The Browns have changed head coaches so often in recent decades that they were prepared to cast an unprecedentedly wide net during their search back in 2018, with ESPN reporting at the time that Cleveland hoped to interview former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a lifelong Browns fan, for their vacancy. Now, nearly four years later, Rice has addressed those reports again, telling Peyton and Eli Manning on their "Monday Night Football" broadcast that she still has no intentions to coach football.
"I certainly don't wanna be a head coach," Rice said when asked about the old reports.
The 67-year-old former National Security Advisor joked that if she were in charge of the Browns, she would "never ever call a prevent defense," alluding to Cleveland's infamous fourth-quarter collapse against John Elway and the Broncos in the 1986 AFC Championship. The Manning brothers didn't ask if she had actually been contacted by the team back in 2018, but Rice previously stated at that time that, while she remained loyal to the franchise as a fan, she had no interest in coaching.
Rice did, however, tell the Mannings she is proud of the expansive role of women in the NFL.
"I'm really glad to see women in the front offices, (and) in the front office of the NFL as well. That's a wonderful breakthrough," she said. "I think the next breakthrough is to see if women can find their way into position (coaching jobs) ... You're gonna have to have somebody who goes through that progression ... You do not have to have played this game to understand it and coach it well."
