CLEVELAND, Ohio (TheOBR.com) Good morning, Cleveland Browns fans!
THE DAILY BLOVIATION
Alas, the dream is dead. John Harbaugh will not be walking through the doors of the Browns’ headquarters in Berea because he’s now going to be the head coach of the New York Giants.
Don’t despair, though, Browns fans, because the Browns are continuing to add to their list of potential head coaching candidates by inviting Rams DC Chris Shula to interview for the job. This brings the number of coaches the Browns have or will interview for the job to ten. I think. I’m keeping track of the coaches in Insider Discussion, but my rapidly-aging brain is having a hard time keeping up.
In addition to the Shula genes (Don Shula is his grandfather), Chris Shula brings a lot of experience with the much-coveted Sean McVay coaching tree, which, unlike the Mike Tomlin coaching tree, actually exists. Nate Scheelhaase is also a McVay disciple, serving as the Rams’ passing game coordinator, and likewise will be interviewed by the Browns
Shula is 39 years old and has been learning under McVay for seven years. He’s served as a defensive assistant, outside linebackers coach, and defensive pass game coordinator. Shula has Ohio roots in his family’s history, stemming from his time playing for Miami of Ohio in college. I have no idea where he stands on the “gets us” meter, but he might want to be photographed smashing a beer on the way out of Berea following the interview.
While the Browns consider another candidate, there is all sorts of activity around other potential Browns leaders. MIke MdDaniel is interviewing for various offensive coordinator jobs alongside the Browns head coaching gig, Jim Schwarz has wrapped up an interview with the Ratbirds. And so on. And so forth.
Alongside all this, I’m getting emails and forum messages from folks who are anxious for the Browns to hire someone, as they fear that the better candidates will be scooped up quickly.
I don’t think that they’re going to get their wish because of the complexity of the situation. There are a lot of openings (ten) and a lot of candidates to sift through. This is an important decision for each team, with some really appealing situations (e.g., Baltimore) available. It’s going to take a while for decisions to be made on both sides of the tables around the league.
IT’S ABOUT LEADERSHIP: The Browns are looking for a “leader of men” for their head coaching position, and that sounds great. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell what sort of leader someone is until they get the opportunity to lead. And then, perhaps, it takes multiple opportunities for them to really figure it out.
Here at the OBR, I’m blessed with the opportunity to work alongside some of the best writers in the Browns space. I get a lot of help on the business side of things as well from folks whose names you might not know (yet). I constantly marvel at my luck in finding such great team members.
Right now, I think that the OBR team is kicking ass. If you’re a subscriber, you know all the work that’s going into our Insider forums, including Lane and Pete’s efforts there. Lane is way ahead of the curve in terms of identifying what’s going on with this coaching search. If you’re new to the OBR, then you might be here because you heard Fred Greetham on WTAM or Channel 19. You’re certainly aware that Jack Duffin is the unquestioned domain expert on salary cap and roster construction. And with Sam Penix, we’ve got a fast-rising star in film study and analysis.
It’s my job to make sure everyone has the opportunity to do their best work. I’m hoping that I’m getting it right, since I’ve been doing this for a long time, but I know I always have more to learn. I just want to take this space to say thank you to all of the OBR team members, and to pledge to do my best not to screw things up. This is a critical year for the site, and I just feel fortunate to have such loyal visitors and such a great team.
Have a good one! GO BROWNS! Newswire Bloviation Archive
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Inside the Browns Beat – ft. Mary Kay Cabot! – YouTube
** OBR ARTICLES FROM YESTERDAY**
Cleveland Browns Free Agency Needs & Re-Signing Decisions: Tight End – Jack
Cleveland Browns News and Rumors 1/14/26: Renegade is a Stupid Song Anyway – Barry
Cleveland Browns Film Room: Nate Scheelhaase is the latest in-demand McVay Disciple – Sam
FROM THE FORUMS
The “Gets Us” Factor – Does it matter at all?
How is Coach Gruden a Disgrace
Garagebeersmike said HC candidates declined
Advantage to hiring sooner than later
Question for lane-Candidates view of this job?
Is Joe Brady still on the list?
We about to pull another Watson deal to trade up for a qb in 27?
Insiders: Interest in Mike LaFleur?
If the browns went young offensive coordinator ?
McDaniels to Browns noise from national media
As of right now, how strong are the odds Schwartz will remain?
How much worse does firing Stefanski look with Moore going back?
Ulfins and Scheelhause. Interviews
Insiders: Interest in Mike LaFleur?
McDaniels to Browns noise from national media
What Is the Thinking of Interviewees on Sanders?
McDaniels as the possible Selection?
Candidate we already noted …..
Your ideal HCQB1st rounders this year.
Undeclared prospect watch – must declare today
LiveWire Thread for 114 – Twitter, Video, Articles
THE LIFTPositive news from the world of sports and beyond…
Do AI models reason or regurgitate? – (bigthink.com)
They regurgitate, but do so in a way built from the same principles as humans, namely, the strength of neural pathways in the human brain. This allows them to sound more human, but it’s like everything in the computing space – garbage in, garbage out. And these models are trained on content that is often garbage because it comes from the unchecked internet. But the potential here over time is huge. I was thinking the other day about new medical diagnostic tools coming from AI, and how critical those could be in getting things right. I believe that the threat of lawsuits from misdiagnoses via AI will be a huge motivator for the industry clean up the data input into these models, as the notion of AI models providing wrong information becomes less and less over time.
WRAPPING UP
When not unable to recite coaching candidates from memory, Barry McBride is the Publisher and Founder of the OBR and bloviates this nonsense every morning. You can follow him on Twitter @barrymcbride or write him at barry@theobr.com if you are so compelled.
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