2020 NFL Coaching Carousel Tracker: Browns make final coaching hire of 2020 after two-week search

For the latest news, rumors and updates for NFL coaching changes and searches, check here

The end of the NFL season is near, and that means the league's annual coaching purge is about to kick into high gear. 

The purge actually started back in October when the Redskins decided to fire Jay Gruden. Not to be outdone, the Panthers also decided to dump their coach in December when they cut ties with Ron Rivera. Don't worry though, it didn't take long for Rivera to find work. And we even finally got some closure on the ongoing Jason Garrett saga with the Dallas Cowboys. In total, there have been five new coaches hired since the end of the 2019 regular season. 

You can check out our coaching tracker below. 

Notable developments for Sunday, Jan. 12

[12:05 p.m. ET]: The coaching carousel for 2020 is finally complete and that's because the only team that still had a vacancy has finally made a hire. According to NFL.com, the Browns are hiring Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski to replace Freddie Kitchens, who was fired after the season. 

Notable developments for Friday, Jan. 10

[9:44 a.m. ET]: The Browns will be interviewing Josh McDaniels on Friday in what is expected to be the final interview of their coaching search. The team is reportedly looking to make a hire by Saturday, so it won't be surprising if the team makes a move in the hours after the McDaniels interview. To get an update on who's still being considered for the job, be sure to click here. 

Notable developments for Wednesday, Jan. 8

[9:51 a.m. ET]: The Browns are the only team left that has yet to hire a coach and it looks like it's going to be a busy week for them. According to NFL.com, the team will interview Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Wednesday, which will be followed by interviews later this week with Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski and New England's Josh McDaniels.

Notable developments for Tuesday, Jan. 7

• [9:50 a.m. ET]: It looks like Matt Rhule has decided not to visit the Giants. According to Yahoo Sports, the Baylor football coach has accepted an offer from Carolina to become the next coach of the Panthers. 
• [10:44 a.m. ET]: Former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett could end up landing on his feet. According to NFL.com, the Giants have requested to interview Garrett, who is technically under contract with the Cowboys until Jan 14. If the Giants want to hold the interview before that, they'll have to get permission from the Cowboys. 
• [11:13 a.m. ET]: The Giants were supposed to interview Josh McDaniels and Jason Garrett, but it looks like those won't be happening. According to ESPN.com, the team has decided to hire Patriots' wide receivers coach Joe Judge to be their next head coach. 

Notable developments for Monday, Jan. 6

• [9:53 a.m. ET]: The Dallas Cowboys didn't waste any time hiring their new coach. Less than 24 hours after dumping Garrett, the team has already agreed to terms with former Packers coach Mike McCarthy. 
• [2:51 p.m. ET]: It's going to be a busy week for the New York Giants. According to ESPN.com, they'll be interviewing Baylor coach Matt Rhule on Tuesday followed by an interview with Josh McDaniels on Wednesday. In other interview news, the Browns and Panthers are also expected to both interview Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski on Thursday. 
• [9:27 p.m. ET]: NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported that the Browns have requested to speak to Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz for their head coaching vacancy. Philadelphia's defensive coordinator since 2016, Schwartz went 29-51 as the Lions' head coach from 2009-13. A member of Bill Belichick's coaching staff in Cleveland in the early 1990s, Schwartz has spent 13 seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator. 

Notable developments for Sunday, Jan. 5

[6:52 p.m. ET]: After taking a full week to mull things over, Cowboys owner has finally cut ties with Jason Garrett. The team made the move official on Sunday evening. 

Notable developments for Saturday, Jan. 4

• [9:07 a.m. ET]: With the 49ers on a bye this week, the Browns will be taking advantage of that by interviewing San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Saturday. 
• [9:24 a.m. ET]: It's going to be a busy day for the Giants, who will be interviewing two coaching candidates in Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Ravens defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, according to NFL.com. 
• [11 a.m. ET]: Although the Cowboys haven't technically moved on from Jason Garrett yet, it appears they're already holding interviews. According to NFL.com, former Packers coach Mike McCarthy is headed to Dallas to speak with the Cowboys about their coaching job. 
• [12:10 p.m. ET]: Mike McCarthy won't be the only one interviewing for the Cowboys job on Saturday. According to ESPN.com, former Bengals coach Marvin Lewis will also be interviewing for the job. 

Notable developments for Friday, Jan. 3

• [9:29 a.m. ET]: It's been a busy 48 hours for the Browns. After interviewing former Packers head coach and Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman on Thursday, the team plans to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Friday afternoon. 
• [10:11 a.m. ET]: Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy will be interviewing with the Giants at some point on Friday. According to the New York Post, McCarthy is a "serious" candidate to land the job. 

