Josh McDaniels to the Browns?

To the surprise of no one, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is a popular suggestion to replace Freddie Kitchens in Cleveland.

There are plenty of options for the Cleveland Browns if they decide to part ways with Freddie Kitchens. One suggestion is Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley. The connection there is clear, but making the leap from college to the NFL is never easy. If Cleveland decides to choose their next coach from those among the NFL ranks, Josh McDaniels will certainly be a candidate they consider. An option they think should more than twice about.

This is not a criticism of Josh McDaniels the offensive coordinator in New England. McDaniels has obviously done a great job in New England and is the rare Bill Belichick assistant to leave and actually return. The issue is going down the same path that Cleveland has already done twice before. Cleveland has been burned by the Belichick assistant route previously, just like many other teams. Why would they want to rehash something that they have experienced fail in spectacular fashion?

Albert Breer appeared on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland yesterday and made the suggestion of Josh McDaniels.

That’s great that McDaniels may want to coach Baker Mayfield. The success McDaniels experienced with Tom Brady is fantastic. What needs to be considered is just because an offensive coordinator has success with an all-time great quarterback does not mean they are some offensive genius. Adam Gase was great with Peyton Manning in Denver and has parlayed that into one surprising season in Chicago with Jay Cutler and used that as a springboard to two head coaching gigs which have been abject disasters.

Then there is the fact that Josh McDaniels bailed on the Indianapolis Colts. At that moment, McDaniels should be taken off of any prospective coaching list. McDaniels left the Colts out to dry and luckily they were actually able to find a replacement in Frank Reich. Reich may have surpassed what Indy thought they were getting with McDaniels.

Cleveland will have a plethora of options available to them if they part ways with Freddie Kitchens after one season. Cleveland should be careful when it comes to Josh McDaniels.