John Harbaugh could end up sticking around the AFC North. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns are “definitely doing their diligence” on the former Ravens head coach. Interestingly, that interest may be mutual.
Cabot says that Harbaugh is “believed to have legitimate interest” in the Cleveland job, even with their uncertainty on offense. Besides an opportunity to play his former team twice a year, Cabot notes that there a handful of reasons why Harbaugh could be a logical fit for the organization.
For starters, the coach has deep Cleveland roots. Both John and Jim Harbaugh grew up as Browns fans, and their parents even honeymooned at a Browns game. Both of their parents are Ohio natives, with Jack Harbaugh once playing football at Bowling Green. John Harbaugh, of course, ended up tormenting his favorite childhood team throughout his Baltimore tenure, going 27-8 during his 18 seasons as the Ravens head coach (including a 12-5 record in Cleveland).
Next, Harbaugh also has interest in working alongside a pair of Browns coaches. Cabot says that Harbaugh would consider retaining defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and the former Ravens head coach is also a big fan of offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. That duo already interviewed for the Browns HC opening this week, and Cabot notes that the franchise would love to keep both of the coaches in some capacity depending on the outcome of their search.
Of course, there are also rumblings that Harbaugh would likely recruit Ravens OC Todd Monken to his next stop, per Armando Salguero of Outkick.com. There have been a handful of reports that Harbaugh’s unwillingness to fire Monken in Baltimore may have contributed to his ouster with the Ravens. Interestingly, the Browns requested a head coach interview with Monken.
To top it all off, Cabot notes that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has admired Harbaugh for many years. As the team embarks on a thorough search for a replacement for Kevin Stefanski, Harbaugh would seemingly be the organization’s main target. Of course, Harbaugh likely leads the list for most (if not all) of the HC-needy teams.
Cleveland’s current list of candidates includes:
- Aden Durde, defensive coordinator (Seahawks): Interview requested
- Mike McDaniel, former head coach (Dolphins): Rumored candidate
- Todd Monken, offensive coordinator (Ravens): Interview requested
- Dan Pitcher, offensive coordinator (Bengals): Interview requested
- Tommy Rees, offensive coordinator (Browns): Interviewed 1/8
- Jim Schwartz, defensive coordinator (Browns): To interview 1/8
Now there’s a man who’s up for a challenge.
That would be an interesting decision from Harbaugh
Really? That’s like having your choice of women and picking he Bride of Frankenstein. You can do better.
The only way this happens is of the owner fires Berry first. But wouldn’t it be hilarious to see Cleveland knock the Ravens out of the playoffs next year with Harbaugh at the helm.
There couldn’t be a worse match than McDaniel and Cleveland.
Haslam must be offering a truckload of that stolen rebate money.
Harbaugh isn’t going to the Browns.
On one hand, he’s going to explore every opportunity, even just to potentially drive up his asking price.
On the other hand, who hasn’t dreamed of coaching their favorite football team as a kid/adult. If he can polish up this turd of a franchise, he might find his way to Canton.
technically he has coached his favorite football team since 2008
I signed up for an account just to say how astute of an observation that was! He spent years coaching the real Browns and now he’s going to go fix the new Browns.