Skeptical On Cavs’ Deal, Unless There’s Another Move Coming

The Cleveland Cavaliers made a deal Saturday night, sending De’Andre Hunter, who was acquired last season at the deadline to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal. The Cavs received Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder in the trade.

One first thought is that this move has to be followed up by yet another transaction prior to Thursday’s deadline because otherwise it doesn’t make a lot of sense.

As we have been saying for at least three seasons, the Cavaliers need to get bigger, and this trade does the opposite. Hunter was the one wing Cleveland had that had some size at 6’7″, and the two players who come back to the wine and gold are 6’4″ (Ellis) and 6’1″ (Schroder).

If there is another move coming, then this deal may make some sense, but as it stands right now, it looks like this was a move to reduce the luxury tax bill the Cavs have to pay.

We aren’t capologists, but the reports are this trims Cleveland’s bill by $40 million, but we also don’t think Dan Gilbert worries about that if the team is a title contender.

Hunter was a disappointment this season, without a doubt. His scoring was about the same as it was after coming over from Atlanta last season, but his shooting dropped from 48.5% to 42.3% overall and from 42.6% to 30.8% from three-point range.

We believe part of this is because Kenny Atkinson was using him more than anyone would like at the “4”, when it is pretty clear to us he’s a “3”. Hunter was one of the Cavs’ bigger wings, so if either Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley were out, he was the logical player to shift to the power forward spot.

But that’s because of the team’s chronic lack of size up front.

Ellis was the darling of this trade deadline, but frankly we don’t see it. He can shoot, a 41.6% career mark from three and he is a solid defender, but he profiles as another bench piece, and really at his size, he plays the same spot as Jaylon Tyson, the Cavs’ breakout player in 2025-26, and their first round pick last season.

It seems now like the Cavaliers have a logjam at guard when Darius Garland comes back. Along with the starting backcourt of Garland and Donovan Mitchell, Atkinson have to find time for Schroder and Craig Porter Jr. None of those players are bigger than 6’3″.

At the small forward spot, you have Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, Ellis, and when he is ready to play again, Max Strus. Tyson is the biggest at 6’6″.

Dean Wade is 6’9″, but more of a perimeter defender, and at this point of his career, so is pleasant surprise Nae’Qwan Tomlin at 6’8″.

That’s a lot of small lineups, which might work in the regular season, but in the playoffs, more often than not, teams need length.

It has been reported that if the Cavs can move Ball and perhaps Thomas Bryant by the trade deadline on Thursday, they would be out of the second apron and have more flexibility in making trades. If this deal is the prelude to that, and perhaps taking a bigger swing at some size, then perhaps it will make sense to us then.

But on its own merit, we don’t like this move. Size matters in basketball. And the Cavaliers seems to keep getting smaller.

Should Browns Look Within If Schwartz Is Out?

Apparently, all the rumors about the Browns telling coaching candidates they wanted Jim Schwartz to stay on as defensive coordinator were a bunch of baloney.

Or the Browns did tell the interviewees they would like to keep the veteran coach on staff, but they didn’t let Schwartz in on the plan.

According to reports, Schwartz was angered that he didn’t get the job, left the facility and told the staff goodbye. At 59, he probably thought this was his best shot to get a second chance at being a head coach, but the Browns seemed to prefer an offensive head man.

We thought Schwartz would be a good hire as the head coach, and pairing him with a younger offensive coordinator would have been a solid plan, but the front office had to know this was a possible consequence to naming Todd Monken as the head coach.

Of course, we have seen the print and broadcast media saying the Browns should work things out with the man who guided a very good defense in his three years here, because he’s under contract, but do you really want someone who is disgruntled around your football team?

That would be another odd circumstance in the story of this franchise.

Now, here’s the part the Browns need to learn from past mistakes.

When Bill Callahan left the Browns to go to Tennessee to coach with his son before the 2024 season, Cleveland went out and hired Andy Dickerson to coach the offensive line. By the middle of the season, he wasn’t really involved with that job with assistant line coach Roy Istvan and consultant Mike Vrabel handling the duties.

We always wondered why they didn’t hire Scott Peters, Callahan’s assistant, who went on to New England and is currently the Bengals’ O-Line coach. The thought was continuing the scheme and work habits put in place by one of the best coaches for that position in the business.

So, for us, the logical person to take over the defense would be linebackers’ coach Jason Tarver. We always hear the people involved with the team raving about his ability, and he has defensive coordinator experience with the Raiders from 2014-16.

