Both the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants announced new head coaching hires on Tuesday, which follow similar new year’s resolution to front office quandaries in Dallas and Washington. These moves leave Cleveland as the the only team with a vacancy on the sidelines, as oddsmakers scramble to make sense of who the Browns may tap to steer their 6-10 ship into the 2020 season.

Matt Rhule new NFL head coach of Carolina Panthers
Matt Rhule was the odds-on favorite to become the New York Giants’ new head coach, but instead, agreed to lead the Carolina Panthers. (Image: Getty)

Baylor University head coach Matt Rhule, 44, was supposedly being heavily courted by the Browns, who seemed to be competing with the New York Giants for his affections. But Rhule, a 9/1 pick on BetOnline to take the job in Carolina, threw football speculators for a surprise when the Panthers announced this morning that he was coming to Charlotte for 7 years at $60 million.

Digging Through Leftovers?

With Rhule off the table for New York, Giants’ brass then stunned fans by quickly signing New England wide receivers coach Joe Judge. A surprise pick, Judge wasn’t even on BetOnline’s prop bet of potential future coaches.

Today’s hirings of Rhule and Judge come hot on the heels of news out of Dallas on Monday, where the Cowboys named former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy as the replacement for long-embattled Jason Garrett, who was let go after another disappointing season for America’s Team.

The Browns have interviewed several possible new head coaches, but have yet to pull the trigger on any candidate. Some of the people whose interviews have reportedly gone well include:

Cleveland Browns Head Coaching Odds

      • Josh McDaniels (New England Offensive Coordinator) 2/1
      • Kevin Stefanski (Minnesota Offensive Coordinator) 3/1
      • Robert Saleh (San Francisco Defensive Coordinator) 7/1

source: BetOnline

“Despite all the changes we’ve made, I think it’s a very attractive job,” Browns owner James Haslam told reporters at team headquarters last Thursday. When the Browns fired Freddie Kitchens at the end of the season, he became the team’s seventh ex-head coach in eight seasons.

“Everybody in the NFL knows how important football is in this area,” Haslam said. “Everybody understands we have a really good young quarterback, and a really good core group of players.”

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