Cleveland Browns: John Dorsey departure hints at new HC choice

The Cleveland Browns and John Dorsey are reportedly leaning toward separation, which could hint at their top options for a new head coach.

We’re a long way removed from everyone in Cleveland rocking their retro Cleveland Browns dad hats and crewneck sweatshirts to look like general manager John Dorsey, who assembled the latest version of the NFL ‘superteam’ last offseason.

The Browns, under Dorsey’s reign, put together a roster that — at least on paper — appeared to be one of the best and most talented in the NFL.

Unfortunately for the Browns, it was a dysfunctional year filled with unfortunate regression from Baker Mayfield, awful coaching from Freddie Kitchens, and a low point for former top overall pick Myles Garrett in a Thursday Night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers where he swung a helmet at Mason Rudolph.

The disastrous year for the Browns ended without a playoff berth like everyone sort of expected from them, and ended with Kitchens being fired before all of the week 17 games had been finished.

Now, it appears as though Dorsey is gone, too. According to Adam Schefter, some details need to be figured out but the Browns and Dorsey are leaning towards parting ways.

Dorsey has an eye for talent, he’s aggressive as a general manager, and he’s put together some fine rosters in recent years. The interesting thing about this (potential) move is what it could mean for the Browns’ head coaching search.

Would they promote a GM from within, or would they hire a head coach who also has substantial say in what decisions are made about players coming in and going out?

In order to find the answer to that question, we have to look at the Browns’ top coaching targets. At this point, two of the top targets are former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and current New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

McDaniels, who was head coach of the Denver Broncos back in 2009-10 before being fired in the middle of the 2010 season, has to be considered one of the favorites at this point. If that’s the case, it would not be surprising in the least if one of McDaniels’ requirements is roster control, something he had in Denver at a very young age as well.

That didn’t go so well for the Broncos at the time, but McDaniels has had the entire decade to figure things out for his second go-round as a head coach.

McDaniels is also an Ohio native, so perhaps the opportunity to go close to his roots and coach in Cleveland would appeal to him. He was nearly the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts a couple of years ago, but spurned them at the last second.

It would be fascinating to see how McDaniels — coming over from New England — would work with this group of superstar personalities on the Browns. There’s certainly talent there for him to work with and if everyone can get along, it could be a great move for both the Browns and McDaniels.

The apparent decision to part ways with Dorsey indicates that the Browns are potentially considering or maybe even have their sights set on a coach who wants some roster control. McDaniels would certainly fit that bill.