You would think Tarver has learned a lot from his time with Schwartz and he has been with mainstays like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, being on the Browns’ staff since 2020.

And he could continue the scheme that Schwartz has put in place.

We get that this would have to be signed off with Monken, who may have someone else in mind to run the defense.

And not to diminish Schwartz’ contribution over the last three seasons, there are probably several defensive minds who given Garrett, Ward, Carson Schwesinger, Mason Graham, Tavin Campbell, etc.

There is a lot of talent on the Cleveland defense.

For the Browns, much like Callahan, let Schwartz move on and be happy coaching at his next stop. As we said before, it would not be fair to Monken to have someone who was forced to be there on his staff.

Jim Schwartz is one of the best defensive coordinators in the business, but he is hardly the only good one out there. The players are in place and why not try a little continuity instead of a totally new system that might take half a season to figure out?

After A Weird Process, Browns Go With Monken

The Cleveland Browns finally came to a conclusion on their head coaching search, hiring Todd Monken for the job.

Our reaction to the hire will be reserved until Monken actually coaches a game because despite what everyone will read over the next five months until training camp starts, no one really knows what kind of job he will do.

Monken, who will be 60 a week from today, has been an offensive coordinator in the pros with Tampa from 2016-18, with the Browns in 2019, and with the Ravens for the past three years with the three years in between spent at Georgia.

He ran a passing offense with the Buccaneers and a running offense with the Ravens, so he seems like someone who can adapt, which is always a good trait.

He’s only been a head coach at the college level, three years at Southern Mississippi where he took over an 0-12 team and led them to a 9-5 record in his third year.

However, the month long process is something we have to take issue with because it points to the reason as to why this organization has been stuck in the mire for the last 14 years, since Jimmy Haslam bought the team.

“A camel is a horse designed by committee” – Alec Issigonis
“If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it” – Charles Kettering
“If you see a snake, just kill it, don’t appoint a committee on snakes” – Ross Perot
“A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours” – Milton Berle

There are hundreds of quotes criticizing committees out there, yet that’s how the Browns continue to look for head coaches.

They started out with nine candidates, whittled it down to six. Two of the half-dozen dropped out, one because they took another head coaching job, leaving four to undergo second interviews.

That field was narrowed to three.

This seems like a process where either too many people are involved or the person/people making the decision are afraid to make a mistake. That’s because it’s a committee making the decision.

We haven’t hired an NFL head coach, but we have hired people and the process the Browns went through seems incredibly unwieldy. First, if we had a pool of nine candidates, we would probably narrow it down to three or four right off the bat.

Of course, that’s just one person doing the review. If you have three, four, or even five people involved, each of those people are going to have their own favorites.

Then after the second talk, you would have two candidates and then pass the decision over to the ultimate decision maker, in this case, ownership.

It points out once again that what the Browns really need is a head of football operations, who then hires a GM and a coach and they all work together, having one vision for how to build a winning team.

Instead, we have another cliche: “too many cooks spoil the broth”.

With the current set up, we fear the only way the Browns will succeed is by luck.

On the other hand, Monken is a veteran coach, and we agree the Browns need that. They need to win and we believe they couldn’t afford to go through a learning curve with a younger first-time head coach.

Was he a compromise between the owner who wanted Jim Schwartz and the GM who wanted Nate Scheelhaase? Maybe. But that’s not going to matter to Monken, who is getting the biggest opportunity of his career and will want to make the most of it.



The Cleveland Franchise Icon: Jose Ramirez

We have always looked wistfully at baseball teams that have a franchise icon. Kansas City has George Brett and Milwaukee has Robin Yount. Pittsburgh, of course, has Roberto Clemente. A fan of the Cleveland Indians/Guardians never had that.

When Jim Thome was elected to the Hall of Fame, the team erected a statue of him in Heritage Park at Progressive Field. But as we all know, Thome left Cleveland to sign with the Phillies as a free agent, then was traded to the White Sox, and played for several other teams, and did come back here for a cup of coffee in 2011.

There have been a lot of great players here especially in the Jacobs/Progressive Field years: Albert Belle, Kenny Lofton, C.C. Sabathia, Francisco Lindor. None of them stayed.

We think the last position player to play 10 years in Cleveland and never play for another team was Al Rosen. He retired in 1956.

