Many have assumed the Cleveland Browns are on Josh McDaniels' shortlist of head coach openings. ESPN's Adam Schefter isn't so sure.
During an appearance Friday on WEEI's "Mut & Callahan" show, Schefter insisted neither McDaniels nor the Browns have expressed interest in making the New England Patriots offensive coordinator Cleveland's head coach.
“Cleveland has not put in a slip. (McDaniels) has not expressed any interest in the Cleveland job, so Cleveland is just kind of out there," Schefter said, via WEEI.com. "Who knows if anything will ever happen there, but there has been nothing from his end and nothing from the Browns' end at this time to make you think something is going to happen there.
"That doesn’t seem to be an option right now. Now, teams sometimes go through interviews and decide, ‘You know what, let’s go take a look at this guy,’ or they change their minds. That hasn’t happened yet.”
Schefter's insight seems to push back on a report Thursday from Steve Doerschuk of The Canton (Ohio) Repository, who suggested McDaniels is "enthusiastically interested" in the Browns job.
Doerschuk reported that Cleveland has only communicated with McDaniels via backchannels, which would explain why they haven't requested an interview with him.
Schefter seems to think that request won't come, however. The Browns already have a lengthy list of head coach candidates that includes Mike McCarthy, Jim Caldwell, Kevin Stefanski and Patriots linebackers coach Brian Flores, as well as internal candidates Gregg Williams and Freddie Kitchens.
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Cleveland was expected to be a coveted opening for McDaniels, who would get to work with promising young quarterback Baker Mayfield on an improving squad that exceeded expectations this season. If the Browns indeed are off the table for McDaniels, though, the Green Bay Packers would be the lone team on his current list after he reportedly passed on the Cincinnati Bengals' interview request.
McDaniels reportedly is interviewing with the Packers on Friday, as is Flores.
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