Browns To Interview Eberflus Sunday
Ever since Bruce Arians stepped away from his job with the Cardinals, his name has been buzzed about as a potential head coaching candidate. He sat out the 2018 season while calling games for CBS, but appears set to return to the sidelines. He’s been publicly lobbying for the Browns’ job for a while now, but has seemingly now set his sights on the Buccaneers’ job. Because Arians retired with time still left on his contract with Arizona, the consensus was that whatever team would want to hire Arians would need to give some compensation to the Cardinals, but that’s apparently not the case, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
- We heard on Black Monday that the Browns were hoping to interview Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus for their vacancy, and now the interview has been scheduled. Eberflus will meet with Cleveland’s team tomorrow, the day after his team’s playoff win over the Texans, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN (Twitter link). Eberflus has done a great job running Indy’s young defense this year, and has been a hot name in this cycle.
Mike McCarthy Showing ‘Serious Interest’ In Jets Job
The Jets announced Saturday afternoon they completed their interview with Mike McCarthy. They and the Browns are the only known teams vying for McCarthy.
But the Jets’ position in this pursuit has strengthened. McCarthy now has “serious interest” in the New York job, Ralph Vacchiano of SNY reports. The Jets still have additional candidates to interview, so no McCarthy offer is expected yet. However, such a proposal could be coming soon.
Initially, McCarthy was connected to the Buccaneers’ and Cardinals’ jobs, with an obvious Cleveland path existing because of his past with John Dorsey. But Vacchiano notes the 13-year Packers leader has warmed up to the Jets and that he should be considered the favorite. He plans to stay relatively close to the area, with two high school-aged children, or sit out 2019 altogether.
McCarthy has already completed his Browns interview, according to Vacchiano.
Gang Green already interviewed Eric Bieniemy and Adam Gase and is scheduled to meet with Kris Richard, Jim Caldwell and Todd Monken. But none of these candidates brings the pedigree McCarthy does, his recent firing notwithstanding.
Browns Interview Kevin Stefanski
The Browns were originally scheduled to meet with Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski on Monday, but they’ve moved that interview to today, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stefanski, who was elevated to offensive coordinator in Minnesota following John DeFilippo‘s firing, is in consideration for Cleveland’s head coaching job. While the Vikings are still interested in retaining Stefanski, he’s no longer under contract. Meanwhile, the Giants — who attempted to lure Stefanski to New York last offseason — won’t pursue Stefanski this year, as head coach Pat Shurmur told Mike Francesa of WFAN (Twitter link via Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com).
- Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores has a busy week lined up, as he’s drawn interest from not only the Broncos, Browns, Dolphins, and Packers. It’s still unclear if/when Flores will interview with Cleveland, but he’ll meet with Green Bay on Friday, tweets Demovsky. Packers management is scheduled to fly to the New England area that day to sit down with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, so they’ll stick around to meet with Flores. Flores is also scheduled to interview for the Miami gig on Thursday and Friday, while Mike Klis of 9News reports (via Twitter) the Broncos will fly to New England to sit down with Flores on Saturday (previous reports had indicated Denver would meet with Flores on Monday).
Browns Block Freddie Kitchens From OC Interviews
Freddie Kitchens‘ in-season promotion turned out to be a key move for the Browns, with Baker Mayfield‘s rookie year gaining steam under Cleveland’s rookie offensive coordinator. The Browns appear to be interested in keeping that setup intact.
Other teams have reached out about Kitchens OC interviews, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (via Twitter) the Browns have blocked those. Since Kitchens remains under contract, the team is permitted to do so. The Browns want their new head coach to have the opportunity to keep Kitchens on as full-time OC, per Rapsheet. Additionally, Kitchens himself will interview for Cleveland’s top job early next week.
While this could end up being disadvantageous for Kitchens, since it’s uncertain if the new Cleveland HC has Kitchens in his plans, it shows the Browns are serious about continuing the Kitchens-Mayfield setup. Prior to the ousters of Hue Jackson and Todd Haley, Kitchens had not called plays before. Mayfield thrived, becoming a legit Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner, once the change occurred. The Browns closed the season 5-3 under Gregg Williams.
Williams already interviewed for the Browns’ HC job, and John Dorsey said a Kitchens meeting for this vacancy was on tap. Though, the second-year GM did not say when that would commence. The Browns may be eyeing Kitchens for a promotion to full-time OC rather than their next head coach. Kitchens, 44, spent 11 seasons as a Cardinals position coach prior to joining the Browns’ staff in 2018.
Coaching Rumors: Gase, Jets, McCarthy
Here’s the latest round of coaching rumors::
- Mike McCarthy is looking to stay close to his two high-school aged stepchildren in Green Bay, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com tweets. That would explain why McCarthy is looking into opportunities with the Browns and Jets and is potentially not interested in further destinations such as the Cardinals.
