Sunday Dawg Chow: Browns news (1/5/20)

Cleveland Browns:

• Browns interviewing 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Saturday (Beacon Journal) - The Browns let one of the NFL’s best coaches get away when Kyle Shanahan, fed up with the franchise’s dysfunction, fled Cleveland with two years left on his contract as offensive coordinator after the 2014 season. The Browns aren’t getting Shanahan back, but maybe they could strike gold with one of his top assistant coaches. They’re interviewing Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for their head coaching vacancy Saturday in California, the team announced. The scheduling of the meeting had been previously reported.
• 5 things to know about Robert Saleh (clevelandbrowns.com) - Throughout the Browns’ search for a new head coach, ClevelandBrowns.com will break down the candidates as they go through the interview process with the team. We continue with a look at Robert Saleh, the current defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.
• Ranking the unanswered questions after Freddie Kitchens’ one-and-done season (cleveland.com) - Freddie Kitchens is gone. So is John Dorsey. What we’re left with – aside from feelings of déjà vu – is a lot of unanswered questions about the 2019 Browns. The season was full of curious things that went unexplained. Even when players and coaches were asked about such things, they often gave answers that provided little clarity. Or they sidestepped the issues altogether. Maybe one day we’ll learn the answers. For now, they remain mysteries of the 2019 season. Here are the top 10.
• With the Haslams’ track record, the Browns’ best chance for success in latest reboot is to get lucky (Browns Zone) - Jimmy Haslam’s latest mea culpa did nothing to inspire confidence among his discouraged and disgusted fan base. As the tormented Browns owner spoke to reporters Thursday, it would’ve been natural for him to have the same thought as the customers he continually compliments only to disappoint: Maybe he’ll get lucky this time. If history is any indication, that’s the only chance for success.

NFL:

• What the Cowboys need in their next coach is what should disturb you most about Jason Garrett’s decade in charge (Dallas Morning News) - The Washington Redskins have found their next head coach. The New York Giants are well into the interview process while the Cowboys have spent an entire week pondering how to tip-toe away from the Jason Garrett Era and into their own search. I don’t know if the NFC East will be better in 2020 (although it has to be, right?), but it’s going to be wildly different. So what is it the Cowboys need? The answer is someone slightly better than Garrett. I know fans are hoping for more, but if they just take the first step towards stumbling into someone who can win that last or pivotal game, it will clear a huge hurdle for this franchise.
• The NFL wears patriotism on its sleeve. And its head. And its Feet. (NY Times) - At noon in the parking lot outside a Carolina Panthers game in November, Dean Nass, 64, pressed a button on his laptop. “The Star Spangled Banner” began to play. His friends and family — 15 in all — put down their barbecued chicken, potato salad and cans of beer and stood at attention. The Nass family isn’t the only one that has united around football and the flag during the past two decades. The N.F.L. has made patriotism an integral part of the spectacle surrounding the game on the field, and, at times, has had it placed at the center of controversies off it.
• Raiders’ Nevin Lawson suspended one game for swinging helmet vs. Denver (Mercury News) - If Nevin Lawson returns to the Raiders in 2020, he’ll be sitting out Week 1. The Raiders cornerback received a one-game suspension Monday for swinging his helmet at an opposing player in the final moments of a 16-15 loss to the Denver Broncos in the regular season finale.