Mike McDaniel drops out of Browns head coaching search with at least two other teams still interested

Mike McDaniel definitely won’t be the head coach of one other AFC team next season, but this time it’s by choice.

The former Dolphins leader took his name out of the running in the Browns’ search to fill their head coaching vacancy, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday evening.

Pelissero added that McDaniel remains in contention for both the Ravens’ and Raiders’ openings. On top of the head coach jobs he’s still a candidate for, McDaniel is interviewing for the Chargers’ offensive coordinator position. He previously interviewed for the OC position with the Buccaneers, as he remains one of the top offensive minds in this year’s coaching carousel.

According to Cleveland.com, McDaniel was slated to get a second interview with Cleveland before withdrawing his name from consideration.

McDaniel, three seasons after helping the Dolphins become the second-highest scoring offense in the league, was fired by Miami after a 7-10 finish in 2025.

The outlet reported that Ravens OC Todd Monken, Jaguars OC Grant Udinski, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and Rams pass game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase are all expected to get second interviews with the Browns.

Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz already had his second interview with the team on Monday.

Owner Jimmy Haslam said recently that he’d like to keep Schwartz in the organization further and made clear what the organization thinks of the coach.

“We think a lot of Jim Schwartz,” Haslam said, per ESPN.

Cleveland fired Kevin Stefenski — who has since landed the Falcons’ head coaching gig — and is in the third week of their search to replace him.

A two-time Coach of the Year winner, Stefanski went 45-56 in six seasons with the Browns, including two 11-win campaigns. But with just eight wins combined over the last two seasons, the organization moved on.