- McCarthy’s interview with the Browns has been rescheduled for next week, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
- Adam Gase‘s interview with the Jets will take place on Friday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
- Hue Jackson to the Vikings is becoming more of a real possibility, according to Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (on Twitter). According to sources, head coach Mike Zimmer could try to hire him if Jackson doesn’t get the Bengals’ head coaching job. Ultimately, however, it will come down to what GM Rick Spielman thinks of Jackson as a candidate.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/2/19
Here are Wednesday’s reserve/futures contract moves:
Cleveland Browns
- DL Daniel Ekuale
- DL Devaroe Lawrence
- OL Kyle Friend
- DB Robert Jackson
- RB Devante Mays
- DB Lenzy Pipkins
- DB Tigie Sankoh*
- OL Brad Seaton
- WR Daniel Williams
Cincinnati Bengals
- DT Andrew Brown
Denver Broncos
- WR Fred Brown
- QB Garrett Grayson
- WR Chad Hansen
- LB Alexander Johnson
- OL Andreas Knappe
- DE Cashaud Lyons
- RB Khalfani Muhammad
- G Austin Schlottmann
- CB Linden Stephens
- S Shamarko Thomas
Detroit Lions
Minnesota Vikings
- WR Jeff Badet
- T Adam Bisnowaty
- LB Reshard Cliett
- DT Curtis Cothran
- C Cornelius Edison
- TE Cole Hikutini
- CB Jalen Myrick
- T Storm Norton
- DE Ifeadi Odenigbo
- RB Roc Thomas
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- QB Joe Callahan
- P Hayden Hunt
- LS Zach Triner
Tennessee Titans
- DL Dee Liner
Washington Redskins
- WR Tre McBride
* = part of the NFL’s International Player Development Program
Jim Caldwell Interviews For Browns’ HC Job
Jim Caldwell became the second candidate to interview for the Browns’ head coaching job, doing so on Wednesday. The Browns announced this meeting took place; it follows interim HC Gregg Williams‘ interview.
Caldwell has also interviewed for the Packers’ HC job and will meet with the Jets about their job opening.
The former Colts and Lions head coach did not work in the NFL in 2018, joining John Fox and Chuck Pagano — also fired after the ’17 season — in that regard. The Lions took a step back after Caldwell’s exit, falling from back-to-back 9-7 seasons to 6-10 in Matt Patricia‘s first year.
The Browns are slated to interview interim OC Freddie Kitchens, Mike McCarthy, Brian Flores, Kevin Stefanski and Dan Campbell. They are expected to meet with Mike Munchak, with Colts coordinators Nick Sirianni and Matt Eberflus receiving interview requests.
While Caldwell, 63, has been fired twice, and served less than five years in both Indianapolis and Detroit, he has a career record of 62-50 and was the first head coach to guide the Lions to multiple playoff berths since Bobby Ross in the late 1990s.
Browns To Interview Mike McCarthy
Mike McCarthy has plenty of connections in Cleveland, and the longtime Green Bay coach looks to be on his way to northeast Ohio for a head coaching interview.
The Browns are expected to meet with McCarthy on Thursday, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com reports. This will be McCarthy’s second known interview, with the Jets having secured one as well. It’s not known which meeting will occur first.
Now led by longtime McCarthy Packers co-worker John Dorsey, the Browns reached out to the recently fired coach over the weekend. And the parties are set to meet as part of a wide-ranging Cleveland HC search. Former Packers front office execs Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf are now with the Browns as well, making a McCarthy-to-Cleveland path obviously interesting.
The Packers fired McCarthy midway through their second straight non-playoff season. Green Bay did advance to eight straight postseasons under McCarthy, however.
Now 55, McCarthy was rumored to possibly sit out this round of hiring, unless an ideal fit came around, but the Browns are suddenly an intriguing team. Having won seven games for only the second time in the past 11 seasons, the Browns have formed a promising young nucleus featuring the likes of Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb and Denzel Ward. Potential offensive rookie of the year Baker Mayfield is the centerpiece and will help the Browns attract a level of coaching candidate they previously struggled to in the recent past.
Both the Jets and Browns will have plenty of cap space, with New York set to hold more than $100MM and Cleveland prepared to carry at least $85MM. Both teams figure to be key offseason entities, each drafting their hopeful franchise quarterback last year and each now in the process of critical coaching searches.
Brian Flores To Meet With Browns, Broncos, Dolphins, Packers
The latest Patriots playoff bye week will bring quite the workload for linebackers coach Brian Flores.
While he is still arranging his schedule, he has agreed to meet with the Browns, Broncos, Dolphins and Packers about their head coaching vacancies, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports (on Twitter). These interviews will occur this weekend.
After previously omitting the Broncos, who requested a meeting with Flores, La Canfora reports they will meet with the aspiring head coach. The Bucs, though, are not set to meet with the Patriot assistant this week, JLC tweets.
These four teams requested summits with Flores, and he will oblige. Flores has become a far more attractive candidate than he was a year ago, when the Cardinals met with him about their HC opening. Arizona again has an opening, but the team has not as of yet requested another audience with New England’s 37-year-old de facto defensive coordinator.
The Patriots turned to Flores as their top defensive assistant following Matt Patricia‘s defection to Detroit.
New England’s first post-Patricia defense has been the team’s typical bend-but-don’t-break unit, ranking 21st in yards allowed but seventh in scoring. The Pats have only had one non-top-10 scoring defense in the past 13 seasons; Flores has been a part of their past eight defensive coaching staffs.
Browns Won’t Interview Adam Gase
Adam Gase has been connected to a number of teams, but he won’t be in the mix for the Browns’ job. The Browns to have no plans to interview the former Dolphins head coach, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. 
Word that Gase won’t be up for the Cleveland job comes as a surprise since many have connected the dots between the two parties. Owner Jimmy Haslam has tried to lure Gase in the past and he comes with a strong recommendation from mutual friend Peyton Manning.
It’s possible that Gase’s acrimonious relationship with wide receiver Jarvis Landry is keeping him from consideration in Cleveland. Landry took his Miami exit as a personal slight and laughed at Gase on Twitter, in emoji form, when he was fired on Dec. 31.
The Browns aren’t interested in Gase, but the Cardinals are, and they’ll meet with him on Wednesday.