That will change thanks to Jose Ramirez, who signed an extension with the Guardians over the weekend through the 2032 season. Unless something drastic happens, Ramirez will retire here and will never wear another big-league team’s uniform.

Everyone around baseball should be aware of Ramirez’ six top five finishes in the MVP voting, the most by any player who has never won the award. It will be difficult for him to win now because the voting seems to be based on WAR, and the nuance of how much impact he has in the clubhouse won’t be figured in.

By the time he retires, Ramirez will likely be the greatest position player in the history of the franchise. Soon after the season starts, he will take the field for his 1620th game, breaking Terry Turner’s franchise record.

He is just 65 at bats shy of breaking Napoleon Lajoie’s record for at bats. He is currently 7th in hits with 1668 and could be 4th behind Lajoie, Tris Speaker, and Earl Averill by the end of the season.

He is third in runs scored and will likely be second behind Averill by season’s end. He is 53 home runs away from passing Thome as the franchise home run leader and is second in RBIs and should pass Averill in that category in 2027 (if there is a season).

Oh yeah, he’s also second all-time in stolen bases behind Kenny Lofton.

And for the sabermetric crowd, Ramirez is 5th in WAR behind Lajoie, Speaker, Feller, and Lou Boudreau and it isn’t out of the realm of possibility he will pass all four by the time he is ready to hang up his #11 jersey, which we don’t think it is going out on a limb to suggest he will be the last player to wear that number with Cleveland.

And although we are frequent critics of the Dolan ownership, hats off to them for making sure Ramirez will not play someplace else. However, it also takes two to tango, and no doubt Ramirez’ desire to be in Cleveland is a huge factor in getting this extension done.

What would really be great is improving the current roster so Ramirez can continue to play for winning teams and what would even be better, have a chance to compete for a championship, which he had said he wants to bring to this city.

Perhaps the biggest testament to that is the number of intentional walks issued to Ramirez over the last four seasons. He been given over 20 free passes in three of those seasons, leading the American League in 2022 and 2023.

Hopefully, the front office can get him some help. He deserves that for all he has done for the Cleveland franchise.

Next Two Weeks Key For The Wine And Gold

After playing 47 games, you would think a coach would know what his team is all about. We are guessing Kenny Atkinson doesn’t know what to think about this year’s Cleveland Cavaliers.

No doubt injuries have played a large role in the inconsistency. The Cavs have just five players who have played in 40 games (meaning have missed less than seven) thus far, and only two, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley, would be considered regular starters.

We talk about the lack of real size on the team, and one of the two reliable big men, Jarrett Allen, who played in all 82 games last season, has missed a dozen games already.

The Cavs have had a schedule advantage as well, playing 26 games at home so far, meaning they will have just 15 contests at the Rocket Arena for the balance of the regular season.

That’s why the next two weeks seem very important.

First, Darius Garland could be back by the end of next week. Garland has already missed 22 games this season after recovering from off-season surgery and injuring the big toe (guess we call it the “great toe” these days) on his other foot, the one that didn’t need a procedure in the off-season.

The first west coast trip happens this week too. After home games against Orlando and the Lakers on Monday and Wednesday, the home and road game disparity will even up with a five-game trip which will include games against Phoenix, Portland, the Clippers, Sacramento, and Denver.

The second trip west occurs at the end of the season, when the Cavaliers finish with five of their last eight on the road.

The trade deadline also looms, coming on February 5th while the team in on their trek west. Because of their position in the second apron on the salary cap, it will be difficult for Koby Altman to make a move, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a ton of speculation.

We will still insist the Cavs need more size, both height and bulk. De’Andre Hunter has been a disappointment this season, particularly his shooting, but we also wonder if a part of that is him having to play the “4” a lot, a position he isn’t very effective at.

The addition of Nae’Qwan Tomlin has helped a bit. So has Larry Nance Jr. getting healthy, but both of those players are lean and although they can block some shots, a physical rebounding opponent is still going to give the Cavs a problem.

Remember the Utah game where the Jazz bullied Cleveland on the boards.

It would be nice to also have less players who are one-dimensional. That’s why Jaylon Tyson has been a revelation. He’s a solid defender and can also play on the offensive end.

Atkinson has been playing Dean Wade down the stretch recently, and other teams don’t feel the need to defend him because he refuses to shoot, especially in the 4th quarter.

Tendencies like that will only be highlighted more when the playoffs come.

