In the high-stakes world of NFL coaching searches, the Cleveland Browns have reportedly introduced a new wrinkle—and it’s one that has the football world both baffled and amused. According to recent reports, the Browns are employing a “data-driven” operation for their next head coach, requiring candidates to complete exhaustive questionnaires, multi-part essays, personality tests, and even “additional homework.” The result? High-profile candidates like Mike McDaniel and Jesse Minter have reportedly withdrawn from consideration, leaving the organization in a state of public scrutiny.
On the latest episode of The Coach JB Show with Big Smitty, Coach JB and former NFL quarterback Shaun King didn’t mince words when describing the situation. “Cleveland is an organization where you understand clearly why they suck,” King stated flatly. “How do you keep Andrew Berry as GM and fire Kevin Stefanski? And now you’re asking candidates to take these kindergarten-level tests just so you can collect data? Mike McDaniel has nothing better to do with his time?”
The critique centered on a perceived lack of leverage for the Browns. King and JB argued that by forcing a new coach to accept GM Andrew Berry and retain Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, the organization is effectively eliminating any elite candidate who wants “full autonomy”—the kind of control recently granted to John Harbaugh in his new role. “You’re telling a head coach he can’t even run his own system,” JB shouted. “Leverage? They have none. Nobody wants that job.”
The hosts also pointed to the “nightmare” of the current roster as a deterrent. Between the massive, underperforming contract of Deshaun Watson and the pressure of coaching a high-profile quarterback like Shedeur Sanders (should he land there), the job is seen as radioactive. “There are only 32 of these jobs in the world, and nobody wants this one,” JB remarked. “That’s how crazy it is.”
Shaun King, who frequently contributes to the Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show, expressed his frustration with the “blame-shifting” nature of the data-driven approach. “It’s fail-proof because nobody has to ever get blamed when you approach things like this,” King explained. “They say, ‘The data said this, we didn’t make a bad decision.’ But football is an instinct game—it’s about managing people and intuitiveness, not what someone got on an IQ test.”
The rant also touched on the broader trend of analytics in football, which JB believes is leading coaches to make “the dumbest decisions in 25 years,” such as frequently passing on field goals. For the Browns, this reliance on spreadsheets over experience is seen as the ultimate sign of a “delusional” front office. “It’s the worst organization in football, right next to the New York Jets,” JB concluded.
As the Browns continue their search, the question remains: will any viable candidate be willing to jump through the Scantron hoops, or is Cleveland destined for another era of dysfunction? For JB and King, the answer is already written on the data sheets.
