The Cleveland Browns have reached an awkward stage of their head coaching search where they are now getting actively denied left and right as candidates like Mike McDaniel and Jesse Minter have turned down second interviews. It hasn’t been the smoothest search, and it certainly throws a little salt in the wound when Minter cancels his Browns interview and joins their AFC North rival to become the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite being left at the altar a few times, there are still plenty of intriguing candidates out there. ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently chimed in to provide his two cents, as he believes the Browns are now choosing between three different coaches.
Schefter stopped by The Pat McAfee Show recently to share the latest on what he is hearing on Cleveland’s search. He believes there is an internal candidate and two other external candidates who both happen to be intriguing young offensive innovators in the running.
“It seems like the Browns are looking at one of these young offensive minds, whether that’s the Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski or the Rams passing coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase or Jim Schwartz. To me, that’s the Browns’ choice, one of these young offensive minds, or Jim Schwartz.”
"It seems like the Browns are looking at Grant Udinski and Nathan Scheelhaase..
I still think they're gonna be looking strongly at Jim Schwartz" ~ @AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/0wSzQht5Nk
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 23, 2026
If these are the final three candidates, the Browns are in good hands, because all three are unquestionably held in high regard by the rest of the league. Udinski and Scheelhaase have been coveted by other teams during this head coaching cycle, while Schwartz is seen as one of the best defensive coordinators of his generation.
Schefter pointed out that Schwartz would make sense as a way to ensure Cleveland’s defense remains as great as it has been over the past few years. If Cleveland is worried about losing him and seeing its defense regress, the right move might be to simply promote him and find a strong offensive coordinator to help him out.
Udinski and Schwartz have now had multiple interviews, and Scheelhaase could soon follow suit. Some resolution could certainly be coming down the pipeline in the next few days, and hopefully, this can get done, and everyone can move on to other priorities.
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