Earlier this week, SI.com's Robert Klemko reported that there was disagreement over the initial hire of former Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson. The report said that the football operations staff was pushing for Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott or New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to be hired over Jackson. CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora doubled down on that initial analysis.

"Sean McDermott, current Bills coach, was the overwhelmingly popular choice by everyone involved in the process. The data they used, as well the other elements of the criteria set up at the start of the process, all pointed to McDermott, a highly-regarded defensive coordinator with Carolina at the time.

Sources said [Former Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi] Brown and DePodesta both made impassioned attempts to dissuade the Haslams from not following that process and going with Jackson, instead. Jackson went on to become, statistically, the worst head coach in modern NFL history with a 3-36-1 mark (.080 winning percentage). Under a prior regime, a lengthy and expensive quarterback analysis, as well as the old-school scouting work done in the process, pointed to Cleveland using a first-round pick on Teddy Bridgewater in 2014; Haslam, sources said, spearheaded support for troubled Johnny Manziel (eight career NFL starts), who the Browns selected 22nd overall, 10 picks ahead of Bridgewater," the insider said in his latest article.

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The list of head coaching candidates available that off-season was pretty uninspiring. Adam Gase, considered the prize jewel, has compiled a 21-10 record with the Miami Dolphins. McDermott has an 11-14 record since being named head coach of the Buffalo Bills prior to last season.

There is concern over the decision-making process and chain of command in Cleveland. Ownership made the decision to hire Jackson but that is less egregious of an error than strong-arming the organization into drafting quarterback Johnny Manziel back in 2014. The spirited signal caller did not have the work ethic to be successful in the NFL.

Cleveland.com reported that General Manager John Dorsey will have final say over who is hired as the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns but he has not hired a head coach in his long career either. When Dorsey arrived in northeast Ohio last December, he was already equipped with a list of potential coaching candidates that he had been monitoring. The list, which is sure to add some new names in 2018, will certainly serve as a launch point for a head coaching search that has not yet been deemed publicly open.

Fans should not expect a decision to be made until seasons end and interviews can be conducted in January.