Walsh was a lifer in Cincy and was constantly overlooked for head coaching jobs, that his boss bad-mouthed him didn't help his case. Then San Francisco took a chance on him and basically set him up as coach and GM, the rest is history.
Belichick left before one day as head coach on the field for the New York Jets because the Patriots gave him more control over football operations. Call them what you want, the GMs in Foxborough are pupits, Belichick runs the football operation there and is answerable only to an ownership that largely stays out of his way.
The Cleveland owner seems to be relatively handsoff, unlike Jerry Jones. What he and his wife need is a coach that can basically run football operations, with a token GM to do pre-draft and contract work, similar to what Walsh had, Belichick has, and the great Pittsburg Steeler Chuck Noll had.
I don't see McDaniel as being the right fit, nor is McCarthy. The former Ohio State coach certainly is not the right fit, Jimmy Jones is the only former college coach that succeeded at the PRO level, Barry Switzer took a team that Jones built and won a Super Bowl on momentum.
Somewhere out there, there is a Bill Walsh waiting for a chance. Does the Cleveland owner and his wife have the six sense that Eddie DeBartollo Jr had when he hired Walsh.
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