For all of the fussing and questioning of this team, they are still just two games out of the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. So, if they can start playing consistently, with better effort on the defensive end especially, the Cavaliers will be fine.

But can they do it?

It feels like the next two weeks can be a litmus test for Atkinson and his squad. Will they survive the long trip?

Browns’ Coaching Search Engenders Many Questions

Let’s just say our trust level in the Browns’ front office picking the right person to be the team’s next head coach is low. This is based on their decision making over the last ten years.

While we did think they made a good move in basically going to a full rebuild following a 3-13 season in 2015, the decisions made after that, such as changing the course two years in and then the whole Deshaun Watson situation, makes us doubtful in this group.

To be fair, the group has changed a bit. Paul DePodesta left the organization to run the Colorado Rockies, leaving the Haslam family, which we would guess includes son-in-law JW Johnson and GM Andrew Berry to make the choice.

One thing that bothers us is the second interview group. It seems like the Browns talked to about ten candidates and narrowed it down to six or seven, which seems too many. We have hired people and let’s say we see ten resumes we like, after talking to each of them, a usual number to reduce the field to would be three or four.

And no, we haven’t interviewed for a head coach of an NFL team.

Our fear is that each of the people involved have their own favorite(s), and that’s why there are so many candidates still in the second round of talks. That’s the “collaborative process” that is apparently still going to continue.

And no, that’s not really the right way to run things.

The Browns like to hire smart people and that on face value is a good thing. However, if you have three smart people in a room and they all have different ideas on how to get something done, nothing will get accomplished.

What you need is to put together people who are on the same page in completing a task and that way, the problem will be solved.

The best front offices are made up of a coach and GM who are on the same page in terms of how to win and how to build a roster. Also, having a GM that is a great talent evaluator helps as well.

In that model, the GM and scouting staff can identify the type of player the coaching staff wants/needs and they find those players.

Does anyone think Berry can identify a good quarterback, good offensive linemen, and good wide receivers? Maybe he can, but the other people involved in decision making overruled him.

One other thought…does anyone believe that the Browns, out of all the teams in the NFL can identify the next wunderkind new coach?

That’s why we are skeptical of the growing groundswell for Jaguars’ offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and Rams’ passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Both would be huge risks as head coaches. Maybe they would be the next Sean McVey? Or maybe they’d be Shane Steichen?

The point is the Browns need someone who can teach them how to win, how to be a football team that competes for playoff spots. That sounds like Sean McDermott, who should be a top candidate.

We just have little confidence they are interested in a coach like that.

Spring Training Nears And Guardians Offense Is Still Subpar

As of today, spring training opens for the Cleveland Guardians in one month. The regular season is about nine weeks away. Yes, snow covers the ground in northeast Ohio, but in a few weeks, baseball will be in the news.

Actually, it is in the news for some franchises, as those teams have made moves to try to improve weaknesses from last season. Other franchises are making news by pushing the sport toward a work stoppage after the 2026 season. Yes, we are talking about you, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After the season, Steven Vogt talked about improving the bullpen and the offense. The front office has signed some bullpen arms, the most notable being Shawn Armstrong, but it looks like basically they are trying solve that issue with quantity, signing Colin Holderman, Connor Brogdon, and most recently Yorman Gomez.

We don’t necessarily disagree with that because bullpens are arguably the most volatile part of any team, and it is quite possible that by the end of the season, one of the mainstays of the Cleveland bullpen will be someone who isn’t on the radar right now.

But perhaps the bullpen won’t matter because the Guardians had the worst offense in the American League last season, and third worst in all of Major League Baseball, and simply haven’t done anything about it.

Yes, team president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff will tell you they are trying to provide a runway for the Guards’ top prospects, meaning Chase DeLauter, George Valera, and Travis Bazzana, and to a lesser point, C.J. Kayfus and Juan Brito.

And we will offer the usual opinion we have about this organization at times: Wishing and hoping is not a plan. It’s a great song by Dusty Springfield.

If the Guardians were a 90-loss team, going with the young players and giving them a long leash to see what they can do, should be the plan. But that’s not where they are, they are the two-time defending champions in the AL Central, and the goal, the plan, should be how do we go from being ousted in the League Championship Series in ’24 and in the Wild Card Series in ’25 to get to the World Series.

A particular area where the Guardians need help is right-handed hitting. As a team, they had a 647 OPS vs. left-handed pitching and their hitters from the right side against righties batted just .186 with a 545 OPS.

