Cleveland Browns, Andrew Berry could explore reunion with Sean McDermott

The Cleveland Browns will have more competition to find their next head coach.

On Monday, the Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott after their playoff exit to the Denver Broncos Saturday evening.

The Bills will have an attractive opening, as candidates would likely be tripping over themselves for a chance to coach 2024 MVP winning quarterback Josh Allen.

However, the Browns could find a retread coaching candidate in McDermott.

Years ago, when Sashi Brown and a young Andrew Berry were running the Browns, the team interviewed McDermott for their head coaching position. The Browns brass wanted to hire McDermott, but were overruled by ownership, who hired Hue Jackson.

Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta left the Browns to go back to baseball a few months ago, but he was another voice pushing Haslam to hire McDermott.

McDermott is 98-50 and won at least 10 games in seven straight seasons. That sort of pedigree doesn’t necessarily grow on trees.

Berry is leading Cleveland’s search for the next head coach of the Browns after firing Kevin Stefanski, who was quickly hired by the Atlanta Falcons.

Now, Berry’s Browns would have an opportunity to circle back with McDermott, the candidate they were enamored with one decade ago.

Browns second interviews start on Monday

The Browns will start their second round of interviews this week in Berea. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is the first candidate up, and he has plenty of support. Pro Bowl defenders Denzel Ward and Myles Garrett both endorsed Schwartz to be the next coach of the Browns.

On Tuesday, the team will meet again with Todd Monken, who served as the offensive coordinator in Cleveland during the disastrous Freddie Kitchens 2019 season. Monken has never been a head coach in the NFL, but has plenty of experience as an offensive coordinator.

That’s not where the reunions will end for the Browns. On Wednesday, they’ll host Mike McDaniel in Berea. The former Miami Dolphins head coach worked under Kyle Shanahan with the Browns in 2014 as a wide receiver coach. He spent the last four years in Miami, and the Browns respect his offensive intellect, squeezing the most out of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

The Browns are also expected to host second interviews with Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, two fast-rising candidates that have never been head coaches. After the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, the Browns will have to wait at least one more week to interview Nathan Scheelhaase in Cleveland.

Perhaps the Browns could slow play their decision further. Berry once thought highly of McDermott, who could be a prime candidate for retread jobs if he wants to continue coaching.