The Cleveland Browns surprised very few on Monday when they finally decided to part ways with two-time Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski, after six years as head coach. Stefanski is now one of the most highly coveted head coaching candidates around the league, while the Browns have begun casting a wide net to find his successor.
Even though the writing was on the wall, these are big shoes to fill, as Stefanski delivered some of the most successful seasons in Browns history. The team cycled through seven coaches in ten years before he came along and provided some stability, and that kind of futility and instability can’t happen again. During a recent episode of Afternoon Drive on 92.3 The Fan, Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk shared that he likes the idea of former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel as Stefanski’s successor.
He stopped short of saying he is his preferred choice, but he shared why he believes it could be a fit.
“I am intrigued by the prospect of a Mike McDaniel coming in, and then you would be able to keep Jim Schwartz in that particular case. You would inject some more creativity into the offense. I think McDaniel, with a different quarterback, and putting together a run game, that’s intriguing. I don’t know if people are going to be excited about that. I don’t know if ‘excited’ is the right word.”
"I am intrigued by the prospect of Mike McDaniel coming in…I don't know if 'excited' is the right word."
🚨 @MylesASimmons w/ @NickWilsonSays & @JPeterlin on Mike McDaniel's candidacy in the #Browns head coach search pic.twitter.com/EXUvwMoAg4
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) January 9, 2026
McDaniel seemed like a lock to be fired after starting 2-7, but he fought hard down the stretch and pushed his team to 7-10 despite the general manager getting fired and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa getting benched down the stretch. He survived Black Monday but was surprisingly fired later in the week, immediately getting added to what is now a deep crop of potential head coaching candidates.
He is praised as one of the best offensive minds in the game, and many could give him the benefit of the doubt for how his tenure in Miami ended, with most of the blame potentially being placed on Tagovailoa. A strong argument can be made that the Browns need to focus on hiring an offensive head coach, and he’d be exactly that. The problem is, Cleveland isn’t one of the most intriguing destinations at the moment due to an uncertain quarterback situation, a lack of cap space, and 80 percent of the offensive line hitting free agency.
Andrew Berry could have to work overtime to charm McDaniel enough to pry him away from some of the other destinations, but you never know what could happen.
NEXT: Tony Dungy Has Advice For Browns When Hiring Their Coach
