May 24, 2013

Reports: Browns rebooting head coach search without Chip Kelly

January 6, 2013 by 45 Comments

What a difference two days and a lunch running into dinner makes.

The Browns’ contingency has left Arizona where they interviewed Chip Kelly on Friday among many others this week. According to various reports, including ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, they are heading back to Cleveland to regroup and continue the coaching search with Kelly’s name crossed off the list.

This too, from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, seems to hammer it home.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who originally reported that the Browns and Kelly were close to an agreement, says that super-booster Phil Knight is pulling Kelly back to Oregon.

So, where do the Browns go from here? Bill O’Brien and Doug Marrone, who the Browns interviewed as well, are now off the board in addition to Kelly. That leaves former Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt and Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton as the two candidates the Browns have interviewed that are still in play.

It’s certainly possible that the Browns open the search back up again with several other viable candidates still out there.

[Related: NFL Rumor: Chip Kelly could stay at Oregon]

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  • cmm13

    Accidentally posted twice.

  • EdgewaterJoe

    CHUCKIE! He and Haslem know each other, he clearly wants to coach again, he’s got OH connections, he’s up on how the NFL is changing, and he even seemed to like Weeden last year. Seems like a natural to me – but what do I know?

  • maxfnmloans

    Anyone else reminded of that scene in “Days of Thunder” where Randy Quaid is in the office with Harry Hogge and Cole Trickle talking about how he “had sponsors in the audience, and was shaking their hands and kissing them in the ear AND WHAT DO WE DO?!?!?! WE END UP LOOKING LIKE A MONKEY {defiling} A FOOTBALL OUT THERE!!!!!”

  • EdgewaterJoe

    I also wouldn’t mind kicking the tires on Whisenhunt. Are Weeden or McCoy any worse than Kevin Kolb?

  • EdgewaterJoe

    Yeah, but given that Kelly may stay in Oregon, he’s the one that looks like a monkey. A money whose harness is held by Phil Knight.

  • cmm13

    So does this make Kelly officially the shortest tenured Browns coach in history?

    Also, welcome to the very public world of owning an NFL team Jimmy, kinda different from those comfy closed door Pilot meetings isn’t it?

    Also also, it’s time to start talking to us instead of the rumor mill churning everything out except for a head coach hire…. The shine on your aggressive coaching search is wearing off fast.

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Scott @ WFNY

    “Also also, it’s time to start talking to us instead of the rumor mill churning everything out except for a head coach hire…. The shine on your aggressive coaching search is wearing off fast.”

    If I could up-vote this more than once, i would.

  • maxfnmloans

    True, if Kelly stays in Oregon after flirting with the NFL two years in a row, he will take a hit (in NFL circles, at least).

    But no matter how we see it, the rest of the world will be saying “LOL Browns!”.This is not how you rise up from the ranks of “Laughingstock”. This is also NOT the “Steeler” way (which is good I suppose because the Steeler way also involves mustachioed women and some sort of ball gag)

  • ByeByeBernie

    What’s Plan C now that Cleveland reboots coaching search? … ByeByeBernie … a blog from Cleveland fans for Cleveland fans … weighs in: http://byebyebernie.wordpress.com

  • cmm13

    Seriously…just ask to be added to the links section of the site instead of whoring yourself out in the comment section.

  • saggy

    been thinking: maybe Browns are just stalling for after BCS championship to talk to Saban. Even though Saban said he is staying at Alabama, the Browns may make him an tough offer to refuse.

  • Harv 21

    Completely disagree. When in the last 48 hours would Jimmy have spoken to us, why and what? The surest way of screwing up a competitive search and hire is to update us constantlywith anything substantive. The last leak was “expect an announcement … ” Didn’t work too well.

  • MrCleaveland

    Maybe Kelly can announce his Decision on a one-hour ESPN special.

    Good riddance to this egotistical punk.

  • Harv 21

    salty. But I’m feeling that too. Klieg lights get good to the chipper.

  • Tron

    This is pretty much the brownsiest result that could have happened. Left alone at the party again, yay for plan D

  • cmm13

    No time in the last 48 hours… It’s time to start talking now.

    At the very least they need to refute/spin all the rumors from Friday of this being a done deal.

    Something to the tune of “While our meeting with Mr. Kelly was constructive from both parties we still have additional candidates to meet with to ensure our decision on the future coach of the Cleveland Browns is the correct choice.”

  • ByeByeBernie

    Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll try that. Just trying to share the blog. It’s obviously not on the same level as this one … and it most likely never will be. But I think it’s funny and informative and there aren’t many ways to share it besides avenues like this. If you don’t want to read it, skip over it.

  • Bryan

    Why should Haslam concern himself with the stupid rumors on Twitter? For all we know, none of them were ever true. Haslam is running a coaching search. His job is focus on finding the best coach he can, not to manage the irrational fears of Browns fans who stare at Twitter all day and talk themselves into things for which there is no evidence. And I say that as someone who spent all day yesterday staring at twitter.

