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What was the deal with Mike Vrabel & Browns coach search | Terry Pluto
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- What was the deal with Mike Vrabel & Browns coach search | Terry Pluto
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Talking to myself about the Browns coaching search:
QUESTION: How could the Browns let Mike Vrabel out of the building?
ANSWER: Sigh.
Q: What kind of an answer is that?
A: What were they supposed to do, take his car keys?
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Q: I’m serious. Vrabel took over a 3-14 team in New England and now they’re in the Super Bowl. He should be coaching the Browns!
A: Here was the situation with Vrabel. He was fired by Tennessee after the 2023 season. He had records of 7-10 and 6-11 in his final two years with the Titans. Before that, he cranked out records of 9-7, 9-7, 11-5 and 12-5. His teams never reached the Super Bowl, and then the Titans faded in the final two seasons.
Q: So what?
A: While Vrabel was the head coach of Titans, he hired Jim Schwartz as a “special defensive assistant.” That was in 2021-22. A respected defensive coordinator, Schwartz suddenly came down with health problems. “My thyroid went kaput,” he said at the 2023 press conference when hired by the Browns as defensive coordinator.
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Q: Interesting, but …
A: After Vrabel was fired following the 2023 season, the Browns brought him in as a “coaching and personnel consultant.”
Q: See, they had him in the building!!!
A: As a consultant, they had no contractual control over him. Vrabel spent the 2024 season with the Browns, mostly helping the coaches. He also was taking a bit of a break from the pressures of head coaching.
Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, right, is thankful for the opportunity Titans head coach Mike Vrable, center, gave him after he left the Eagles.AP
Q: They should have fired Kevin Stefanski after he went 4-13 in 2024 and hired Vrabel.
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A: That meant they would have fired Stefanski only 12 months after he was the 2023 NFL Coach of the Year. But you’re missing something. Even if they fired Stefanski after the 2024 season, who says Vrabel would have taken the Browns job?
Q: What do you mean?
A: New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft loved Vrabel, who played eight years for the Patriots. He would have hired Vrabel to coach New England after the 2023 season. That’s when Kraft fired Bill Belichick. But Vrabel was still with Tennessee. Kraft gave the job to Jerod Mayo for the 2024 season. He fired Mayo after a year with his eye on Vrabel, then a consultant for the Browns.
Q: So you think he would have picked New England over the Browns before the 2025 season. He’s from Akron!
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A: Vrabel was in Cleveland for the 3-14 Browns in 2024. He closely watched the mess with Deshaun Watson . New England with a young Drake Maye at QB was a far more attractive job – especially given how New England’s ownership wanted him. I also doubt Vrabel would have done anything that would make it appear he pushed Stefanski out after the 2024 season.
Q: But Vrabel …
A: Stop with the Vrabel stuff. It wasn’t going to happen.
Q: Are the Browns making the coaching candidates take essay tests?
A: That was the report, and it’s not quite true. Yes, they are giving candidates personality tests. Many corporations do that. My sources told me that candidates were then given “four to six football based questions” for the candidates to answer in writing as they prepare for the second interview. It is designed to set the agenda for the second meeting.
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Q: It still sounds rinky-dink to me.
A: I don’t know what other teams do. I do wonder if they had interviewed a veteran coach such as John Harbaugh, would they have required him to take various tests.
Q: Why didn’t Harbaugh talk to them?
A: He basically interviewed with the Giants. He craved the chance to coach Jaxson Dart , their young QB. It was much like Vrabel was attracted to New England’s Drake Maye. The Browns have a problem …
Q: Do they ever …
A: I’m being specific. I know Shedeur Sanders made the Pro Bowl as an alternate … don’t ask me to explain that … but the point is Sanders and Dillon Gabriel had rocky rookie years in 2025. That is a big negative.
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Q: Everyone else is hiring coaches …
A: Can we stick to the facts? At one point, 10 jobs were open. Four teams are still looking for coaches: Arizona , Las Vegas , Buffalo and the Browns. If you were to look at the original list of 10 openings, the bottom four would have been Tennessee, Arizona, Cleveland and Las Vegas. Tennessee hired former Jets head coach Robert Saleh. The other three are still seeking coaches.
Q: Why do guys keep dropping out on the Browns?
A: In some cases, it’s because they know they are not going to be hired. I believe that was the case with Mike McDaniel, the former Miami coach. He also cancelled his second interview with Buffalo. Jesse Minter cancelled his interview with the Browns when it became clear to him that Baltimore was ready to offer him the Ravens job. Would you rather have Baltimore and Lamar Jackson or the Browns and their kid QBs?
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Los Angeles Rams offensive assistant Nate Scheelhaase is the latest candidate for the Browns coaching job. Kyusung Gong, AP
Q: What about Grant Udinski?
A: The Jacksonville offensive coordinator received a big raise to stay with the Jags. He has a deal with Jacksonville that he can interview for the Buffalo job. Let’s face it, a chance to coach the Bills and QB Josh Allen has a lot more appeal than Cleveland. So he dropped out of the Browns interviewing process.
Q: But they drop out on Cleveland …
A.Because it’s not viewed as a good job by candidates with other options. The Browns had a record of 8-26 in the last two seasons. They have no established QB. They have some talent on defense and some intriguing young players, but it’s a major rebuilding job.
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Q: Now they are talking to Nathan Scheelhaase, the passing coordinator for the Rams.
A. So are the Bills. I don’t know how this will go. They have veteran coaches in Jim Schwartz and Todd Monken awaiting a decision. The Browns need to find a coach who can win some games and develop a QB, so that the next time there is an opening – they would not be ranked near the bottom of the NFL.
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