The Cleveland Browns are in the market for a new head coach.
And the best available candidate hit the open market on Tuesday afternoon, more than 24 hours after the Browns fired Kevin Stefanski after six years in Cleveland.
The Browns need to aggressively pursue John Harbaugh, as the Baltimore Ravens fired him after 18 seasons as their head coach.
Harbaugh wrapped up his tenure in Baltimore with 180 wins and 113 losses. Widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the NFL, Harbaugh’s team is built on the backbone of culture, discipline and special teams – three areas of improvement that the Browns should be chasing.
The Ravens made the change after failing to make the NFL Playoffs this season. However, the Ravens made the postseason in 12 of Harbaugh’s 18 seasons in Baltimore. He won Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens and won the AFC North six times. The Ravens have been under .500 just three times in the Harbaugh era.
While Harbaugh will be in demand, the Browns need to act fast.
The Browns already requested an interview with Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who worked in Cleveland with the same title under Freddie Kitchens in 2019.
But hiring Harbaugh should become the main focus.
Perhaps Monken would want to tag along with his old boss in a new market. Or, perhaps Harbaugh would be enamored with current Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who interviewed for several high-profile college football jobs and has a ringing endorsement from the legendary Nick Saban.
Harbaugh is a football lifer, and would instantly usher in a winning culture to Cleveland.
Why would Harbaugh entertain the Browns?
Haslam has deep pockets and a strong desire to win. He’s shaken the “quick to fire” label after giving Stefanski a six-year leash, seeing through projects of Baker Mayfield and Deshaun Watson along the way.
Cleveland has a dominant defense and a reliable kicker, which is the way that Harbaugh dominated this division for many years. After firing Stefanski, Browns general manager Andrew Berry told reporters that the team is planning to invest significant resources into the offense this season.
Harbaugh’s competitive spirit could make him passionate about playing his former team twice per season. After all, the Browns and the Ravens are bitter rivals dating back to when Art Modell moved the franchise in 1995. If Harbaugh brought a consistent winner to Cleveland, he’d instantly be revered as the best coach in the expansion era, especially scorning the Ravens along the way.
A Super Bowl in Cleveland would cement Harbaugh as one of the legends of the sport. They’d erect a statue of the 63-year-old outside of the team’s new domed stadium in Brook Park.
While it’s fun to dream, Harbaugh will realistically have plenty of options, some of which might be perceived as more attractive openings than the Browns. But Haslam’s deep pockets paired with two first-round draft picks can change things, especially if the coach is promised to hand-select a quarterback.
Last year, when the Jaguars moved to hire Liam Coen as their next head coach, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator demanded that general manager Trent Baalke would be terminated. While Berry’s job is safe, the opportunity to land a legendary coach like Harbaugh should move Haslam off of that stance.
Certainly, the Browns will have some competition to hire Harbaugh. But Haslam and Berry constantly preach aggressively taking swings in order to improve the team. This would be the ultimate swing, especially as so many people doubted Cleveland’s decision to move on from Stefanski.
