New Details Revealed About Wild Tasks Cleveland Browns Are Making Coach Candidates Do

Andrew Berry is making the candidates earn the job in Cleveland with some extra work.

Dec 3, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry reacts during the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns' head coaching search, led by general manager Andrew Berry, has now been going on for multiple weeks, and there are now finalists for the job, along with multiple coaches backing out. 

The finalists for the new head coach are believed to be Jaguars OC Grant Udinski and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, filling the preferred role of a young, offensive-minded coach. 

Earlier today, NFL insider Tom Pelissero went on the Rich Eisen Show to detail how the Browns are going about hiring their new coach. 

“The Browns' search process and interview process, which they have run many times, is unlike any other in the NFL. It plays to certain types of candidates; it is a data-driven operation in Cleveland, so they spent an extraordinary amount of time gathering data on their coaching candidates.” Pelissero said about the search.

This part is not super crazy to report; saying that Cleveland is doing its due diligence on each of its candidates is a respectable part of its search. The next part that Pelissero went into is where Cleveland might differ from the other open jobs in the NFL. 

“You’re talking about taking a personality test, you’re talking about writing an essay, you’re talking about completing homework assignments, and going into both the first and second rounds of interviews. It plays toward the types of candidates they have in the mix, which is very, very smart people.” Pelissero went on.

The bizarre tasks Browns are making their candidates go through

Writing multi-part essays? Completing multiple homework assignments? Yes, you will have to do both to and do well on them to become the next Browns head coach. 

This could be an answer to why candidates Mike McDaniel and Jesse Minter backed out of the job. While both did land other jobs right after the fact, with Minter becoming the next coach of Baltimore, and McDaniel landing with the Chargers as an offensive coordinator. McDaniel is still interviewing for head coaching vacancies, as he is interviewing for Buffalo’s job today. 

As far as fulfilling the Rooney Rule, Pelissero says that with the second interview of Nate Scheelhaase, it will cover the rule. It is important to note that McDaniel would have also fulfilled the rule, but McDaniel backed out before the interview. 

The Browns seemed to be locked in on their guys and have made it clear what kind of guy they are targeting. Let’s just hope that guy likes to write.