In short, they need a right-handed bat.

All of the young players mentioned earlier hit from the left side outside of Brito, who is a switch-hitter. The Guardians need someone to hit from the right side of the plate.

And what happens if DeLauter or Valera struggle when the season opens, if they even open the regular season with the team? The Guardians are notoriously conservative having young players open the year with the big club, choosing to keep them out of the cold weather.

So, as of right now, get ready to see the same group who struggled to score runs last season getting a lot of at bats.

Remember, the Guardians finished 88-74 last year. Based on their run differential, they should have been 80-82. They had luck on their side.

The best right-handed hitter Cleveland had a year ago was Gabriel Arias. Think about that and think about should the front office be satisfied with that.

What Are Browns Trying To Accomplish With New Coaching Hire?

Tell me really. How much confidence do you have that the Browns won’t screw up this coaching search?

There is an old saying that when you decide to fire someone, a good organization has a plan as to who is going to succeed them. For example, New England knew when they let Jerod Mayo go, that they had a very good chance of hiring Mike Vrabel, a former Patriot player who had a very good coaching resume.

Does anyone think the Browns had a plan?

Of course, we advocated for Cleveland to do what it could to get John Harbaugh, knowing the best asset the Browns had was money. We also felt the next logical person to get the job is defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and we still feel that way.

Many people in the local media are saying the Browns’ job isn’t as bad as it is viewed nationally, and there is some merit to that. On ESPN Radio’s “Unsportsmanlike”, they viewed the job as the third best among the available openings, behind the Giants and Ravens.

Why do people nationally think the Cleveland head coaching position is toxic? First, it comes from history. While Kevin Stefanski did have six seasons at the helm, prior to that it was musical chairs, with a change seemingly every two years.

That gave the Haslam family a reputation as meddlers. And the thought has occurred here that this search might be more about having control over the head coach and less about winning football games.

The reason is that many of the names being bandied about are very young coaches. Now, we understand some of them may be being brought in to talk about an offensive coordinator post, but if the Browns hire one of these wunderkinds, don’t you think that gives the front office an opportunity to pick some assistants?

It seems at times that it is a classic case of “yes, we want to win, but we want to do it our way”. They have an idea of what they want the organization to look like, but based on that track record, it hasn’t worked. Yet they seem unwilling to make any changes. They are in love with the collaborative effort.

What the Browns need most is a change in culture, leadership, and accountability. That’s a big reason we wanted them to get serious about Harbaugh. He would change the culture. And it’s also why Andrew Berry should have been let go as well.

The job might have been more desirable if the new coach had a chance to bring in his own GM, one that knew how to pick offensive linemen and bigger wide receivers.

Who is the leader in the Browns’ locker room? It might just be rookie Carson Schwesinger, who gutted it out in the penultimate contest against the Steelers.

They need someone who is going to come in and not worry about a “rebuilding plan” and how are they going to get a franchise quarterback. They need someone who is all about winning.

That’s why right now, the best pairing would be to hire Schwartz and pair him with one of the bright offensive minds they have interviewed. Schwartz can pick one of his defensive assistants to handle the coordinator post.

Could it work out for the Browns? Of course. People win the lottery every day too.

Has the ownership looked in the mirror and asked if they need to get a “Lord of Football”? Let’s just say the odds are slim.

A Year Makes A Huge Difference For Cavs

It is amazing what a difference a year makes for the Cleveland Cavaliers. A year ago at the halfway mark of the season, the wine and gold were sitting at 36-6 and visions of a playoff run into the NBA Finals dancing in their heads.

Today, they are sitting at 23-19 and if the season ended today, they would be in the Play In Tournament. At the beginning of the year, we said it was pretty much a certainty that the Cavs would end up in the playoffs. We still would be shocked if they didn’t make it, but it is no longer the certainty it was.

Yes, injuries are a factor. But Kenny Atkinson’s squad was healthy on Monday night against Utah, and they Cavs laid a gigantic egg at home, losing to the 14-25 Jazz by 11 points, falling behind 23-4 in the first quarter.

There clearly is something missing.

The obvious problem is the defense. Last year, Cleveland ranked 8th in the NBA in defensive rating and this year they have dropped to 14th. Since they held Golden State to 99 points in a loss on December 6th, they have allowed more than 120 points eight times in the last 17 contests.

And in three of those other games, they’ve given up 119, 118, and 117.

