Among some contingent of Cleveland Browns fans, there is a potential alternate universe in which they hired a new head coach last year and are now getting ready to play in Super Bowl LX.
With Mike Vrabel on staff and seen as a highly coveted head coaching candidate around the NFL, the Browns chose to give Kevin Stefanski another season, and Vrabel was hired to take over the New England Patriots. The respective teams’ fortunes could not have gone in more different directions, and Stefanski was fired while Vrabel is about to play for a championship.
However, if the Browns were given the chance to do it all over again and could hire Vrabel to replace Stefanski, insider Tony Grossi turned heads by saying they wouldn’t have even given him an interview.
“If Mike Vrabel was a candidate this year, he wouldn’t probably even have received an interview from the Browns, let alone be hired,” Grossi said.
.@TonyGrossi thinks the Browns head coach interview process eliminated candidates like Mike McCarthy from consideration.
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/L3u6DFKgmu
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) January 26, 2026
Grossi is basing his bold claim on the way the Browns approached their current search. He said he believes it automatically eliminated older, experienced coaches, and some would have been turned off by the arduous process led by general manager Andrew Berry.
If true, it’s monumentally egregious, especially considering how things have worked out for both franchises. That’s not to say someone like Mike McCarthy would have been the answer, but to not even expect an accomplished Super Bowl champion to be interested does not indicate a truly complete evaluation.
As it stands, the Browns may be on the verge of hiring Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. He and Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski were considered to be among the finalists, and they fit what Grossi said is Cleveland’s desire for a “bright, young, offensive-minded ‘yes man.’”
Of course, the third finalist, current Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, is as far from that description as can be, yet he still ostensibly remains in the running. Or perhaps he was never a serious candidate all along, and Cleveland created that perception either as a fallback option or as a way to get him to stay on any new staff.
In less than a month of looking, the Browns have gone through what feels like a year’s worth of developments and critiques, only to land on what they wanted all along.
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