The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Who will be on list of Browns candidates?
General manager John Dorsey’s list of coaching candidates could include Jim Harbaugh and Lincoln Riley, Jeff Schudel writes. Also, the Cavs shouldn’t have waited with Kevin Love surgery.
Normally this is the time of year Browns fans turn their attention to the draft. This time, though, a January coaching search takes first priority.
General Manager John Dorsey went against the grain when he selected Baker Mayfield over more highly regarded quarterback Sam Darnold with the first pick of the 2018 draft, so it won’t be a shock if he pulls a surprise hiring the next head coach.
This assumes team owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam will limit their own role in approving Dorsey’s pick as coach to a get-acquainted dinner when Dorsey’s search ends.
Dorsey can zero in on someone with NFL head coaching experience, which more than likely would mean a fired retread (former Steelers coach Bill Cowher would be an exception), a current NFL assistant or a college coach.
Here are a few names that might be on Dorsey’s short list:
• Jim Harbaugh, Michigan head coach: Harbaugh, 54, was successful at Stanford, took the 49ers to the Super Bowl and finally has the Michigan program turned around. He has a strong personality and could be a good fit for Mayfield. But he would have to agree to be a coach only and be content with Dorsey calling the shots.
• Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma head coach: Riley, 35, coached Mayfield in college. It seems like too perfect a fit. Riley is sending out strong signals he is content at Oklahoma, but he did not slam the door on the NFL.
“I knew that was coming,” Riley told reporters covering the Sooners on Oct. 29, the same day Hue Jackson was fired as Browns head coach. “No, not right now. You sit here and answer these questions and I always want to be truthful. The truth for me is I love Oklahoma. I love coaching here. I love college football. I certainly don’t have that itch right now. Don’t know that I ever will.
“But I’m never going to be a guy that stands up here and says no way, no how with any of these things ever happening. I don’t know that. But I know right now I could care less about the NFL.”
Riley and Mayfield were 34-6 together at Oklahoma. • Josh McDaniels, Patriots offensive coordinator: McDaniels, 42, tried to be Bill Belichick in a brief stint as head coach of the Denver Broncos. He was an 11-17 disaster. McDaniels seems to be waiting for Belichick to retire as Patriots head coach. McDaniels embarrassed the Colts last year by turning down that job after the Colts were convinced he was taking it. His Canton roots should not be a factor in deciding whether to interview him for the Browns job. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would not be part of a package deal.
• Matt Campbell, Iowa State head coach: Every team looking for a head coach is trying to find the next Sean McVay, the 32-year-old head coach of the Los Angeles Rams whose background includes three years as the Redskins tight ends coach and three as the Redskins offensive coordinator. Campbell, 37, is from Massillon. He is regarded as the hot candidate because of his success with quarterbacks at Iowa State. He would be a good fit for Mayfield. Going from Iowa State to the NFL, especially a job as scrutinized as coaching the Browns is, would be a huge jump. Campbell could also be in line to replace Urban Meyer at Ohio State if Meyer retires. Meyer says he’ll return to coach the Buckeyes next season.
• Dave Toub, Chiefs special teams coordinator: Toub, 56, has made a career of coaching special teams. A special teams coach has to be able to adapt more than an offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator because he’s always working with leftovers. John Harbaugh, in his 11th year as head coach of the Ravens, was the Eagles special teams coordinator from 1998-2006. Dorsey knows Toub well because Dorsey was the Chiefs general manager from 2013-17. Toub arrived in Kansas City the same year.
• Gregg Williams, Browns interim head coach: Williams, 60, seems a long shot, but cannot be dismissed entirely. He would deserve consideration if the Browns go 5-3 or better the second half of the season. He certainly has the attention of all his players.
“This guy is crazy,” wide receiver Rashard Higgins said. “But throughout my whole life I’ve always had those hard coaches that harp on little things and are always yelling and always mean. Those are the coaches that get the job done.
“He’s the right man for it. We just have to adapt to the change and that’s what we did.”
Williams is in his second season with the Browns. He never lasted more than four seasons at any of his prior coaching jobs.
Cavs have friends in low places
The Cavaliers are a mess, and there is no way out. But they are not alone.
The Cavaliers were 1-7 heading into their game at Charlotte on Nov. 3. The NBA is such a have and have-not league that the Cavs have company in Washington and Phoenix in sharing the worst record in the league.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has to be wondering why he is close to $14 million over the salary cap (with an active cap of $115,695,525) with only one victory to show for it. The Washington Wizards are about $30.8 million over the threshold with an active cap of $131,817,522.
Since the season began on Oct. 17, the Cavaliers fired head coach Tyronn Lue, and replaced him with acting head coach Larry Drew, who is unhappy with his contract situation. They were awarded the 2022 NBA All-Star game at the Q, lost five-time All-Star Kevin Love for at least six weeks because of toe surgery that required surgery and they were sued by former assistant Jim Boylan, 63, for age discrimination.
Through all this, general manager Koby Altman said he expects the Cavaliers, a concoction of young players and declining veterans, to “overachieve.”
I get this picture in my head of Lue sitting on his couch and watching television with the remote in his hand. News of the Cavaliers pops on the screen, Lue sighs and shaking his head, flips the channel to some more believable reality show, like “Showering with an Alligator in my Bathtub.”
• The Love injury is a crusher for the Cavaliers, but it was also predictable. Love is injury prone, which doesn’t mean he’s a wimp. He missed 45 games over the last two seasons because of injuries.
Love had surgery on his toe Nov. 2. He should have had it sooner. He was injured exactly one month earlier, on Oct. 2 in the preseason opener in Boston.
Love tried to play through the pain to show his teammates how tough he is, but the injury clearly affected his play. He shot 32 percent in the four regular season games he played. He said he couldn’t distribute his weight evenly.
Now Love won’t be back until mid-December at the earliest. By then the Cavaliers will have played 30 or so games. On a six-week timetable Love theoretically would have been back for the game at The Q on Nov. 21 against LeBron James and the Lakers if he had the surgery soon after being injured.
I didn’t know that
… Until I read my Snapple bottle cap.
Sailors once thought wearing gold earrings improved eyesight. … Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first Texas-born president. … A pelican can hold more food in its beak than in its belly. … 3.7 million bags of peanuts are sold every year at ballparks. … There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. … A neuron star is as dense as stuffing 50 million elephants into a thimble.