  • Kenny_Chill

    I like Ken Wisenhunt’s coaching a lot. I thought he made lemonade out of lemons with his roster in Arizona. But his Super Bowl appearance was with an elite WR and an elite QB who was practically a second head coach. I was really looking forward to a fresh start with a head coach who would be able to work with the young roster and develop them into something awesome. To me, Wisenhunt seems like the kind of coach who works better with veterans. I don’t know how to feel about all of this. The wind has really been taken from my sails after losing out on every first choice who would work with our roster and with a GM hole that’s still glaring at us.

  • TSR3000

    This is a blessing in disguise. Let’s get Lovie or Wiz. Proven winners. Both know how to get to a super bowl and command respect.

  • cmm13

    Sharing is good and sorry for the harsh tone, I’m a little touchy today.

  • cmm13

    Because those fans that stare at Twitter all day are his paying customers.

    To play the “Im the all powerful billionaire owner of the team who just got publicly ripped over the weekend by ill talk to ya when I talk to ya” card would be dangerous with a fan base on the edge from over a decade of failure…and an a lot like the Lerner/Holmgrum regime we just got rid of.

    In the end I don’t need their new plan but I NEED THE NEW PLAN. ;)

  • dwhit110

    You wouldn’t be apologizing if you tried to read the post that he’s linking to.

  • gobrowns

    I like it. I think Haslem said to Chipper,… “I’m not getting i.to a bidding war, see ya.”

  • BuckeyeDawg

    ^ This. No reason to hitch our wagon to the college flavor of the month when there are several head coaches out there with experience and Super Bowls on their resumes who are looking for work. I think we dodged a huge bullet with Kelly.

  • gobrownies

    I like it. I think Haslem told ol’ Chip,…”I’m not getting into a bidding war, see ya.”

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Scott @ WFNY

    Read the “before you comment” before you comment. Send any links to our tips address — this isn’t a message board.

  • ByeByeBernie

    Thanks, Scott. I just e-mailed with Rick and received the same message.

  • saggy

    @Bryan – companies these days employ people solely for the purpose of handling the media, be it social or traditional. To think that the Browns wouldn’t have a person to be the buffer between the FO and the press is either scary or amateurish. ha – or both.

    I don’t particularly think that the FO owes any of us anything beyond the most basic of answers.

  • saggy

    liked it so much you said it twice.

  • http://brian23.com Brian

    That’s exactly the generic type of statement that would come out – how is that useful in any way? End result is there’s still no new coach, so who cares?

    People need to relax – reporters feeling a need to fill their Twitter stream with non-info are making people insane.

  • cmm13

    It is useful in the way that it shows you are controlling your own PR as opposed to allowing the national media write you into the grave.

    The Cleveland a browns are a business… and right now the national reviews on the business paint the portrait of them being inept as they have failed to acquire Kelly, O’Brien, Marrone, Saban; all of which have been linked as 1,2,3 and 4 candidates.

  • http://twitter.com/bbo13 B-bo

    No. Just…no. Gruden talk must stop.

  • http://brian23.com Brian

    Guess it depends on whether one feels the fans are owed information from the team during this process. I don’t think they are, unless it’s something substantial. Clearly they didn’t get Kelly – hearing it direct from them doesn’t change that.

  • cmm13

    I can definitely understand the ones who will say they personally do not need an update, to be honest I’m there as well.

    What I am saying is that by allowing the national media to write away you make yourself look even more inept than we already look….and that’s tough.

  • ByeByeBernie

    Sorry you guys didn’t like it.

  • dwhit110

    It’s not that I didn’t like your opinion on the coaching search as much as I couldn’t even understand it between jokes about anal sex, male virgins spooging, and many, many other inappropriate, offensive jokes. What an exhausting read.

  • WFNY_DP

    Gotta say, I’m considering Kelly a bullet dodged at this point. If the guy is this wishy-washy, then he’s not the guy I want running this team. I don’t want to wonder if he’s going to bolt in two years a la Petrino if something better comes along.

    Plus, as I’m sure you all know, I wasn’t that high on him to begin with.

    I guess what I’m most tired about is the national media meme I heard on the radio today of “How bad are the Browns? No one wants to coach them!” Maybe it’s the candidates.

  • WFNY_DP

    I’ve heard that on the radio, and I think it’s crap. To cite a guy who’s teased the NFL for two years as well as O’Brien who I think would have looked worse bolting Penn State after preaching the big buy-in for all of those kids isn’t fair to the Browns.

    Now, if they start striking out as the job openings dwindle, then maybe there’s a problem.

  • mgbode

    Haven’t failed on saban till Tuesday

  • WFNY_DP

    As long as the “rebooted” coaching search doesn’t end with Josh McDaniels…

  • ByeByeBernie

    There’s definitely a certain audience I’m trying to reach. The humor is crude and offensive. I feel that I’ve received a lot of positive feedback on it. But there’s also people who feel it’s too over the top. Thanks though.

  • Kildawg

    I thought McDaniels said that he wants to stay under Belichek and continue to look good because of Brady being a perennial Pro Bowl QB.

  • WFNY_DP

    As Nino Brown once said, “Money talks, and [cow-dung] runs a marathon.”

  • kjr44035