The Browns are reportedly interested in Urban Meyer, which sure, why not?

What do the Browns have to lose by going after Urban Meyer? Nothing else has worked.

On Thursday morning, Fox Sports and The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported that the Cleveland Browns are interested in possibly hiring former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.

Whenever a report like this comes out, you have to think about who is getting the information to the reporter. Is this the Browns putting out public feelers to gauge if Meyer might be interested, and see how the fanbase takes it? Possibly. We also have to remember that Meyer works with Feldman at Fox now (he is an analyst for FS1). It could also be that Meyer really is their No. 1 target, and they’re trying everything they can to make it happen.

However it got out, let’s get to the big question: Should they hire him?

Forgive me for being cynical here, but honestly: Why not? Nothing else has worked in Cleveland. They’ve gone with hungry position coaches and disciplinarians and established veterans and they all failed spectacularly. So, sure, roll the dice with someone who’s never coached at this level.

Would Meyer be a great NFL coach? No idea. Dan Wolken made a pretty strong argument against him making a successful transition over at USA TODAY Sports, and he makes some compelling points. Meyer was an excellent recruiter, which has much less value at the pro level. (Other than convincing the occasional free agent, most talent recruitment is out of the coach’s hands.)

Meyer’s other great strength, Wolken argues, was in motivation — he knew how to get the most out of young men. This has some application at the pro level, but many coaches find that the “rah rah team!” stuff doesn’t work quite the same with seasoned pros as it does with teenagers.

I have no doubt the Browns would at least be interested in at least kicking the tires, here. The bigger issue: I just don’t think Meyer would be all that interested. Meyer has walked away from coaching twice now citing health issues, and has a good gig doing TV for Fox.

The Browns have run through coach after coach. They’ve got power structure issues (the GM John Dorsey was forced out this week, and it appears Paul DePodesta will be running the team now) and ownership issues and all sorts of other issues. Meyer has a nice job doing TV, and why on Earth would he walk away from that to deal with all of [gestures broadly at the Browns franchise].

Last note: This hire might not be a slam dunk with all Browns fans, either. Yes, Meyer did big things at Ohio State. But some fans may feel that Meyer hasn’t adequately answered questions about what he knew when regarding his ex-assistant coach Zach Smith, who was fired from Ohio State after multiple domestic violence allegations against him were made public. Smith was arrested in May for violating a protection order against him.

So, yeah. There are a lot of questions about Meyer here. Sadly, for the Browns, I’m not sure that’s enough to deter them. Nothing else has worked. Maybe this will. I don’t have many other, better ideas.

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