Joe Cleveland will admit that when he found out that the Cleveland Browns hired a new head football coach and his name was Rob Chudzinski, my first thought was, "Chud? Really?"
Chudzinski's choice seemed totally out of left field. In fact, when the local and national media reported that Chudzinski was in town a few days ago for an interview, I made a joke about how it's become "The ghosts of Browns offensive coordinators past."
With Montreal Alouetttes head coach Marc Trestman (quarterbacks coach 1988, offensive coordinator 1989) already in for an interview and Colts offensive coordinator/interim head coach Bruce Arians (offensive coordinator 2001-03) supposedly coming in for an interview, the Chud addition (tight ends coach/interim OC 2004, offensive coordinator 2007-08) seemed pretty crazy.
Who would be next, Lindy Infante? Jim Shofner? Jeff Davidson? Brian Daboll?
However, it appeared Chudzinski, who had spent the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, helping turn Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton into one of the most dynamic offensive performers in the NFL, showed enough of the virtues that Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III and CEO Joe Banner were seeking in their first head coaching hire (and 14th full-time head coach in Browns history -- sixth since the franchise returned in 1999).
And, as the hiring ruminated around my mind, the more I really liked it.
When the Chip Kelly infatuation went away, either because Haslam and Banner didn't feel he was fully committed to becoming an NFL coach or Kelly didn't want to come to Cleveland (or a combination of the two -- he wound up taking a pay raise to stay in Oregon after talking with the Browns, the Eagles and the Bills), and the Nick Saban ship sailed with Saban wanting to stay in Alabama, the Browns turned to coaches who had been in the NFL.
Haslam wouldn't confirm who he interviewed, but judging by media reports, you could say they talked to the following: Chudzinski, Kelly, Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone (took the Bills job), ex-Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, Trestman, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton. Arians was on the radar, but his recent hospitalization may have soured the Browns on him. They also reportedly contacted ex-Steeler head coach and current CBS analyst Bill Cowher when Cowher told Newsday was interested in returning to coach, but Cowher told the Browns (and the four other teams that were looking) that he didn't mean he'd return "this year."
It was clear that Haslam and Banner wanted an offensive-minded NFL head coach, even though they did talk to Zimmer and Horton. Zimmer, Trestman and Whisenhunt would have to be considered finalists for the Browns job, especially since Whisenhunt was brought back for a second interview after they talked to him last week in Arizona.
Banner boasted a lot about how, when he was with the Eagles, they unearthed Andy Reid and made him their head coach in 1999. Reid, a Green Bay quarterbacks coach who had never called offensive plays, was on nobody's radar as a legitimate coaching candidate. He wound up staying there 14 years and would likely still be there if his team didn't slump to 8-8 and 4-12 finishes the last two seasons.
When Haslam joined the Steelers, they were in the midst of replacing Cowher, who "retired" to the comforts of being an analyst. The three choices were Whisenhunt (the team's offensive coordinator), Russ Grimm (the team's offensive line coach) and Mike Tomlin (the Vikings' defensive coordinator). Tomlin, who had never been on anybody's radar as a legitimate head coaching candidate, was surprisingly given the job over the two in-house candidates. Tomlin has since taken the Steelers to two Super Bowls in his first four years of coaching, winning one of them.
Chudzinski was a hot candidate last season after Newton's emergence. He interviewed for the Jaguars', Rams' and Buccaneers' openings, but was passed over for all three. This season, the only team out of the seven that were seeking a head coach to contact him was the Browns.
Chud, a Toledo native who grew up a die-hard Browns fan, seemed to fit the profile of the type of guy that Banner and Haslam were looking for -- an off-the-radar guy that they felt would be the next diamond in the rough.
There's no denying Chud's status as one of the NFL's up-and-coming offensive minds. Look no further than the job he did here in Cleveland in 2007.
Chudzinski, who was brought to the NFL by Butch Davis in 2004 after a successful playing and coaching career at the University of Miami, didn't survive the regime change from Davis to GM Phil Savage and Romeo Crennel. He spent the next two seasons coaching tight ends in San Diego, overseeing Antonio Gates' emergence into on of the NFL's best tight ends ever.
After Crennel's hand-picked offensive coordinator, Maurice Carthon, was a colossal failure and run out of town midway through his second season, the Browns needed a new offensive mind. They turned to Chudzinski.
The result was, arguably, the best offense this town has seen during the expansion era. In fact, you could say that it was the best offense since the Bernie Kosar heydays of 1986-89.
The Browns were eighth in the NFL in total offense that year. The offense sent four players to the Pro Bowl -- quarterback Derek Anderson, wide receiver Braylon Edwards, tight end Kellen Winslow and rookie left tackle Joe Thomas. Anderson came out of nowhere to throw for 29 touchdowns and 3,500 yards. Edwards and Winslow gave the Browns a pair of 1,000-yard receivers for the first time in team history. Also, Jamal Lewis rushed for 1,300 yards, so the Browns had a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers all in the same year.
