The Cleveland Browns are one of 10 teams that have a head coach opening this offseason. But, of those openings, the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, and Miami Dolphins have filled their jobs.
Obviously, the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens (thanks to Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson) are the best openings. But, where do the Browns fall on the head coach opening rankings?
According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the Browns' opening is the third worst in the league, ahead of only the Arizona Cardinals and the Las Vegas Raiders. But why are they in such a bad spot? It starts at the quarterback position.
Why Browns are one of worst HC spots in NFL
"The Browns have issues throughout the roster," Howe writes. "They also don't have a quarterback, and they don't have an ideal path toward finding one this offseason."
A new head coach in Cleveland likely will have to make do with the current quarterback room of Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, with Deshaun Watson lingering as a mistake in the background.
Even though they have the 6th and 24th picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, Myles Garrett, and a crop of impressive rookies like Harold Fannin Jr. And Carson Schwesinger from the 2025 NFL Draft class, they aren't in a good spot as a franchise.
Watson's contract is clogging up the books, and the team needs to completely overhaul the offensive line and the wide receiver room.
More: Shedeur Sanders looked every bit a fifth-round pick to close out the season
This is not a one-year rebuild, barring a stunning turnaround for one of their quarterbacks. The Browns need a lot of help all across the roster, and the 2026 NFL Draft and offseason won't be enough.
Even the 2027 NFL Draft might not be enough, though, hopefully for the Browns, by the 2027 Draft, they have a clear plan at quarterback.
Every executive and coach who graded this Browns opening for Lowe's article had it as one of the least desirable jobs on the market, with no one viewing this opening as a top-5 job in the league.
Too much work needs to be done, and while they might get a two-year runway based on how iffy the roster looks, if things don't immediately turn around, the new head coach could be in trouble.
This is one of the worst head coach openings in the league, and while there are positives, and it's not as bad a job as the Cardinals, it's still far from an ideal landing spot for a prospective head coach this cycle.
More Browns news:
- Three head coaches Browns could hire to help Shedeur Sanders develop after firing Kevin Stefanski
- Shedeur Sanders looked every bit a fifth-round pick to close out the season
- Myles Garrett was 'scared as hell' he wouldn't break sack record
- LeBron James sends message to Browns’ Myles Garrett after breaking sack record
- Myles Garrett final stats: Browns star breaks NFL single-season sack record against Bengals in Week 18
- Browns get $10 million projection on David Njoku's free agent contract