NFL insider projects the Lions will have their hearts broken in their OC search
Don’t worry, he might be wrong.
The Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator search is in full swing right now. On Tuesday, the Lions interviewed former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel for the job, and make no mistake, he is likely the top candidate.
The problem is that nine teams are looking for a head coach right now, and McDaniel is expected to be one of the guys who could get one of those gigs. In fact, ESPN’s Dan Graziano projects that he will get one.
ESPN projects the Cleveland Browns will hire Mike McDaniel for their head coach job
“All of the intel we have on this one says the Browns are looking for an offensive-minded head coach who won’t mind keeping Jim Schwartz as the defensive coordinator. (That makes me wonder why they don’t give the head coach job to Schwartz, an outcome I believe is also possible here.)
“Cleveland’s perpetually challenging quarterback situation could make this job a tough sell, but McDaniel is quirky, creative and confident. And he had success in a challenging QB situation during his first two seasons in Miami. It’s not tough to imagine the Browns’ front office wanting to tap into McDaniels’ ideas about how to design and run an offense.”
OK, so here are the things that should make you feel better. The Lions are the only offensive coordinator job that McDaniel has interviewed for. That is a big deal, and it shows that he’s taking the Detroit job seriously.
He has interviewed for the Browns job, but so have Todd Monken, Aden Durde, Dan Pitcher, Tommy Rees, Jim Schwartz, Grant Uldinski, Nate Steelhaase (requested), Jesse Minter (requested), and John Harbaugh (requested). The Browns are casting a very large net for this job.
As Graziano notes, Schwartz could just get the job, and if he doesn’t, the Browns still want to keep him as their DC, meaning the incoming coach doesn’t get to bring their full staff. Plus its hard to overlook the decades-long quarterback issue. So McDaniel, who realistically just has this one more shot at being a head coach, is probably not super keen on jumping into this one. I know I wouldn’t be. We’ll see what happens.
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