And, that team won 10 games, the only time since 1999 the Browns have reached double-digits in wins and the most wins the Browns have had since they won 11 (12 overall) in 1994. They were denied a playoff berth due to tiebreakers with the Tennessee Titans.
The following season, the Browns slumped to 31st in total offense and to a 4-12 record. The Browns went through four starting quarterbacks that season -- Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey and Bruce Gradkowski. Lewis barely rushed for over 1,000 yards, but was clearly not the same runner. Edwards regressed and became a liability due to his butterfingers and antics on the sideline, and Winslow ended the season not only injured, but bickering with the team's GM.
Savage and Crennel were shown the door following that dismal season. New head coach Eric Mangini elected not to retain Chudzinski, despite his being under contract through 2011, and decided to go with his hand-picked OC, Brian Daboll. Great choice, Mangini!
Chudzinski went back to San Diego, where he was named the assistant head coach behind Norv Turner in 2009 and 2010, before joining Ron Rivera's staff as the offensive coordinator in Carolina in 2011.
History will show that Chudzinski got the absolute most of his offensive personnel in 2007. Anderson's career has flamed out since that miracle season, to the point where he's been nothing more than a clipboard holder in Carolina the last two seasons. Edwards got to back-to-back AFC Championship Games with the Jets, but never made the Pro Bowl again and has spent the last two seasons as a journeyman. Winslow battled injuries in Tampa Bay and was released by both Seattle and New England this past season, only playing in one regular season game. Lewis' career ended in 2009 on injured reserve, while Joe Jurevicus (who caught 50 balls for 800 yards in 2007) was out of the NFL following the 2008 season.
You could make a case that the best Brady Quinn has ever looked as an NFL quarterback occurred while Chudzinski was the offensive coordinator in Cleveland. He put up 30 points against Denver in his first professional start in 2008, but was injured the following week and missed the rest of the regular season. He regressed in 2009 under Daboll and didn't take another NFL regular season snap until this past season with the Kansas City Chiefs.
After hearing all the talk about Chip Kelly and how his gimmicky offense would be a poor fit for Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy, you've got to think that Weeden fits Chud's offense like a glove. His vertical-based passing attack should play into Weeden's strengths, which is a strong arm that can make all the throws. Weeden was really reined in with Pat Shurmur's and Brad Childress' West Coast Offense, rarely getting the chance to throw deep. Chud wouldn't comment on Weeden or any of the Browns' personnel, but I'm sure Weeden isn't worried about his status for next year anymore.
Same goes for Trent Richardson. Chud's offenses can get the most out of their running backs. In Carolina, he split things pretty evenly around DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Newton and Mike Tolbert. But, as we've seen with the Browns, a powerful runner can excel. Jamal Lewis rushed for the most yards in a single season by a Browns running back not named Jim Brown or Leroy Kelly (both Hall of Famers) in 2007. I'd expect the same for T-Rich, if he stays healthy.
Joe Thomas has already proclaimed this to be a great hire. Winslow has chimed in via Twitter and Cleveland radio to say that Browns fans won't regret it and that Chud was the most innovative offensive mind he'd ever been around. Of course, Bernie Kosar gave his 100 percent endorsement, considering both are from "The U."
Above all else -- his offensive prowess, his age (44), who he's bringing with him (Norv Turner) -- probably the one thing that sold me the most on Chud was this one intangible -- he gets it.
Chudzinski talked about how coaching the Cleveland Browns was his "dream job," and how he grew up pretending to be Ozzie Newsome and Brian Sipe in his backyard. He talked about how he and his family always wanted to sit in the Dawg Pound but never got a chance to, so, during cold-weather games, they'd face the TV out the window and they'd all sit outside watching the game. He says he's eaten a few dog biscuits back in the day.
Obviously, you won't have to twist his arm to have him watch "Cleveland 95: A Football Life" like the media did with Pat Shurmur. Hell, he probably doesn't have to watch it because he LIVED IT.
He doesn't have to be schooled about why the Steeler games mean so much to this fan base, or why there is still a deep-seeded hatred for the Ravens because of what the Dead Judas did to this town, or why the Battle of Ohio still means something around here. He suffered through The Drive and The Fumble and Red Right 88 like we all did. He remembers the Kardiac Kids and Bernie's Bunch.
You don't think a guy who spent his childhood living and dying with every Browns game wouldn't be totally motivated to turn this franchise into a winner so the next generation of children will have the same love affair with this team as he did, as you and I did?
