The Cleveland Browns reported interest in former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has ignited the team’s 2020 coaching search.
On the same day the Cleveland Browns will interview former Super Bowl winning head coach Mike McCarthy, rumors of the team’s interest in Urban Meyer are ramping up.
Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman, a college football reporter, tweeted that the Browns have strong interest in Meyer. Cleveland.com’s Mary Cay Cabot recently tweeted they have no interview scheduled with the Buckeyes’ old coach.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter even said during a TV hit that the Browns would be a more intriguing situation than the Cowboys.
Meyer remains a Wild Card in the coaching search, because nobody knows if he actually wants to return to the sidelines. The past couple of months have seen Meyer carve out a pretty nice niche as a coach whisperer, as he’s reportedly offered advice to the Washington Redskins, as well as Colorado State University.
He appeared to lobby for the Cowboys coaching job back in November, but he may have been just hamming it up for the cameras.
There’s reason for skepticism regarding the rumor linking the Browns and Meyer because it’s been already been reported how tight Meyer supposedly is with Jimmy Haslam. The two are rumored to be as close as Haslam is his fellow Tennessee alum, Peyton Manning.
If that’s the case, you hire him. You don’t the three-time national championship winning head coach compete in interview sessions with Kevin Stefanski and Robert Saleh.
If Meyer is hired, the Browns will win the public relations battle that the organization is currently losing. Fans are fed up with ownership, as Jimmy and Dee make mistake after mistake with their previous hires.
It’s often overlooked because we don’t want anything getting in the way of a good rumor, and that’s Meyer’s health. He had to step away from Florida for health reasons, and in his final year with the Buckeyes, well, there were times he didn’t look well on the sideline.
The Browns have spoken to the owners regarding the search, according to PFN’s Ben Allbright, but he later Tweeted that he does not know if Meyer “Is in play to coach the Browns.”