The Cleveland Browns have reportedly requested, and were granted, permission to interview Jaguars defensive line coach Joe Cullen, according to a report from Mike Garafolo of USA Today.
Browns requested permission to interview Jags DL coach Joe Cullen. Permission granted.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 14, 2013
Cullen has spent the last three years with the Jaguars after he was hired in 2010. In 2012, the Jaguars struggled to apply much pressure to opposing quarterbacks, finishing dead last in the NFL in 2012 with 20 sacks. The Browns, conversely, finished 2012 in a tie for 11th in the league with 38 sacks, but continue to mull the possibility of a change to a 3-4 defense. New head coach Rob Chudzinski told reporters last week that the Browns’ defensive coordinator will decide the scheme the team plays in 2013 — Cullen was a part of the 4-3 in Jacksonville.
In August, 2006, Cullen was involved in a pair of alcohol-related incidents. The more notable one involved his trek through a Wendy’s drive-through in Dearborn, MI, while naked.
“Well, it’s simple; it’s called a blackout,” Cullen later said about the incident. “When you have a blackout, bang. You realize, being educated [about alcohol abuse] that you drink too much. I’m sure there’s a lot of incidents out there where people don’t remember a thing they did the night when they were drinking. That’s basically what happened.”
Prior to joining the Jaguars, Cullen had three years of experience with the Detroit Lions as a defensive line coach and has many years of coaching experience at the collegiate level with Massachusetts, Richmond, LSU, Memphis, Indiana, Illinois and Idaho State.
The current Browns defensive line coach Dwaine Board. What position the Cullen interview is for is not yet known.
[Related: A new coaching staff could mean a change to a 3-4 defense...]