In their most impressive win in that span, a victory over San Antonio on the road, they allowed the Spurs just 101 points. Let’s just say it’s a lot easier to win when you don’t need to put up 125 points to do it.

And last night, another impressive win, and again, they held the Sixers to 107.

They have forgotten to defend the three-point shot. Last season, they ranked 13th, allowing opponents to hit 35.9% of the long-range shot. Currently, they rank last, giving them up at a 38.6% rate.

Overall, they aren’t too bad, ranking 13th in defensive field goal percentage as a whole, but even that is a drop from last year’s #3 ranking. Isaac Okoro doesn’t make that much of a difference, folks.

Speaking of Okoro, the player he was dealt for, Lonzo Ball, seems to be out of Atkinson’s rotation. We liked the deal at the time because he added size and playmaking to the backcourt, but his shooting has fallen off a cliff.

He was a career 40% shooter overall and 36% from three, but with the Cavs is making just 31.2% from the floor and an abysmal 27.6% from beyond the arc.

And reports are that last year’s addition at the trade deadline, De’Andre Hunter, wants out. Hunter is still solid in the midrange and also provides the only real size Cleveland has on the wings, so hopefully that situation can be worked out.

However, a career 36.6% shooter from three, and last season, hit 42.6% for the Cavs, Hunter can’t find his long-range stroke, hitting just 31% this season.

And as a second apron team, team president Koby Altman’s options are limited. He will have to be very creative to make a significant move.

We will say it again; this team needs to add size. Long athletic teams give the Cavs trouble.

What Altman needs to do is add size, but if he works a trade involving Hunter, he is trading his tallest wing. So, that doesn’t do anything.

Sure, the Cavs could put it together and reel off six or seven wins in a row. But more and more it feels like this team is broken and the title window which appeared to be wide open last season, is only open very slightly.

Keeping Schwartz In One Way Or Another Should Be A Goal For Browns

It’s coaching search time for the Cleveland Browns and we have already said the best choice for the team would be to get John Harbaugh, although we have our doubts whether or not the Haslams and Andrew Berry will be able to get it done.

The Browns have already interviewed both of their coordinators, Tommy Rees and Jim Schwartz. Schwartz is an interesting candidate in that he, of course, has previous head coaching experience with the Lions from 2009-2013, going 29-51 in his tenure there with one playoff appearance.

It has been reported that the Browns would like to retain Schwartz as the defensive coordinator, if at all possible, to work with whomever is selected as the new head man.

And that makes total sense.

Look, we know there are a lot of coaches who will want to come in and have “their guys” in place. Many of them also want the same thing in players, so they gut the current roster and sometimes that is merited, but at times they are also getting rid of good players whose only problem is they were picked by the previous regime.

We understand that on the coaching side of things. Coaches obviously have connections with other guys who have done that job, and heck, if you are running any kind of organization, you want to work with people who have a similar philosophy.

But Jim Schwartz should be a different story. He is one of the best at what he does in running a defense. The Browns have ranked in the top five in yards allowed in two of his three seasons as the DC, and if he is willing to stay with the franchise in that capacity, it shouldn’t be a negative for a younger, offensive minded coach if they are offered the job.

If the Browns hired a guy with a defensive background, we could understand there could be a clash in philosophies with Schwartz. That brings us to our next point.

We wouldn’t be opposed to giving Schwartz the head coaching job and bringing aboard a new offensive mind. Yes, that would likely mean a revolving door for the OC job, because if the new coordinator has a lot of success here, meaning the Browns suddenly become an offensive juggernaut, that guy is going to be on the short list during the next coaching cycle.

We mentioned Schwartz’ record with the Lions, but we wouldn’t hold that against him. First, it has been more than 10 years since he was last a head coach, and we believe many coaches learn more about the job the longer they do it. We are sure over this time period he had time to reflect on what we would do differently if he got another opportunity.

Right now, we think it is important for the Browns to choose someone who has done the job before. Hiring a head coach and hoping he will grow into the job and have some growing pains isn’t the best plan. And we’ve all seen the “hire the hot coordinator” theory in action and sometimes, those guys show they are not suited to being the head man.

So, while Harbaugh should be the #1 choice, we don’t have a huge issue with Mike McDaniel getting the gig, with the assumption Schwartz stays as DC, or hiring Schwartz with a young offensive coordinator.

Whether the ownership and Andrew Berry think that way is another matter.