The question is, does John Dorsey and owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam feel the same way?
Now he waits for an answer.
“I really like this young team,” Williams said following a 26-24 loss to the Ravens. “I turned down multiple jobs to come to Cleveland. I really wanted the opportunity to come here. I really love living in Cleveland. I love the people in Cleveland. I have tremendous memories of coming up to the old ‘mistake by the lake’ stadium. Everybody called it that back in the late 80s early 90s. The crowd and the environment.”
It is unlikely that Dorsey will have a decision on Monday.
Dorsey along with ownership and whomever else is in the tight circle of trust coaching search committee these days will go through their interview process over the coming days, if not weeks, to determine who they will entrust their expectations of division titles, playoff runs and, hopefully, one day, a Super Bowl victory too.
"What questions are you going to ask me that I haven't already shown," Williams said. "We'll see."
If Williams doesn’t get the Browns head coaching job, he believes one awaits him this offseason with several teams set to make changes. Green Bay and Arizona are officially open with more certainly to follow on black Monday.
“Yes, there is word on the street that, possibly, yes,” Williams said.
Williams took over on Oct. 29 when Hue Jackson was fired along with offensive coordinator Todd Haley due to what owner Jimmy Haslam described as “internal discord” and the team a disappointing 2-5-1.
It cured everything that was wrong with the organization because the Browns went on to win more games over the second half of the season than they did the previous 3 years combined.
The Browns went 5-3 with Williams at the helm and Freddie Kitchens, who was the running backs coach at the time, promoted to offensive coordinator.
Williams did his best to deflect credit for the turnaround.
“What I try to do is make sure it’s not about me. It’s about them,” Williams said of the dramatic turnaround. “I wouldn’t be honest if I would not say that I’m proud of how they responded. I’m proud of them focusing and doing what I’ve asked them to do. And that means something to me too.”
Receiver Jarvis Landry, defensive end Myles Garrett and quarterback Baker Mayfield each sidestepped questions in the locker room about retaining Williams, not out of a lack of belief in him but as to not create controversy.
“I’ll keep my eye on it,” Garrett said of the impending search while adding, “No comment” when specifically asked if the current staff should be retained as is.
Mayfield, who broke the NFL’s rookie record for touchdown passes in a season while shattering the franchise record for passing yardage by a rookie QB in just 13 starts, is putting his trust in Dorsey to make the right call.
“The changes that were made management-wise, everything that they’ve done, I think speaks for themselves,” Mayfield said. “I trust Dorsey and his group to make the right decisions. They know me well enough to know how I feel about putting myself in the best position to win, and more importantly putting our team in the best position to win.
“So, they’re going to make the right call and it’s not my decision to make and so I’m not gonna get involved. They know how I feel offensively how we played the second half of the season. I love those guys in that room and that’s why I had success.”
Mayfield flourished under Kitchens, who is expected to receive interest from teams both as a head coach and coordinator after Mayfield flourished under his tutelage the final 8 games. Kitchens has won over some within the organization who would like to retain him.
Could they possibly elevate him to head coach to prevent him from bolting for a job elsewhere?
Don’t rule it out.
Williams managed to pull everyone together and do what few thought was possible outside of 76 Lou Groza Blvd. when the change was made – salvage the season.
“I love coaching, and I want to coach in the NFL for as long as I can,” Williams, who declined to say specifically if he’d be willing to remain with the Browns as the defensive coordinator should he not be chosen to be the head coach, said. “When people no longer want to listen to you, you’ve got to move on to something else. I’ve never had that problem.”
It is clear Williams didn’t lose the team. Far from it but what’s next for him remains to be seen.
“I’m going into this week taking the next step,” Williams said. “This is 30 years, so I’ve been through a lot of these steps. Again, what I’ve also said to you all before, ‘Don’t ever worry about me being afraid to compete.’ Competing, it is what it is. So, we will take the next step and see.”
Williams, who went 17-30 as Bills head coach from 2001-2003, clearly believes that next step is the opportunity to coach his own team again.