said.

Dorsey is the point man for the search, but he will collaborate with owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam on the hire.

“Dee and Jimmy, they own the team, so I think with ownership, what you have to do is … sit down and communicate,” Dorsey said. “Any good organization will communicate as these hard decisions are being made, and then we, as a senior management team, will say, ‘Here’s who we think is best for this organization moving forward.’”

Dorsey said that interim coach Gregg Williams will be interviewed — “He deserves that”— but added that the organization will cast a wide net during the search.

“I have multiple lists (of candidates), but what I want to do is make sure that we, as a group, whenever you make a tough decision like this one, an overarching organizational decision, you want to get as much information as you possibly can,” he said. “You want to do it in a collaborative manner and make sure you are very prudent.”

Candidates young and old, from college and the NFL, are possibilities.

“(Seattle Seahawks coach) Pete Carroll … made the transition (from college to the NFL) pretty easy,” Dorsey said. “There are certain guys who can do it, and that’s a case-by-case basis.”

Among the coaches who have been linked to the job are Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub and Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

Should the Baltimore Ravens fire John Harbaugh or the Green Bay Packers part with Mike McCarthy, they could become candidates.

“Regardless if it’s in professional football, if it’s in college football, we’re going to gather as much information as we possibly can and make the best decision for this franchise,” Dorsey said.