It's anyone's guess who will land the Browns' head coaching job, but it's very apparent Baker Mayfield wouldn't mind being reunited with his former college coach in Cleveland.
The rookie quarterback told reporters Wednesday that Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley is ready for his NFL chance.
"Lincoln's been ready," Mayfield said, per Cleveland's 92.3 The Fan. "The respect level he's had from all of his players. He's ready, but that's his decision."
This isn't the first time Mayfield has brought up Riley when talking about the Browns' head coaching search. Shortly after the team fired Hue Jackson in October, Mayfield advocated for Riley as a potential NFL head coach.
"I think his style would work, but that's just because of who he is," Mayfield said in October. "He's smart. He gets his guys to believe in him. That's what it is. So does [Browns interim coach] Gregg [Williams]."
While Mayfield isn't going to be directly involved in the hiring process, he figures to play a prominent role in who the Browns ultimately pick for the job. One of Cleveland's top priorities in the years ahead will be to maximize every scintilla of talent within Mayfield in order to transform the Browns into a playoff team.
Riley's got a pretty good thing going in Oklahoma -- and Mayfield acknowledged that Wednesday. But if Browns general manager John Dorsey believes Riley is capable of translating Mayfield's bona fide college success into NFL stardom, he should do all he can to reunite him with his one-time QB in Cleveland.
