Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher interviewed last week to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and a second interview looks to be on the way.
Cincinnati Bengals on SI’s James Rapien reports Pitcher among “multiple candidates” Cleveland wants to interview again in the coming days.
“Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher is still ‘very much in the mix’ for the Browns head coaching job, league sources have confirmed. Pitcher interviewed for the job last week. The Browns are expected to bring in multiple candidates for second interviews, including Pitcher, sources say.” — SI’s James Rapien
Dan Pitcher still in play for promotion with Browns
Cleveland has cast a wide net for its next head coach, but according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, belief around the Browns involves them targeting a younger candidate such as Pitcher, Jacksonville Jaguars OC Grant Udinski, and Los Angeles Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase.
Pitcher has been the Bengals’ OC since 2024. The offense has taken notable steps in the run game since then, and Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco has each experienced great passing success. His time with the club actually started all the way back in 2016, three years before Zac Taylor was hired as head coach. Taylor knew walking into the gig Pitcher was worth keeping around, and he eventually became Joe Burrow’s first quarterbacks coach in 2020. He was promoted internally to OC in 2024 when Brian Callahan left to become the Tennessee Titans head coach.
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Should Pitcher impress Cleveland in his second interview and land the gig, the man he replaced in Cincinnati could be called on to take his job back.
Brian Callahan makes perfect sense to potentially replace Dan Pitcher
Losing Pitcher would be a big blow for Taylor, who didn’t expect to make any coaching changes this offseason. He knows he needs as much continuity as possible entering a (should be) must-win season in 2026.
Replacing Pitcher with Callahan, Taylor’s original OC from 2019-2023, would maintain as much of that continuity as possible.
Callahan has been on the market since the middle of the 2025 season when he was fired by Tennessee. He’s since been interviewed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, more recently, the Los Angeles Chargers for their OC vacancies. His work in Cincinnati is the brightest spot on his resume that earned him his HC gig, and it’s why other teams are interested in him taking the first role underneath the HC.
Rest assured, if Callahan knows he can come back to work with Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins again, he’d take that over virtually any other job if pay isn’t a factor.
Pitcher following Hue Jackson’s footsteps as the next Bengals OC-turned Browns HC would be an unfortunate development, but Cincinnati can take solace knowing its likely replacement is still out looking for work.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.