Browns coaching search begins to sizzle

By Steve King

Browns coaching search begins to sizzle as Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and recently terminated Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy both appear to be possible candidates.

This is getting interesting – really, REALLY interesting.

And it’s only going to get more so.

I’m talking about the Browns head-coaching search.

It was a foregone conclusion that General Manager John Dorsey already had his eye on Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, the college head coach of rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. It’s a no-brainer that Mayfield would love it, but would Riley love it? Would he even be interested in discussing how much he might love it – or not? That we don’t know.

But when the Green Bay Packers fired head coach Mike McCarthy on Sunday, that seemingly – repeat, seemingly — provided the Browns with another strong candidate.

Would the Browns truly be interested in McCarthy? And would McCarthy truly be interested in the Browns?

Again, there’s no way of knowing, for sure, the answer to those two questions. Dorsey does a great job of concealing his true thoughts – we found that out after the Browns selected Mayfield at No. 1 in the 2018 NFL Draft and the GM admitted he had been zeroed in on the quarterback for a long time – and there’s absolutely no doubt that he will do it again in this coaching search.

Dorsey is already zeroing in again on someone. But who?

Is it Riley? Or McCarthy? Or perhaps both?

Or is it someone else, such as former Browns offensive coordinator Bruce Arians? Or someone off the grid that no one has mentioned?

For what it’s worth, I think Riley’s the guy. I’ve thought that for about a week now. He’s so innovative. He’s the hottest candidate on the market because he is the future of offensive football.

But could Riley build an NFL coaching staff? That’s the question. Here’s another question, though: With the fact that the NFL is adapting so much of the college game, does it really matter that much anymore that Riley has no real pro ties?

Those are all things that Dorsey has to figure out, if indeed he is converging on Riley.

Remember, too, that Dorsey is a guy who likes to push the envelope with progressive thinking.

I’ll take a closer look at McCarthy in my next post as the Browns coaching search continues.

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