Notable developments for Thursday, Jan. 2 

• [7:57 a.m. ET]: Let the interviews begin: Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (Panthers), former Packers coach Mike McCarthy (Browns) and Cowboys defensive passing game coordinator Kris Richard (Giants) are all expected to be interviewed at some point on Thursday, according to NFL.com. 
• [9:40 a.m. ET]: The Cowboys might not be only team eyeing Urban Meyer. According to Fox Sports, the Browns also have "strong interest" in the former Ohio State coach.  
• [12:16 p.m. ET]: Josh McDaniels is going to be a busy man on Jan. 10. No matter what the Patriots do on Saturday against the Titans, McDaniels is planning to interview for multiple jobs that day, according to NFL.com. The Patriots offensive coordinator currently has interview requests from the Browns, Giants and Panthers.  

Notable developments for Wednesday, Jan. 1

• [10:00 a.m. ET]: The Redskins officially named former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera their new head coach. Additionally, ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported that Rivera is bringing in former Jaguars and Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio as the Redskins' new defensive coordinator. 
• [5:36 p.m. EST]: The Giants requested, and were granted permission, to speak to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Patriots special teams coordinator/receivers coach Joe Judge, according to Jim McBride of The Boston Globe. The Panthers and Browns have also been granted permission to speak to McDaniels. 

Notable developments for Tuesday, Dec. 31

• [8:34 a.m. ET]: Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy is expected to interview with the Giants this weekend, according to ESPN.com. That makes McCarthy a popular man. Not only has he already interviewed with the Panthers, but he's also expected to talk with the Browns at some point in the near future. 
• [8:48 a.m. ET]: The Redskins have found their new coach. According to NFL.com, the team has reached a deal with Ron Rivera to take over the coaching reins in Washington. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reported on Sunday that Rivera was almost certainly going to be getting the job, and now he has it. 
  
• [10:16 a.m. ET]: The Jaguars have decided to give Doug Marrone at least one more season to try and turn things around. The team has announced that Marrone won't be fired and that he'll be returning for the 2020 season.  
• [10:21 a.m. ET]: After watching Matt LaFleur's success in Green Bay, it seems the Browns are now interested in getting their own LaFleur. According to ESPN.com, Cleveland is expected to interview 49ers passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur this weekend. 
• [7:57 p.m. ET]: The Panthers and Giants will interview Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy this week. Carolina will interview Thursday and New York Saturday, per NFL Network. The Browns also have a request to interview Bieniemy. 
  

Notable developments for Monday, Dec. 30

• [7:03 a.m. ET]: Ron Rivera expected to be named new Redskins head coach
• [8:01 a.m. ET]: Panthers request permission to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Giants have also requested an interview with Bieniemy, according to Rapoport.
• [8:36 a.m. ET]: Browns request permission to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Panthers expected to seek permission as well, per Adam Schefter of ESPN
• [9:10 a.m. ET]: Pat Shurmur fired by Giants after compiling 9-23 record in two seasons.
• [2:51 p.m. ET]: The Jaguars have added some drama to their coaching decision. According to ESPN.com, Jags coach Doug Marrone won't be meeting with the team until Dec. 31, which means it will be one more day before we know his fate. 
• [4:55 p.m. ET]: The Giants could be raiding a division rival to find their new coach. According to ESPN.com, the team is going to interview Cowboys passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Kris Richard on Thursday. 
  
• [5:48 p.m. ET]: It looks like an announcement about Jason Garrett's future won't be coming on Monday. The Cowboys PR team sent the media home, which means we're going to be waiting at least one more day, if not more, for the team to make an announcement. Garrett did meet with Jerry Jones on Monday, but it appears Jones wasn't ready to make a move. Jones technically won't even have to fire Garrett if he doesn't want, and that's because the coach's contract expires on Jan. 14. 

AFC

Browns

Fired: Freddie Kitchens
Hired: Kevin Stefanski

The Freddie Kitchens experiment, which turned out to be a disaster for the Browns, ended after only one season in Cleveland. Shortly after their Week 17 loss to the Bengals, the Browns made the decision to move on from Kitchens, who ended the season on a three-game losing streak. To replace Kitchens, the Browns are bringing in Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who might not be too popular with fans in Cleveland after Minnesota's disastrous offensive performance in the team's playoff loss to the 49ers on Saturday. 

Stefanski, who was one of three finalists for the job, beat out 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to land the coaching job in Cleveland. 

The 2019 regular season is in the books and there's a lot to go over. Fortunately Will Brinson, John Breech, Ryan Wilson and Sean Wagner-McGough are here to break everything down on the Pick Six Podcast. Listen below and be sure to subscribe right here for daily NFL goodness.

