Cleveland Browns: Where does Josh McDaniels’ candidacy stand?

The Cleveland Browns are still searching for a coach, as many wonder what’s become of Josh McDaniels’ candidacy for the job.

The NFL Divisional Round Saturday was spent connecting dots as the fans and media began connecting dots to see which coaches and players could mesh in Jimmy Haslam’s organizational structure.

Andrew Berry is tied to Kevin Stefanski in marriage based on analytics. Berry’s team, the Eagles, also employed another coaching candidate: Jim Schwartz.  Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds is connected to Robert Saleh, while even Brian Daboll’s candidacy is still alive, as he’s tied to Bills assistant GM Joe Schoen.

And McDaniels, the wale Jimmy Haslam has been trying to land for six years, who interviewed for seven hours, brought his wife, and is the hometown guy, who reportedly really wants the job? Radio silence.

"“It is a sign that McDaniels and the Browns disagree on the philosophy or makeup of the personnel department being outlined by DePodesta,” wrote TheLandonDemand’s Tony Grossi."

So, is McDaniels out of the race? It would seem that way if Pro Football Talk hadn’t published a story linking the Patriots offensive coordinator to Berry.

It’s a move right of WWE? There doesn’t seem to be a professional connection between the two, but at the same time, there doesn’t seem to be a connection between Berry and Stefanski. The only reason those two get married up is “Analytics.”

With McDaniels coming from Bill Belichick’s coaching tree, it’s worth remembering that the former Browns’ coach was one of the first coaches to start embracing data as a means to getting an edge. It wasn’t called analytics then, but the idea was the same.

In the McDaniels-Berry partnership, the Browns would have their strong coach, a la Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh, while Berry supplies the players.

For what it’s worth, Yahoo’s Charles Robinson believes the opposite of what the PFT blog posted.

Pieces and parts seem to be falling into place as everyone plays connects the dots, but as Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline noted, Haslam may not stick to the list at the end of the day.