New details about Mike McDaniel's interview with Cleveland Browns revealed

One week after firing Kevin Stefanski, the Cleveland Browns are hosting a top candidate for their coaching vacancy on Monday.

The Browns fired Stefanski, 43, after six seasons in Cleveland. They have casted a wide net in their search that consists of 12 known candidates, including their own coordinators, Jim Schwartz and Tommy Rees.

But on Monday, the Browns will interview former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel for their head coach vacancy.

The Browns have long-admired McDaniel’s offensive genius. They were interested in meeting with the 42-year-old even prior to firing Stefanski. McDaniel was fired by the Dolphins on Thursday.

Breaking: Former #Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel will interview with the #Browns tomorrow for their head coach vacancy.
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) January 12, 2026

McDaniel's history with the Browns

McDaniel had worked for the Browns as a wide receivers coach in 2014 when Kyle Shanahan was the team’s offensive coordinator. Unfortunately, McDaniel was the architect behind the infamous PowerPoint presentation that requested Shanahan’s release from his contract in Cleveland to pursue a job with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons hired Shanahan – and McDaniel followed.

During his four seasons with the Dolphins, McDaniel extracted the most he could out of Tua Tagovailoa. Wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jayden Waddle both found success while McDaniel balanced a dynamic rushing attack, too.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry is leading the search for the Browns. After firing Stefanski on Monday, Berry promised that the team would use ample resources to rebuild their offense this offseason.

Certainly, a coach like McDaniel will want to hear about the team’s plans at quarterback, but also how they plan to fix the offensive line and wide receiver position groups.

The Browns also prefer to keep Schwartz as their team’s offensive coordinator. McDaniel could be open to that, especially after Cleveland’s defense dominated the Dolphins in October.

Cleveland could be one of the only destinations interested in McDaniel as an immediate retread as head coach. While he's also expected to meet with the Tennessee Titans, McDaniel has interest as an offensive coordinator from the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Browns have already completed interviews with unproven coordinators, including Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher and Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde.

Outside of their meeting with Schwartz, McDaniel will be the first proven head coach that the team meets with. They are also expected to meet with ex-Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who will only meet with a handful of interested suitors.

If the Browns cannot win the sweepstakes for Harbaugh, McDaniel would be a tremendous consolation prize. His offenses always delivered and it’s likely there would be cohesion with Schwartz and Berry moving forward.

While the meeting with McDaniel will take place on Monday, expect the Browns to take their time. They will certainly meet with Harbaugh before making any final decisions.

But McDaniel has plenty of fans inside the organization and the Browns will be interested in hearing his ideas about fixing their dreadful offense.