Tag: ken whisenhunt

Browns Can Have Open Search for Coach Now

The Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner had a press conference last Monday announcing the firing of coach Pat Shurmur and GM Tom Heckert.   In the question and answer period, both gave the public what they were looking for in a new coach.

In reality, they were looking for one man, University of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly.  They interviewed other candidates, talking to former Cardinals boss Ken Whisenhunt and Arizona defensive coordinator Ray Horton, and the reportedly interviewed Syracuse coach Doug Marrone.

But more and more it looks like Kelly was the apple of their eye, and that was the wrong way to handle the process, particularly with the Browns being on the cusp of being a contender.

When you have your mind made up, it alters the way you think.  You start believing everything said by your guy is golden, and you go into the other interviews not fully engaged.

The whole thing blew up in Haslam and Banner’s face when Kelly didn’t return their affection and will likely stay in college.

The problem that critics of the situation had with Kelly was that he never coached at the NFL level, and betting on him to get the Browns turn the corner seemed like a huge risk.  It was the ultimate high risk, high reward hire.

We preferred someone who would put a better offensive scheme in place than the one Pat Shurmur employed, one the stretched the field both horizontally and vertically which would benefit the two players selected in the first round a year ago, QB Brandon Weeden and RB Trent Richardson.

So now the Browns have to start over again.  They are looking for an offensive minded head coach and that would mean the leading candidates are probably Whisenhunt, Patriots offensive coordinator and former Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniels, current Denver O/C Mike McCoy, Washington OC Kyle Shanahan, and 49er offensive head man Greg Roman.

All of their offenses ranked in the league’s top ten, and to be sure there will be mention of Bengals coordinator Jay Gruden as well, and his offense was 11th in the NFL.

Former Bears coach Lovie Smith should be talked to as well, because of his 81-63 record in nine years in Chicago, including four 10 win seasons, a Super Bowl berth, and nothing less than seven victories since his first year at the helm.  Smith has a defensive background so he would need an offensive coordinator, but he has a good track record of winning.

Whisenhunt has had offenses ranked in the top half of the league, but in two of the last three seasons, his offense has ranked in the bottom two in terms of yardage.  His offense has struggled since Kurt Warner retired.

Shanahan is young, but appealing because of the way he (and his father, Mike) changed their offense to fit what Robert Griffin III could do, and also altered his attack again when Kurt Cousins started against the Browns.

That’s what Cleveland needs.  Someone who will get the most out of the talent at hand, particularly when it comes to Weeden and Richardson.

These two were first round picks and they should at least get the opportunity to be in a system that fits their strengths.

Weeden played in a shotgun attack in college, and people who think you can’t run out of that formation simply wasn’t watching the playoff games this weekend.

Maybe Weeden can’t play in the NFL, but there are a lot of experienced people in the league who think he can, but the offense didn’t emphasize what he did well.

His critics say he looked uncomfortable last season, and if that’s the case, maybe it was because he was doing something he wasn’t used to doing.

This is not to say that handling Weeden is the chief chore for the Browns new head coach.  He hasn’t reached that level for sure.

However, the new coach should be a guy who looks at the other offenses of winning teams in the NFL, and gives Cleveland an offense that looks similar to those teams.

The talent on the Browns’ roster should be ready to win in 2013.  Haslam and Banner need to hire the guy who can get that done.

JD

Browns Need Coach, Not System

Now that the dust has settled regarding the firings of the Cleveland Browns head coach and general manager, it is time to look at what kind of coach Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner should be looking for.

The early speculation has the Browns intrigued by Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who has been in charge of an NFL team before, and is a former defensive coordinator with Cleveland in the Bill Belichick regime.

Reportedly, Banner is in Arizona this week to interview Oregon coach Chip Kelly, an offensive guru who runs a spread option type of offense.  However, Kelly has never coached at the NFL level.

It would be nice if Haslam and Banner at least kicked the tires on former Bears’ coach Lovie Smith, who has coached in a Super Bowl and whose team went 10-6 this season, and Ken Whisenhunt, who took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl a few years ago.

However, what the Browns really need is a coach.  They need a man to come in, look at the talent available and put together a system or game plan that emphasizes the strengths of that talent.

And this isn’t talking solely about Brandon Weeden either.  They need to get the most out of Trent Richardson, a young receiving corps, an offensive line with three high draft choices, and a defense that has a good base because of a young, talented line.

So a switch to a 3-4 scheme would involve getting new personnel, which would likely mean a process taking more than one off-season.

If Kelly can do that, great.  The same with Saban, Smith, or Whisenhunt.

What cannot happen is another delay of a couple of years waiting for the new coach to bring in players who fit his style of play or system.  This is no time for patience, nor is it time to overhaul a roster because a coach wants to bring in his guys.

There can be no more delays in putting together a winning team.

Not after what we saw this year in which Indianapolis went from two wins to the playoffs.  The Rams went from two wins to seven.  The Vikings and Redskins each made the playoffs after winning three and five games respectively in 2011.

It can be done.

That should be the focus of the interviewing process conducted by Haslam and Banner.  Can the coach be adaptable or does he have to play a certain way with a certain system?

Coaches can have a preferred way to win games, particularly offensively, but look at the job John Fox did in Denver last season.  He tried to win with a conventional offense, but it wasn’t working, so he went with Tim Tebow and a system that showed off his strengths.

It probably wouldn’t have worked for the long haul, but it did for one season.

Remember also that Belichick went 11-5 with Matt Cassell playing QB for an injured Tom Brady.

The great coaches in the NFL adapt and change based on the talent they have, and from the press conference, it seems that’s the kind of coach the Browns want to hire.

The beef with Pat Shurmur was he was married to the west coast offense even though Weeden and Richardson would have been better in a different kind of attack.

They want someone who will be here for the long haul.  Someone that will have long-term success.

The Cleveland Browns need to hire a coach this time.  Not a system that the rest of the NFL will catch up to in two years, but a man who can lead and get the most out of his players.

Hopefully, they will find that guy.

JD