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And then there was one

The head coaching carousel in the National Football League saw two more candidates jump off and land Tuesday, Matt Ruhle in Carolina and Joe Judge with the Giants in New York.

That leaves only one team dragging its heels in search of a brand new head whistle: Ladies and Gentlemen, Your Cleveland Browns.

In a year when only five of the 32 teams decided a change was in order, four acted decisively with Mike McCarthy snapped up by Dallas, Ron Rivera by Washington and the aforementioned Ruhle and Judge. 

That’s right, Browns Nation, Your Cleveland Browns are the lone team now on the prowl for the successor to the dreadful Freddie Kitchens The field is wide open for Dee and Jimmy Haslam III to have another crack at getting it wrong.

By my count there are still seven names attached to the Cleveland vacancy, five on the offensive side of the football and two, including newcomer Jim Schwartz, on the other side. No special teams candidates. More on that later.

Now that the field of teams has been narrowed to one, the two most prominent names out there are New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.

Both men had interviews scheduled with Carolina before the Panthers grabbed Ruhle and McDaniels was scheduled to meet with the Giants Wednesday before Judge was snapped up.

Unless the Browns have surreptitiously contacted someone else, and that is entirely possible with this group, it sure looks as though it boils down to a battle between McDaniels and Stefanski. Both will interview before the week is out.

Stefanski had been in a unique position before the Panthers surprised more than a few by signing Ruhle. He now has no option but to interview with the Browns despite the possibility of harboring hard feelings about losing out to Kitchens last year.

It’s understandable he doesn’t want to be a two-time loser for the job. McDaniels, however, has a stronger résumé and a much higher profile. Being a native son of northeast Ohio doesn’t hurt his chances.

The big difference is McDaniels has never interviewed with the Browns. It is believed it is incumbent on him to impress the daylights out of Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, who was reportedly blown away by Stefanski last year.

It is also believed he is the personal favorite of the Haslams, who unfortunately will make the ultimate decision. Unfortunately because everything they touch with regard to their billion-dollar team turns to trash.

One name not on what is presumed the final list of candidates is Dave Toub, special teams coordinator and assistant head coach with the Kansas City Chiefs. It should be. 

He is unquestionably the best special teams coach in the league, his teams (in Chicago and Kansas City) annually finishing in the top five for the last decade and a half.

Unlike just about everyone else vying for a chance to move up, Toub is not an offensive guru. He’s not a defensive guru, either. He’s clearly not a sexy name.

The only other Chiefs coach besides Toub who deals with all the players on the roster is head coach Andy Reid. He knows how to be a head coach. He’d be perfect for the Browns, but they probably don’t know about him.

I mention his name because of the Giants’ stunning selection of Judge, special teams coordinator/wide receivers coach for the New England Patriots. He is the first special teams coordinator to be named an NFL head coach since John Harbaugh took over in Baltimore in 2008.

The small but impressive list of special teams coaches who have gone on to become successful head coaches in the NFL, besides Harbaugh, includes Bill Cowher, Marv Levy, Dick Vermeil, Mike Ditka and Bill Belichick.

Wouldn’t hurt for the Browns to add Toub to the list. At least give him an interview. What have they got to lose? (I’d be stunned if it happened, though. They’re not smart enough to consider such a move.)