The Cleveland Browns are an improved team this season, but that improvement might not be enough to save the jobs of coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert.
New Browns CEO Joe Banner said Tuesday he would act swiftly in deciding the fate of both men after the season ends.
"I don't want to say if it's one day or two days or three days but I think it will be quickly," Banner said on a conference call to announce the hiring of Alec Scheiner as team president.
The million-dollar question is what comes next in Cleveland if the Shurmur and Heckert duo -- 9-22 over two seasons -- are jettisoned. The Boston Globe reported this week that Alabama head coach Nick Saban, Oregon's Chip Kelly and New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels are on the radar. A source told The Plain Dealer that McDaniels, fired as coach of the Denver Broncos in 2010, would "jump at the chance" to coach the Browns.
With men in place in Cleveland still trying to do their jobs and win games, much of this chatter is premature. Banner isn't talking about tomorrow, not yet.
"I'm going to stick with the same answer," Banner said. "Starting to go down the path of speculating on these things is not going to be helpful at this point. We're still going to decide at the end of the season on the people that are here and that will lead to whatever the next steps are at that point."
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.