Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is no stranger to the football world. Since getting out of politics, Rice has been a member of the College Football Selection Committee and been a rumored candidate to one day take over as NFL commissioner. The Cleveland Browns reportedly have other plans.
Perhaps commissioner isn’t in the cards though. Maybe Rice will ultimately end up on the sidelines. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that the Cleveland Browns are interested in interviewing Rice for their head coach position. Rice, a lifelong Browns fan, would become the first woman NFL head coach if she’s ultimately hired.
Browns interested in interviewing @CondoleezzaRice for head coaching position, according to @AdamSchefter. These photos, taken in 2004, are the only available shots of her form. (? by Jeffrey A. Salter) pic.twitter.com/RpEndv4d67
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 18, 2018
The prospective Browns candidate’s most high-profile job came during the George W. Bush presidency. Prior to that, she was the president’s National Security Advisor. From 2005-2009, Rice was Bush’s Secretary of State. Since then, aside from being involved with college football, the 64-year-old Rice has been involved in the academic world, mostly at Stanford University. She has also published several books that range from academic works to biographies and memoirs.
Cleveland assumingly will open up their head coaching spot once the season ends. They fired Hue Jackson on October 29th and have been guided by interim head coach Gregg Williams ever since. The Browns have been something of a league laughingstock for a while now.
In 1995, the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens. They got the franchise back up and running in 1999. But since then have only had two seasons that concluded with a winning record. Since the end of the 2014 season, they’ve only won seven games.
Browns’ upper management is obviously looking for a stabilizing presence to lead their organization. Looking at a person who once held the fifth-most powerful position in the country (and maybe the world) isn’t a bad place to start.
