May 25, 2013

Browns’ exhaustive coaching search is refreshing

January 3, 2013 by 61 Comments

It came out this morning that the Browns’ brass interviewed former Arizona Cardinals coach (and former Pittsburgh coordinator) Ken Whisenhunt. This, on the heels of their interview with Ray Horton and news of their forthcoming interview with Chip Kelly. Those are just the names of candidates that we know of since Joe Banner and Jimmy Haslam stationed themselves in Arizona around the Fiesta Bowl where Kelly’s Oregon team is set to face Kansas State tonight. The Browns have been linked to other names as well. Obviously their first move to go to Arizona shows that their first priority is Chip Kelly. Whether or not you like or agree with that, compared to the last two coaching searches in Berea, this one definitely feels different. Different in a good way.

Randy Lerner hired Eric Mangini nine days after he was fired by the Jets. He did so only after failing to land Scott Pioli as his general manager. Lerner spoke to other candidates like Steve Spagnuolo, Josh McDaniels and outgoing Browns defensive coordinator Mel Tucker before hiring Mangini.  [Read more...]

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Schefter: McDaniels will not interview for head coaching jobs

December 31, 2012 by 6 Comments

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, New England’s Josh McDaniels will not be interviewing for head coaching vacancies.


McDaniels had been linked to the Browns as a possible head coaching candidate. He was previously a head coach in Denver.

[Related: Browns to interview Dirk Koetter]

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Grossi: Josh McDaniels and Mike Lombardi likely to become Joe Banner’s puppets

December 18, 2012 by 26 Comments

Fresh off of their soul-crushing loss to the Washington Redskins, it appears that the inevitable shake-up of the Cleveland Browns front office and coaching staff is starting to take more shape. From ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi:

It is commonly believed that GM Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur will not be back. Heckert, my sources say, knew it the day Banner reported to work in October as Haslam’s CEO. Shurmur surely knows it now, after that coaching debacle against Washington on Sunday.

Banner has diagramed an organization chart that calls for football operations to report to him. That means Heckert’s position will be replaced by a glorified player personnel director who will work closely with Banner. He may win some battles but ultimately he will have no real authority to establish a vision, pick players or make trades. Banner will set the agenda.

So who would accept these restrictions? Someone who has been out of the league for five years – Mike Lombardi.

Grossi continues by listing three coaching candidates who could join Lombardi in Cleveland: Alabama’s Nick Saban, Oregon’s Chip Kelly, and New England’s offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Saban is rumored to be on the receiving end of a 10-year, $100 million deal, but has no interest in coming to Cleveland, especially if it is Lombardi who is calling shots.

Kelly would be a serious candidate, but is rumored to want full control of the roster if he would accept a head coaching spot in the NFL. With Banner and, potentially, Lombardi in tow, this would not happen in Cleveland.

The third choice, and potentially the most likely to actually happen, would be former Denver Broncos head coach and current New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. A native of Canton, Ohio, there are ties to the area; at age 36, he is not considered to be much of a retread despite his failed attempt at Mile High. Grossi adds that if it were McDaniels who is hired, it would likely meant that Dick Jauron would be retained as defensive coordinator.

[Related: Did Brandon Weeden call the 69-yard TD pass to Travis Benjamin himself?]

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Browns Begin Work on Assembling New Coaching Staff

January 15, 2011 by 13 Comments

As the Ravens and Steelers prepare to play for the right to head to yet another AFC Championship game, the Browns organization is searching to replace yet another coaching staff.  The Browns introduced their head man yesterday but the process of filling out the rest of the staff, including the all-important positions of offensive and defensive coordinator, remains.

It was reported yesterday that current Browns defensive coordinator Rob Ryan was  being pursued by the Dallas Cowboys for their defensive coordinator position.  Ryan, who technically could remain with the Browns and has one year left on his contract, had entered into negotiations yesterday with Dallas and it is likely he will land there within the week.  That would leave a void at DC that many are speculating the Browns will fill with current Eagles Defensive Backs coach Dick Jauron.

[Read more...]

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Could Denver Coaching Change Have Cleveland Implications?

December 7, 2010 by 23 Comments

The Broncos jettisoned head coach Josh McDaniels on Monday, and speculation is underway as to who might replace him in the Mile High city. Browns fans have to be concerned this off-season about losing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Ryan has been showered with praise for his work in confusing some of the best Quarterbacks in the league. Just today Ron Jaworski was on ESPN radio calling Ryan a genius- “Rob Ryan is doing some of the most unique stuff in the league. His Amoeba D and Creep schemes are nearly impossible for opposing qb’s to figure out.”

Now, we all know that just because a man is a great coordinator doesn’t mean that he will be a good head coach. Ryan however, has the family legacy going for him, and will at some point get the chance to guide an entire team. Even Eric Mangini went on record this season saying he hopes Ryan gets his shot.

The good news, if you’re looking for it, is that at least early on the Broncos don’t appear to have Ryan on the short list. [Read more...]

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Great Peyton Hillis Highlight Video

November 30, 2010 by 21 Comments

There are a lot of garbage highlight videos on Youtube. This is not one of those. This video is very well done.

Then I read the first comment on the video that speculates (in completely unsubstantiated fashion I must add) that Peyton Hillis “accidentally hit on McDaniels wife at some function.”  I don’t believe that rumor, but it made me laugh. I am sure Denver fans are scratching, scraping and even making up stories to try to explain why McDaniels would part with Peyton Hillis.

