BEREA Larry Ogunjobi Color Rush Jersey , Ohio (AP) — Mike McCarthy’s connections with the Browns could land him his next job.Dumped by Green Bay on Sunday after 13 seasons, a Super Bowl win and amid a seemingly growing rift with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, McCarthy’s candidacy to become Cleveland’s next coach has gotten more legitimate.The 55-year-old McCarthy was already being mentioned as a possibility for the Browns, who dismissed Hue Jackson last month and will wait until after the season before hiring his full-time replacement.As far as center JC Tretter is concerned, the Browns couldn’t go wrong with McCarthy.“I’ve always enjoyed working with Mike McCarthy,” said Tretter, who played four seasons under McCarthy before signing as a free agent with Cleveland in 2017. “I think what he has done in his career in Green Bay has been extraordinary. I think he’s a great man, too. I don’t have a bad thing to say about Mike McCarthy. He was really an awesome leader and an awesome coach.”McCarthy is no stranger to the Browns.General manager John Dorsey, who has revamped Cleveland’s roster and is leading the team’s coaching search, spent 21 years as an executive in Green Bay and helped hire McCarthy. Browns assistant GM Eliot Wolf, son of former Packers GM Ron Wolf, worked in Green Bay’s scouting department for 14 years, and vice president of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith was with the Packers for 19 years before he was hired by Dorsey.Tretter said he can’t provide any more information to Cleveland’s executives about McCarthy than they have already.“They know enough upstairs,” Tretter said. “They got Eliot and Alonzo and they’ve got other guys from the Green Bay organization. I don’t think I can bring anything more to the table than they already know. They were with him longer than I was and they were upstairs with him more than I was downstairs with him, so I think they know everything they need to know. I’m just looking forward to seeing the direction we go with this team.”Dorsey hasn’t revealed much about his plans to hire Cleveland’s 17th full-time coach — and sixth in the past 10 years.Interim coach Gregg Williams Sheldrick Redwine Jersey , who took over for Jackson, will be interviewed; Dorsey has not disclosed who else is on his list. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley has been mentioned as a possible candidate along with Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Minnesota offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels among the most prominent names being mentioned.It will be tough for any candidate to have a resume as impressive as McCarthy’s.He went 125-77-2 in 13 seasons with the Packers, leading them to a Super Bowl title in 2010. However, Green Bay has struggled the past two seasons, missing the playoffs last year for the first time since 2008.The Packers are 4-7-1 this season, with McCarthy’s relationship with Rodgers becoming a weekly drama around the team.Tretter knows both men well, and said any of differences have been exaggerated.“That whole story line gets a little overblown,” Tretter said. “They are just two competitive people and I think they are both competitive in the same direction in that they both want the team to win. They just are very confident in what they think is best for the team to win, so I never really interpreted it as a bad thing.”Cleveland’s coaching gig has never looked so attractive.Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield has shown signs of being the franchise QB the Browns have coveted for years, and any coach who comes to Cleveland will be required to further develop him.Tretter feels McCarthy would be ideal for Mayfield.“They would do great, he said. “He started working with Aaron when Aaron was a rookie, too, and Aaron’s developed into a hell of a player http://www.brownsfanshop.com/Sione-Takitaki-Jersey , so I think that relationship would be fine. I see a lot of similarities between Aaron and Baker personality-wise, competitiveness, and that’s all the things that Aaron came in with, too, when he was a young player, so I think they’d work well together.”NOTES: S Denzel Ward remains in concussion protocol after getting hurt in Sunday’s loss to Houston. … DL Larry Ogunjobi (biceps) said he doesn’t think his injury is serious. Williams said Ogunjobi was still undergoing tests. … The Browns did not put a claim on former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt, waived Saturday after a video showed him shoving and kicking a woman at a Cleveland hotel. Dorsey drafted Hunt in the third round in 2017. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cam Newton insists he isn’t missing a game.The Panthers quarterback said he’ll be ready to play against the Browns on Sunday despite lingering pain in his throwing shoulder. But coach Ron Rivera wasn’t quite as certain Wednesday, leaving the door open by saying, “We’ll see. We’re not even to Friday.”More than 20 months after having surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound giant of a quarterback is still experiencing pain and discomfort in his right shoulder that is limiting what he can do on the field. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner has limited Newton’s downfield throws this season and twice replaced the league’s 2015 MVP with backup Taylor Heinicke when lining up for Hail Mary passes.Newton reps were limited in practice Wednesday — as they have been for several weeks — as part of Rivera calls “the new normal.”The Panthers (6-6) are a half-game behind the Vikings in the race for the second NFC wild card spot following a disappointing 24-17 loss to the Buccaneers last Sunday in which Newton was intercepted four times.Newton has thrown downfield fewer times this year than at any point in his career. That’s by design in order to prevent his shoulder from wearing out. As a result, he’s completing a career-high 69.5 percent of his passes, mostly because of the used of check-downs and short passes underneath the coverage.Rivera said Newton and the offensive coaches are “doing the best they can” to manage the situation. He said it’s critical that Newton communicates with coaches on how he feels.“We have to make decisions going forward as to how the offense has to click,” Rivera said. “He has to be very transparent with Norv when it comes to the plays” he can run.Browns interim coach Gregg Williams said Newton still has plenty of pop in his shoulder.“I’ve heard the reports (about the shoulder) Greedy Williams Jersey , but when I see the film I still him being able to zing in when he wants to,” Williams said. “And when he has a solid pocket where he can still get his body weight behind him, he can still do that.”When asked if he’ll need to get his shoulder addressed medically once again after the season, Newton said, “among other things.”He wouldn’t elaborate in his weekly news conference on what other parts of his body might need to be addressed, saying “c’mon, you know people are looking at this tape.”When pressed on whether he will need surgery, Newton grinned and said, “I can neither confirm nor deny.”Newton also declined to say if there’s a particular play in which he reinjured the shoulder or if it is simply the result of continued wear and tear on the body.Regardless, Newton said he doesn’t regret having the surgery in March of 2017, saying it “needed to be done.”But he also acknowledged he didn’t think he would still be having problems with his shoulder at this point in his NFL career.“I would not have expected me to still have the kind of things that are lingering from that, but it is what it is,” Newton said. “It’s about managing pain and understanding that you have a job to do and a responsibility to put your best product out on the field. I want to do that not only for myself but this team.”__