{"id":41449,"date":"2026-01-10T23:48:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T23:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=41449"},"modified":"2026-01-10T23:48:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T23:48:42","slug":"browns-take-major-step-toward-hiring-coach-john-harbaugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=41449","title":{"rendered":"Browns Take Major Step Toward Hiring Coach John Harbaugh"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2251880568_cd7a29-e1768074237914.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2251880568_cd7a29-e1768074237914.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2251880568_cd7a29-e1768074237914.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2251880568_cd7a29-e1768074237914.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Browns Take Major Step Toward Hiring Coach John Harbaugh\" width=\"780\" height=\"437\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Cleveland Browns have officially thrown their hat in the ring for the services of former Baltimore Ravens\u00a0head coach John Harbaugh.<\/p>\n<p>Dianna Russini of The Athletic reported on Saturday, January 10 that Cleveland has contacted Harbaugh\u2019s representation and is in the process of setting up a date and time for an interview.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You can officially add the Cleveland Browns to the list of teams that have reached out to John Harbaugh to set up an interview for their open head coach position, per source.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DMRussini\/status\/2010045024030130592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can officially add the Cleveland Browns to the list of teams that have reached out to John Harbaugh to set up an interview for their open head coach position, per source,\u201d Russini wrote on X.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Andrew Berry Offers Insight Into Browns\u2019 Search for Head Coach<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5696467\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2247022734-e1767692124649.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Browns Take Major Step Toward Hiring Coach John Harbaugh\" width=\"782\" height=\"441\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5696467\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5696467\">GettyCleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Around the same time Russini reported the news about a pending meeting between Harbaugh and the Browns, Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry spoke with media members about his team\u2019s search for former head coach Kevin Stefanski\u2019s replacement.<\/p>\n<p>The Browns fired Stefanski on the first day of their offseason following six years at the helm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll be looking for something different than maybe some of the other openings have based on, you know, where they are as a team,\u201d Berry said Saturday, per ESPN\u2019s Daniel Oyefusi. \u201cAnd some good coaches will fit us, but they won\u2019t fit the [Tennessee] Titans. Some will fit the [New York] Giants, and they won\u2019t necessarily fit us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut we\u2019re looking for the right leader and the right partner for our present situation,\u201d Berry continued. \u201cAnd I have a lot of confidence that we\u2019ll be able to find that person.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>John Harbaugh Makes Big Demands of Any NFL Team Interested in Hiring Him<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_5702129\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2191410124-e1767912515501.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Browns Take Major Step Toward Hiring Coach John Harbaugh\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5702129\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5702129\">GettyHead coach John Harbaugh, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>If Berry and the Browns believe Harbaugh is a fit for them, they had certainly be ready to pay the price both in terms of the money and power it will take to bring the coach to Cleveland.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland reported on Friday what he referred to as the \u201cprerequisites\u201d for Harbaugh to \u201ceven be interested\u201d in one of the several open jobs for which he is a leading candidate \u2014 and they are <em>significant<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Citing a league insider, Grossi said that Harbaugh is demanding a $20 million annual paycheck, another $10 million for his staff of assistants, final word on all personnel decisions and the leeway to install a general manager of his choosing who would, in this scenario, essentially work for Harbaugh rather than the other way around.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">Had Cleveland fired Berry when the team parted ways with Stefanski last week, then meeting Harbaugh\u2019s terms might be considerably simpler. As it stands, Berry appears to be running point in the Browns\u2019 coaching search, which runs counter to the second half of Harbaugh\u2019s aforementioned coaching wish list.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Articles \/ Paragraph Links\">That either means Cleveland is simply doing its due diligence by officially requesting an interview with Harbaugh, but doesn\u2019t plan to offer him the position unless something changes; or the franchise believes it can pitch Harbaugh on a partnership with Berry and then otherwise fulfill the remainder of the Super Bowl-winning coach\u2019s job requirements beyond that particular sticking point.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cleveland Browns have taken the next logical step in their pursuit of ex-Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, and it&#8217;s a big one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41450,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cleveland-browns"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - 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