I'll use Ohio State as an analogy. We all remember how miserable it was under John Cooper's tenure as Buckeyes' coach. His 2-10-1 record as Michigan speaks for itself, because he never understood the rivalry and what it meant to Buckeyes fans. Ohio State replaced him with a Division I-AA head coach named Jim Tressel -- a life-long Ohio resident who spent a few seasons as an assistant under Earle Bruce. The first thing he tells the fan base is that they'll be proud of his teams "in the classroom, in the community and especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Mich., on the football field," and everyone went nuts!
Tressel went 9-1 against Michigan in his 10 years. He GOT IT! And that's why a lot of Buckeyes fans have forgiven his transgressions that caused him to be fired and place the school on probation.
They replaced him with Urban Meyer, another native Ohioan who had an impeccable college coaching resume who grew up bleeding Scarlet and Gray. He said Ohio State was his "dream job."
Despite a bowl ban, his Buckeyes went 12-0, the only undefeated team in the country. Oh yeah, and they beat Michigan, who Meyer refers to as "That Team Up North."
Most everyone wanted Jon Gruden to come here because he grew up in Ohio and was a die-hard Browns fan growing up. Saban was attractive because he spent time in Ohio while in college and coached the Browns from 1991-94. Both those guys appeared to GET IT.
Chudzinski doesn't have the resume that Gruden or Saban have, but there's no denying that the man GETS IT.
All the Browns fans lamenting about what a "letdown" this hiring is now I believe will be singing a different tune in about a year or two. It's funny how some fans proclaim they really wanted Trestman to be the head coach (really? Marc Trestman?). In reality, those fans would be crying about hiring a Canadian retread who failed as the Browns' offensive coordinator in 1989. Hearing fans say they wanted Whisenhunt makes me believe those same fans would be crying about why the Browns would hire a retread who couldn't develop a QB and suffered through some dismal seasons in Arizona the last 2-3 seasons. Listening to fans pine for Arians like he's the second coming of Tom Landry makes me laugh.
Honestly, the only coach the Browns could have hired that would have been universally accepted is Bill Cowher. Not even Gruden or Saban would have been universally accepted. No matter who the Browns hired, a large segment of the fan base was going to bitch and moan.
I don't agree with it, but I get it. We're all tired of losing and we want to see a winner. We want to see a champion. We want to see our team bring in the big-name head coach, but it doesn't always work that way. And, I'll remind everyone again -- Andy Reid, John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin weren't "sexy" big names when the Eagles, Ravens and Steelers hired them as their head coaches.
Yes, Chud's lack of head coaching experience ANYWHERE is concerning. But, I'll say it again -- would you have rather had an unproven NFL commodity and career college coach in Chip Kelly come here? Would you have rather had an NFL head coach that flamed out in his previous job with back-to-back losing seasons like Ken Whisenhunt come here? How about a college coach that went 25-25 in the Big East like Doug Marrone? Sure, there would be a segment that would have been on board with these hires, but there would still be a lot of naysayers.
People complain about not hiring Zimmer, but there's a reason why so many teams bring him in to get interviewed and he gets passed over year after year after year after year. The man's been on the head coaching radar for a long as I can remember. Yet, he doesn't get any jobs. Perhaps because he says what's on his mind without a filter. Fans may love it, but it could alienate his own players, his opponents, his bosses, even some of his fans. Just look at Rex Ryan and what a buffoon he's turned out to be, and realize that Rob Ryan was nothing more than a windbag during his two years as the Browns' defensive coordinator and is out of job once again.
Some fans are concerned that Chud may switch defenses from a base 4-3 to a base 3-4. We all remember how Crennel tried to force feed a 3-4 to the Browns and how it failed for four years and then another two under Mangini's watch. We saw how the defense immediately got better when Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert and Shurmur switched to a 4-3 with Dick Jauron as defensive coordinator, and fear that a switch would set the team back a few years. Calm down.
Chudzinski said he'd leave the choice of schemes to whoever he hires as his defensive coordinator and favored a "hybrid" scheme that featured multiple mix-and-match defensive fronts. Yes, they'd need immediate help at linebacker if they go to a 3-4, but then again, they need immediate help at linebacker if they stay with a 4-3. D'Qwell Jackson is the only legitimate starter this team has, and keep in mind he began his career as an inside linebacker in Crennel's 3-4.
Some fans may see Chud as not a legitimate upgrade from Shurmur, and I can see your point. Both guys were unproven head coaching commodoties. Both were off-the-radar hires. However, Shurmur got his job because Mike Holmgren wanted to hire everyone that his agent represented and felt like he could manipulate Shurmur into becoming a legitimate head coach (he failed, which is why he's in Arizona sipping umbrella drinks begging teams to bring him in for interviews). Chudzinski got his job because Haslam and Banner believe he's the best candidate.
Haslam and Banner may have "settled" for Chud after losing out on the grand college coach sweepstakes last week. However, if the other choice was bringing in Chip "Don't call me Steve Spurrier" Kelly, than I'll take this type of "settling" any day of the week.
Go Browns!
Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!
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