The bye week is supposed to be smooth sailing for those NFL teams that are off as well as those who cover them.
But the Cleveland Browns are no ordinary NFL team.
On Sunday, ESPN's Adam Schefter delivered what was nothing short of a bombshell when he fired off this tweet just before 11:00 a.m.
Say what?????
Suddenly phones all over the city of Cleveland blew up as everyone was trying to figure out what was going on. Was this a faux tweet? Did Schefty lose his mind? Or were the Browns seriously considering the former Secretary of State as a head coaching candidate?
There are some women who are making inroads in the NFL coaching caravan, as my colleagues Matt Florjancic and Lynna Lai reported. I believe Becky Hammon will be an NBA head coach at some point in the near future.
I think the world of Rice, who was in the trenches for all eight years of the George W. Bush administration, four years as National Security Advisor, followed by four years as Secretary of State. She is also very active in collegiate sports, serving on the selection committee of the College Football Playoff for three years and also chaired a commission on the state of college basketball.
And of course, she loves the Browns! But qualified to become the team's head coach? Not so much.
The Browns scrambled quickly to put out the public relations fire as GM John Dorsey released a statement, which was followed by one from Rice.
So what do we make of all of this?
My former colleague Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland reviewed the events of Dorsey's press conference last week. Asked whether age would be a significant factor in the next coach, he stated “I just want the best possible head coach to move this thing forward regardless of age. It could be a woman, too.”
Hyperbole led to speculaiton and it turned to ridiculousness, according to Grossi.
Dennis Manoloff of Cleveland.com had this theory, which I can see as well:
Either way, the Browns have to look past this and focus on the remainder of the season. They have six games left, starting with the Bengals on Sunday in Cincinnati. If they want to take the next step in their development, they have to start winnings some games on the road.
Sunday against Hue Jackson and company would be a fine time to start that new trend.
Watch the Donovan Live Postgame Show in the player above