Doug Marrone
/ file photo
CLEVELAND, OH -- A Cleveland newspaper says Syracuse football head coach Doug Marrone has interviewed for the same job with the Cleveland Browns.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner met with Marrone Thursday in Arizona to discuss the possibility of taking over the team’s vacant head coaching position. This is according to an unnamed source.
However, AP writer Tom Withers, who reports on the Browns and other Cleveland teams, tweeted Friday morning that his "Understanding is Doug Marrone not leaving 'Cuse."
Marrone, whose Orange went 8-5 this season and defeated West Virginia in the Pinstripe Bowl, has also been rumored for interviews with the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles.
The Browns were 5-11 in 2012 and fired coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert the day after their season ended.
Marrone, who holds a career 25-25 mark at SU, has experience as an assistant coach in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets before taking the head job with the Orange in 2009.
The Associated Press reported Friday morning that the Browns are set to interview Oregon coach Chip Kelly, who said he hopes to have the process "wrapped up quickly." The Bills and Eagles are also interested in Kelly, who is 46-7 in four seasons with the Ducks and coming off of a 35-17 win over Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl Thursday night.
Kelly is believed to be the top choice of the Browns. Haslam and Banner have been conducting interviews in Arizona all week.
(Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.)
