Story byJared MuellerSat, January 10, 2026 at 5:54 PM UTC·1 min readThe Cleveland Browns are officially in on trying to hire John Harbaugh to be their next head coach and replace Kevin Stefanski. Once Harbaugh became available, the Browns would have been failing if they had not done at least their due diligence to see if the former Baltimore Ravens head coach was interested in their job. Oftentimes, behind-the-scenes conversations are had before any official or unofficial request becomes public. There are a few reasons that Harbaugh might want to come back to his home area to coach Cleveland, but the veteran delayed any immediate interviews for a chance to make a plan.