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Ouch.
The picture was painted that the Cleveland Browns have let several weeks pass by without naming a head coach because they were hoping to get their hands on Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase.
We've heard rumors that Gase-to-Cleveland might not be likely, considering he was turning down interview requests in the first place to focus on Denver's playoff run. With Gase now headed to the Super Bowl, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Mike Klis of the Denver Post relayed that Gase has officially withdrawn his name as a candidate to be the Browns' next head coach.
#Broncos OC Adam Gase has thanked #Browns for their interest but informed them they can move on with their search as he focuses on the game
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2014
Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase called Browns today to say he is withdrawing as HC candidate to concentrate on Super Bowl.
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) January 21, 2014
Perhaps the Browns' front office was stalking Gase a little too much. The Browns have their own story, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, which sounds a little too much like the one we heard when Chip Kelly wasn't named the team's head coach last year:
A Browns official said this morning CLEV will not wait around to hire Broncos OC Adam Gase. @RapSheet says Gase withdrawing his name.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2014
Browns now scheduling second interview with Bills DC Mike Pettine, and are considering Seahawks DC Dan Quinn as well as "other candidates."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2014
The favorite for the job might be Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who could be getting a second interview soon. Then, if Quinn struggles, we'll have this to look forward to:
Adam Gase becomes frontrunner for #Browns HC vacancy in 2015.
— Tony Grossi (@TonyGrossi) January 21, 2014
Awesome. We couldn't have given Rob Chudzinski a second year and then evaluate our options, without the front office coming off as not knowing what the heck they are doing?