CLEVELAND (AP) — to cross gender or diplomatic lines.General manager John Dorsey T. J. Carrie Color Rush Jersey , who opened the possibility of hiring a woman to be Cleveland’s next coach, said Sunday that the team has not discussed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a candidate to become the club’s ninth coach since 1999.ESPN, citing an anonymous league source, reported that the team would like to interview Rice, an ardent Browns fan since childhood, for its coaching job.However, Dorsey said she is not on the team’s current list of candidates.“Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a great leader, possesses the highest possible character and also happens to be a Browns fan,” Dorsey said.“I have the utmost respect and admiration for all she’s accomplished and was honored to meet her for the first time earlier this season. Our coaching search will be thorough and deliberate, but we are still in the process of composing the list of candidates and Secretary Rice has not been discussed.”Earlier this week, Dorsey said he would consider a wide-range of candidates.“I just want the best possible head coach to move this thing forward regardless of age,” he said. “It could be a woman, too. I am serious. Who knows?”The 64-year-old Rice would be an historic and outside-the-box candidate for the Browns, who fired Hue Jackson last month after he won just three games in two-plus seasons and went 0-16 in 2017.There has never been a woman interviewed for a head coaching job in the NFL.On her Facebook page https://www.brownsfanshop.com , Rice professed her deep love for the Browns and said confidently, “I know they will hire an experienced coach to take us to the next level.”“On a more serious note, I do hope that the NFL will start to bring women into the coaching profession as position coaches and eventually coordinators and head coaches,” she wrote. “One doesn’t have to play the game to understand it and motivate players. But experience counts — and it is time to develop a pool of experienced women coaches.“BTW — I’m not ready to coach but I would like to call a play or two next season if the Browns need ideas! And at no time will I call for a “prevent defense.”Rice’s last reference is common among die-hard Browns fans, who still bemoan then-coach Marty Schottenheimer’s decision to play soft coverage in the 1986 AFC championship game when Denver quarterback John Elway drove the Broncos 98 yards to a game-tying touchdown in the final seconds. “The Drive” as it’s known helped the Broncos beat the Browns 23-20 in overtime, denying Cleveland a trip to the Super Bowl.Rice discussed her love for the team during a visit to the Browns’ headquarters in 2010. Her passion for the Browns dates to her early years in Alabama, where she and her father watched games together and cheered for Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown on teams coached by Paul Brown.Rice has become increasingly involved in sports, serving on the College Football Playoff selection committee and chairing a commission on college basketball.She served as secretary of state under President George W. Bush from 2005-09.Dorsey said interim coach Gregg Williams will be interviewed for the full-time position following the season.The Browns have a bye this week and will face Cincinnati next Sunday, when they’ll have a reunion sorts with Jackson, who was hired by the Bengals as a special assistant to coach Marvin Lewis. BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Somewhat lost and overlooked amid Baker Mayfield's public spat with former Browns coach Hue Jackson is that the rookie's playing at an elite level.This quarterback isn't all talk.Mayfield had a November to remember, completing 74 percent of his passes (65 of 88) while leading the Browns (4-6-1) to two wins and the edge of serious playoff possibilities. The No. 1 overall pick has thrown nine touchdown passes and just one interception in his past three games while earning a 129.5 rating — second only to New Orleans star Drew Brees.Nothing fake about those numbers.Mayfield, who threw a season-high four TD passes last week — is the first rookie in NFL history to record ratings of 140-plus in consecutive games, and his efforts earned him rookie of the month honors.Rookie of the year may be next.It's not a coincidence that Mayfield's recent rise came after Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were fired. With running backs coach Freddie Kitchens taking over for Haley and calling plays Browns Customized Color Rush Jerseys , Cleveland's offense has played with a faster tempo, has been more versatile and efficient.Mayfield is getting rid of the ball much quicker, spreading it around to his playmakers and making better decisions.It would be easy to surmise Jackson was holding him back, but Mayfield doesn't think that's the case."No," Mayfield said. "I mean, obviously the easiest answer would be to look on that and say, ‘Yeah, I've played a lot better since then.' But that's not it. It's just been about me doing my job and doing it at a high level. So it's not about that. I wouldn't blame that at all."Still, it's worth considering where the Browns would be if Mayfield had begun the season as the starter and not Tyrod Taylor's backup.But that's irrelevant now as Mayfield has the Browns winning — they snapped a 25-game road losing streak last week at Cincinnati — and playing in meaningful December games, starting with Sunday's matchup in Houston against the Texans, who have won eight in a row.With his impressive career start, Mayfield has converted numerous doubters who thought he was either too small or too smug to succeed.Texans star Deshaun Watson isn't surprised by anything Mayfield has done. Watson and Mayfield are friends, their bond beginning as college rivals and strengthened as offseason workout partners.Watson has been around Mayfield long enough to see how players, teams and cities gravitate toward the No. 1 overall draft pick."I saw that when he was playing at Texas Tech and saw it at Oklahoma Cleveland Browns T-Shirts ," Watson said. "That is what drew me closer to him, want to be around him and get to know him a little better because I can feed off of that energy that he gives off. Everyone wants to play with him. The guy is a playmaker."He is playing very well. That is the reason why they are having a lot of success because he is leading that team, he is leading that organization and he is going to have a bright future, a bright career, win a lot of games, win championships and do a lot of things for himself and that organization."Mayfield might be in his first season, but Kitchens said Cleveland's staff isn't modifying any aspect of the game plan because of his inexperience.No time for that."There is not babying him into anything," Kitchens said. "He is doing a good job. He works hard during the course of the week. He puts time in after hours and before hours. He is doing a good job of staying focused on the task at hand inside of one play, inside of one read, inside of one practice and one game. That is how you continue to progress. It is not overwhelming him or anything like that. It is just continuing his progress on a play-by-play basis."NOTES: Kitchens joined the chorus of Mayfield supporters who had no problem with the QB objecting to Jackson taking a job with Cincinnati or calling his former coach "fake." day. Haley said Mayfield had every right to speak his mind. "If he said it, that's what he feels," Kitchens said. "And I'm standing behind Baker Mayfield. … Suddenly it's big news if we don't want to turn it into a Kumbaya after the game and turn it into fist bumps and hugs. I don't think Baker disrespected anybody in what he said. He spoke what he felt."