Right from the get go in Cleveland's coaching search this year, it seemed like Bill O'Brien was not a candidate for the job. Even on Friday, Pat McManamon of ESPN said that a source told him, "the Browns never actually pursued O'Brien." We also saw this several days ago from Brent Sobleski of the USA Today:
As another coach pulls name out of #Browns coaching search, it's important to note the team never actually pursued Bill O'Brien this time
— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) January 21, 2014
Earlier today, though, Joe Lull of 92.3 The Fan tweeted the following regarding O'Brien, saying that the Browns reached out to him, but never formally interviewed him because he wanted total control:
Browns interviewed more than 11 candidates. They talked to Bill O'Brien although there was no formal interview (he wanted total control)...
— Joe Lull (@LullOnSports) January 25, 2014
Total control wasn't going to happen with guys like Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi in charge, but it sounds like O'Brien is getting what he wanted down in Houston.