Plus, we know this story isn’t true because if Peyton Hillis had hit on McDaniels’ wife, wouldn’t she now be Hillis’ girlfriend?

Just jokes people. Enjoy the video.

[Read more...]

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While We’re Waiting…Harrison Ready, Shaq Backs the Refs (and tweets!), Examining Tribe Scouting

September 19, 2009 by 2 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email in the sidebar.

Jerome Harrison

The Browns final injury report heading into this week’s game against Denver includes all three running backs although Jerome Harrison looks like he will be ready to go: “Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, RB Jerome Harrison was inactive, presumably because he was not fully recovered from the injuries that hindered him in the preseason. Harrison returned to full participation in practice Friday, and should be available for this Sunday’s contest against the Denver Broncos. Will any of the other running backs be ready though?” [Chris Pokorny/Dawgs By Nature]

[Read more...]

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What’s worse – being untrustworthy or unapproachable?

July 18, 2009 by 16 Comments

mangini-brownsSo, I still don’t really know what to think of the Browns’ hiring of Eric Mangini.  On one hand, he definitely seems to be going about things in the right way.  He’s patched up silly tiffs with players, he’s drafted fairly well, and he’s brought in players who know his system.  On the other hand, the whole hiring process seemed a bit odd, and Mr Lerner has not been too open to the media about the whole process.  At the time, I thought maybe Josh McDaniels would have been the better hire – but as things have progressed, I’m thinking that the Browns probably got the right coach.

Craig has said things along the same line, but based on this report from NFL.com I’m finally on board.  It’s not all new news, but it’s enlightening nonetheless.  According to the article, the media and many of McDaniels’ players don’t see him as trustworthy.  Now, it’s fairly obvious that many of the players on the team were distressed by the whole Jay Cutler situation.  Having your new coach come in and get in a conflict with your starting QB is never good (although I suppose it’s nice to actually HAVE a starting quarterback).  But as things have moved along, it doesn’t seem that much has been done to repair things in Denver.  Couple that with the state of the Brandon Marshall situation and you’ve got dicey team relations. [Read more...]

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Mangini vs. McDaniels

June 16, 2009 by 7 Comments

Let’s be up front and honest here.  This race is way way way too early to call.  Still, as I was watching the scroll on ESPN yesterday proclaiming that Brandon Marshall has demanded a trade from the Denver Broncos, I couldn’t help but think about it.  I vowed after the off-season hiring of Mangini and Kokinis to monitor the other high profile situations in Denver and Kansas City where regime changes were taking place.  After a rocky start, I think you would have to say so far so good for Eric Mangini.  I also think you would have to take his early returns as Browns fans over the early “returns” of McDaniels in Denver.

Granted Mangini got off to a real rocky start with one of the only bona fide Pro Bowlers on the team in Shaun Rogers.  Granted there were questions about his trade of Kellen Winslow.  Granted Mangini seems almost magically drawn to previous Jets players.  But even with all that said, he hasn’t run a Pro Bowl caliber QB and now a Pro Bowl caliber wide receiver out of town.  And as soon as Winslow signed that super duper expensive deal making him the highest paid tight end in the league (IN THE LEAGUE) even the angriest of Browns fans had to give Mangini a pass on trading K2. [Read more...]

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Cutler to Cleveland Doesn’t Make Sense

April 1, 2009 by 23 Comments

jay-cutlerSometimes the Browns talk around here gets a little silly, I will admit.  While I am not going to participate in a moratorium, I can’t help but take some of the over-coverage of the Browns this off-season to heart.  As a result, I will try not to go too long on this whole thing, but I just can’t understand why the Browns would want Jay Cutler.  It flies in the face of pretty much everything we have heard so far in terms of Mangini wanting guys who are all about team.  That was at least partially the reason that they traded Kellen Winslow.  So why would they bring in a guy who has babied and whined his way out of Denver because of the new head coach and front office?

I don’t think the Browns would bring Cutler in because of those things.  Mangini wants a leader for the QB spot on his team.  He needs someone that leads the offensive huddle and leads by example on the practice field and in the weight room. [Read more...]

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Browns FO/Coaching: Who Ya Got?

January 2, 2009 by 24 Comments

Over the holidays, it has sometimes felt like my wife and I have been in the car more than we’ve been home. As an unintended consequence of that, my writing for WFNY has effectively fallen off the face of the earth over the last 10-14 days.

Coincidentally, the one major Cleveland sports story in that time period has been the house-cleaning in Berea and the prospects of a new regime both in the front office and on the sidelines. I am bummed that I have not weighed in more thoroughly here, but that stops now!

I wanted to make this a quasi-open thread to gauge where our readership is at relative to the names out there for both positions… both the rumors, and perhaps the ones we don’t hear about. More than just the rumors, though:

As a fan, WHO DO YOU WANT? [Read more...]

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December 31, 2008 by 13 Comments

Add Josh McDaniels to the list of potential coaches to be interviewed. The New England offensive coordinator has been given permission to speak to Randy Lerner according to the OBR.

The Browns pursuit of McDaniels is not a surprise, as he has often been mentioned alongside front office possibility Scott Pioli as a potential target for the Browns head coaching job. Cleveland also has interviews scheduled with ex-Jets head coach Eric Mangini, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. Those interviews are expected to take place between today and Saturday.

(H/T Barry McBride)

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