Mike Tomlin’s decision on Jan. 13 to step away after 19 seasons on the Steelers sideline means nine NFL teams are looking for a head coach. One-third of the vacancies are in the AFC North, which comprises one-eighth of the NFL. A gambler in August could probably have gotten good odds if he wagered Zac Taylor of the Bengals would be the only AFC North coach to keep his job after the 2025 season. Yet that’s where things stand as the eight teams still in the playoffs get ready for the divisional round. Kevin Stefanski was fired as Browns head coach on Jan. 5 after six seasons. John Harbaugh was fired by the Ravens a day later after 18 seasons. And now Tomlin is out. Browns fans should not rejoice about Tomlin’s departure. Why? Because the Steelers usually do things right, which means quality coaching candidates will be grateful to get an interview request from a team that has had only three head coaches in the last 57 years. Chuck Noll coached the Steelers from 1969-91, Bill Cowher from 1992-2006 and Tomlin from 2007 until the Terrible Towels were embarrassed by the Texans, 30-6, in a wild-card playoff game on Jan. 12. The opening in Baltimore is bad for the Browns for the same reason. The Ravens were 27-8 vs. the Browns under Harbaugh, including 12-5 in Browns-Ravens games played in Cleveland. Not having to face Harbaugh twice a year is good for the Browns, but Baltimore, like Pittsburgh, is an attractive place for coaching candidates. The same cannot be said for Cleveland. Browns fans know why — uncertainty at quarterback, an offensive line that needs a total rebuild if left guard Joel Bitonio retires, and a bunch of wide receivers that scare no defensive coordinator. Harbaugh was born in Toledo. His mother graduated from Shaw High School in East Cleveland. His parents met at Bowling Green. Harbaugh, on a conference call with Browns beat reporters the Wednesday before a game between the Browns and Ravens in 2017 in Cleveland, remarked on his youthful ties to the Browns. “I was a Browns fan,” he said. “I’ve said that many times. We grew up Browns fans. We grew up with Art Modell’s Browns. Leroy Kelly, Don Nelsen, that’s who we grew up with.” Nostalgia is nice, but the Browns have not set up an interview with Harbaugh for their job opening. The Giants are an attractive team because they have quarterback Jaxson Dart and the fifth pick in the draft. The Titans have quarterback Cam Ward and the fourth pick. The Falcons have a hole at quarterback because they aren’t sure whether quarterback Michael Penix (knee surgery) will be ready to start the season. Other than that, they have a star running back in Bijan Robinson and a star wide receiver in Drake London. Plus, the Falcons play in the winnable NFC South. General Manager Andrew Berry is leading the coaching search for Browns owner Jimmy Haslam. That should make a strong candidate wary of hitching his wagon to the Browns, too. Stefanski and Berry were both hired in January 2020. As the 2025 season wound down to a disappointing 5-12, Haslam chose to fire Stefanski and keep Berry. After all, Haslam needed somebody to run the coaching search. Former Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta couldn’t do it because he left Cleveland in November to run the MLB Colorado Rockies. A one-season turnaround for the Browns seems unlikely, given all the problems they have on offense. Owning the sixth and 24th picks in the first round of the 2026 draft is a huge plus, but not a game-changer. And as successful as the 2025 draft was with defensive tackle Mason Graham, linebacker Carson Schwesinger, running back Quinshon Judkins plus tight end Harold Fannin, none of those players is on the offensive line. It would be a bold commitment, and maybe a desperate one, for a coaching candidate to say he can make a star of quarterback Shedeur Sanders — the 144th pick in  2025. So what happens if the Browns go 5-12, 6-11 or something close to that next season? Would Haslam fire Berry a year from now? And if that happens, the next coach will be working for a general manager who didn’t hire him. “(The) head coach-GM relationship is a lot like a marriage,” Berry said during a news conference on Jan. 5. “You have to work side by side and fight back to back. And I think that’s really, really important because you have to be aligned in terms of how you’re positioning the team.” Current Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was interviewed last week to replace Stefanski. He would be a fine fourth choice if the Browns swing and miss three times at an offensive-minded coach they prefer. Andrew Berry arrives before the Browns-Steelers game Dec. 28 at Huntington Bank Field. (Sue Ogrocki - The Associated Press) ...read more read less