SEATTLE, WA - NOVEMBER 15: Head coach Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers watches the action in the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field on November 15, 2018 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

The Cleveland Browns were interested in hiring Mike McCarthy as their next head coach, but the former Super Bowl champion made that a difficult task.

According to FanSided sources, the Browns were intrigued with the idea of hiring Mike McCarthy right to the end of their search for a head coach. An interview was set up, but the 55-year-old continued to reschedule the meeting, forcing Cleveland into the position of moving on. This led to the hiring of Freddie Kitchens this week.

Ultimately, with other teams calling about Kitchens’ availability and the Browns tired of waiting on McCarthy, they made the decision to promote their interim offensive coordinator.

On the night that McCarthy was fired by the Green Bay Packers, FanSided reported that the Browns were exploring hiring him. That was indeed true, as McCarthy and general manager John Dorsey are extremely close from their years together in Green Bay. However, when the regular season ended and Dorsey began his search to permanently replace Hue Jackson, McCarthy was hard to pin down for an interview.

The thought is that McCarthy wanted to take a year away from the game. If he was going to accept a job this offseason, it would had to have been under the perfect set of circumstances.

Throughout the last few months, Dorsey’s leading candidate for the job was McCarthy. However, as the Browns began to win under interim coach Gregg Williams, owner Jimmy Haslam began pushing more in the direction as his interest in Williams increased. Dorsey was never going to hire Williams, though, believing his personality would be a hindrance as time went on.