The Browns' Coaching Search Just Got Sadder And More Desperate

The Browns remain the only NFL team without a head coach. (And the assistants, concerned the front office has no plan, are jumping ship.) Owner Jimmy Haslam told fans to chill out, that this was the plan all along, that the Browns were prepared to wait until all the coaches left in the postseason were done. By all accounts, their first choice was Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase. Today Gase told the Browns to take him off their list.

Cleveland has held off on picking a coach because they were waiting until Gase was free to interview. Gase called the Browns this morning and told them not to wait for him—he won't be interviewing for the job even after the Super Bowl.

So let's update the Browns' wishlist.

Adam Gase (Nope)Josh McDaniels (Nah)Todd Bowles (No)Ken Whisenhunt (Took the Tennessee job)Ben McAdoo (Went to the Giants)Bill O'Brien (Took the Texans gig)James Franklin (Would rather stay in college)Gus Malzahn (Lolno)Mike Pettine (Interviewed, still pending)Mike Munchak (Interviewed, still pending)Rich Bisaccia (Interviewed, still pending)Dan Quinn (Interviewed, still pending, Browns front office praying he says yes)

Basically, it's Quinn or bust. And if the Browns wait out the Seahawks' DC, there's a good chance Pettine, Bisaccia (both already have jobs), and Munchak (has interviewed elsewhere) will be off the market by Feb. 3. There are no in-house candidates with head coaching experience (and the assistants remaining probably aren't happy about not being allowed to interview elsewhere last year).

Should Quinn stay in Seattle, there's a good chance Cleveland's next head coach will have to be either a)Rob Chudzinski, for a $15 million annual salary, b)Jimmy Haslam, coaching from prison, or c)a season-ticket holder chosen by random draw.

Go Browns!