Jaguars

Not getting fired: Doug Marrone

Jaguars owner Shad Khan has already fired one person this month (Tom Coughlin) and it looked like Marrone was also on his way to getting axed, but that won't be happening. The team has announced that Marrone will be returning for the 2020 season. A report on Dec. 28 had indicated that the Jags had already made the decision to fire Marrone, but it appears he found a way so save his job after meeting with Khan on New Year's Eve. The reason it makes some sense for Jacksonville to keep Marrone is because he's just two years removed from leading the Jaguars to the AFC title game and now has a quarterback to build around for the first time in his Jaguars coaching career. Although Marrone is returning in 2020, he'll definitely be on the hot seat once against next season and that's because he's gone just 11-21 in the regular season since that title game loss at the end of the 2017 season. 

NFC

Cowboys

Out: Jason Garrett 
Hired: Mike McCarthy

After nine and a half seasons as head coach of the Cowboys, Jason Garrett is finally out. The week long drama came to an end on Jan. 5 when the Cowboys announced that they would be parting ways with their long-time coach. Once Garrett was officially out, the Cowboys didn't waste any time replacing him. Less than 24 hours after getting rid of their former coach, the Cowboys agreed to terms with former Packers coach Mike McCarthy. Although there had been some talk that the Cowboys might look to hire a college coach, Jerry Jones wasn't a fan of going that route. Instead, the Cowboys interviewed two former NFL coaches in McCarthy and Marvin Lewis, and then decided that the former Packers coach would be the best man for the job after an interview that ended up spanning a total of two day.   

Giants

Fired: Pat Shurmur
Hired: Joe Judge

After losing out on Matt Rhule, the Giants decided to turn somewhere else for their new coach. According to ESPN.com, the team has hired Patriots wide receivers coach Joe Judge to replace Pat Shurmur, who was fired after the season. Shurmur, was let go after going 9-23 over the past two seasons. With a rookie quarterback under center in 2019, it wasn't a huge surprise to see the Giants go through some growing pains this year, but those growing pains were too much for co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, who decided not give Shurmur a third year.

As for Judge, he'll head to New York after spending the past eight seasons as an assistant in various roles for the Patriots. Before being hired in New England, the 38-year-old Judge spent three seasons as a special teams assistant for Alabama (2009-11). 

Panthers

Fired: Ron Rivera
Hired: Matt Rhule

After Rivera was fired in early December, Panthers owner David Tepper made it pretty clear that he would likely be targeting an offensive-minded coach who had a solid understanding of analytics, and that's exactly what he did. According to Yahoo Sports, the Panthers have hired Baylor coach Matt Rhule, who took the Bears from a 1-11 record in 2017 to an 11-3 record this season. Rhule also turned around the football program at Temple during four seasons as the Owls' coach. The Baylor coach was also supposed to interview with the Giants on Tuesday, but Tepper made sure that didn't happen by offering his new coach an offer he apparently couldn't refuse. 

Redskins

Fired: Jay Gruden
Hired: Ron Rivera 

When it comes to the hiring process, the Redskins got a two-month head start on nearly every NFL team and that's because they dumped Gruden all the way back in October. Although the Redskins job hasn't always been viewed as an attractive one, that could change this year due to the fact that longtime team president Bruce Allen was officially fired by the club one day after their 3-13 season came to an end in embarrassing fashion against the Cowboys. La Canfora reported that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder wanted Rivera so badly he was going to make him an offer he "can't refuse" and it appears that's exactly what happened. Rivera was announced as the new coach in Washington on Wednesday morning, and he is reportedly bringing former Raiders coach Jack Del Rio as his defensive coordinator.

Was on the hot seat, but got a vote of confidence and will return in 2020

Jets coach Adam Gase: After starting the season 1-7, there was some talk that Gase might only last one year in New York, but since that ugly start, the Jets have gone 5-2 and could end the year 7-9 if they can beat the Bills on Sunday. No matter what happens during the Jets' finale in Buffalo, one thing is for sure: Gase will be keeping his job. Jets owner Christoper Johnson announced in November that Gase would definitely be returning in 2020. 

Lions coach Matt Patricia: The Patricia era in Detroit has been a painful one for the Lions with the second-year coach going just 9-21-1 since being hired in 2018, which is even worse when you consider that the man he replaced (Jim Caldwell) had three winning seasons during his four years in Detroit. Although the team hasn't gotten any better under Patricia, the former Patriots defensive coordinator will be getting at least one more season in Detroit, and that's because owner Martha Ford announced in mid-December that Patricia will be returning in 2020. 

Falcons coach Dan Quinn: Quinn spent most of the early season on the hot seat, but his chair cooled down considerably after he led the Falcons to five wins in seven games following Atlanta's Week 9 bye. With two of those five wins coming against two of the NFL's best teams -- the Saints and 49ers -- that was apparently enough for him to save his job. Falcons owner Arthur Blank announced on Friday that Quinn will coming back to Atlanta in 2020.