Who will be the next Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns? 

By: Casey Stamp and Raymond Lucas Jr.

             Reports from the Cleveland Plain Dealer created a buzz in Brownstown, announcing that both General Manager Tom Heckert and Head Coach Pat Shurmur were to be fired on "Black Monday" after the Browns lost the season finale to Pittsburgh. While these reports came as no surprise to fans in Cleveland and indeed around the NFL, they were unconfirmed and widely discussed until the announcement was made Monday morning that both had been let go. Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner met with the media Monday morning and discussed, among other things, the process going forward for finding the perfect leadership to make the Browns a championship squad a model of consistency like the Steelers and Ravens.

              Haslam and Banner announced that the first item on the agenda would be to find a suitable Head Coach for the team and that strong leadership was an essential quality to the position. Several times during the meeting with the press, the question of whether or not top candidates would have the desire to come to Cleveland was posed and Haslam stated time and time again that he believes not only is Cleveland among the best football towns, but that the position itself was extremely desirable and very rewarding. 

               In his 2 seasons as the Browns Head Coach, Pat Shurmur amassed a 9-23 record. Hardly the type of success that will assure job security, however, members of the coaching staff like Dick Juaron have improved the team in terms of leadership and consistency in some phases of the game. Juaron's 4-3 scheme was so recently adapted that a change might be detrimental to the team in the short term. Haslam announced that he has discussed the changes with the coaching staff and told them that so long as they use the proper methods and keep him informed that they are free to pursue other positions. He also stated that the new Head Coach would be free to either keep the on-hand staff or bring in his own. Either way, the current staff has been warned.

               Haslam and Banner made it a priority to stay away from specific names, even though led into questioning that would attempt to pry the information out. They had also said that while the decision was not made until last week that Shurmur and Heckert were to be let go, he had been drawing up a succession plan for such events. 

                So, who will be the next Head Coach of the cleveland Browns? Let's take an in depth look at some of the likely candidates to lead the young core of players to success.

1. Chip Kelley (Oregon)

   
    Chip Kelly is currently the head coach of the University of Oregon's football program. Kelly has made the Ducks into a powerhouse in the PAC-10 and is known for his fast-paced spread offenses. He's got plenty of experience in dealing with a young core of players (like the one the Browns have) and has all the makings of a classic "motivator". In his 4 seasons as Oregon's coach, his record is 45-7. Impressive right? Not so fast, the PAC-10 isn't the talent laden powerhouse conference it once was. Teams like USC, UCLA, Oregon State and Stanford don't exactly make for National Championship level competition. While his offensive scheme works well in the NCAA there is doubt that it can translate to pro football. Chip is a top candidate for the job, but he comes with a few question marks despite his impressive accomplishments.
   
   2.  Bruce Arians (Indianapolis) 
   
   Bruce Arians took over as the interim Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts while Chuck Pagano was being treated for leukemia. Arians acted as a vocal and spiritual leader for his football team and amassed a 9-3 record, finishing 2nd in the AFC South and just before Pagano's return in week 17, a playoff berth. Before Indianapolis, Arians was the Offensive Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers and helped the team to 2 championships in his tenure. He's also got experience with Cleveland. Arians was the Offensive Coordinator for the Browns from 2001-2003 leading them to a 9-7 record in 2002. His resume speaks for itself and he's a natural born leader. Might be the most attractive candidate on the coaching market. San Diego has also expressed interest in his services so if the Browns want to pursue him, they'll have plenty of tough competition.
   
   
   
   3. Andy Reid (Philadelphia) 
    
   
   
    Change never comes easy, especially when you're talking about the longest tenured coach in the NFL and one of the longest in all of pro sports. Andy Reid coached the Philadelphia Eagles for 14 seasons and attained a 129-88-1 career regular season record and a 10-9 post-season record. Reid never won any championships and in a turbulent city such as Philadelphia, he was able to withstand years of heavy criticism which is definitely something he would need to do in Cleveland. He's already got ties to Joe Banner and there are rumors circulating that he's already been asked to interview for the job. If consistency if the target, Reid might be your guy.
   
   
   4. Josh McDaniels (New England) 
   
   
   
    Here's a guy who has already expressed tremendouds interest in the job. He's already stated that if presented with the opportunity to coach the Browns, he would accept. He is currently the Offensive Coordinator and the QB coach of the most consistent team in the NFL over the last decade, the New England Patriots. McDaniels has worked under Bill Belichick for many years and has held many different titles within the Patriots organization. He was also the Head Coach of the Denver Broncos from 2009-2010 where his record was 11-17. While McDaniels seems a likely candidate for the position, his experience isn't exactly as enticing as some of the others on this list. He might be a backup plan to some of the bigger names. A sure thing to fall back on. Nonetheless, he does have experience managing high-end QB's such as Tom Brady and Jay Cutler.  
   5. Bill O'Brien (Penn State)
   
   
   Bill O'Brien had arguably the toughest join in all of football in 2012. Picking up the shattered remains of the legacy of a tarnished Penn State hero: Joe Paterno. Many of Penn State's players transferred to other programs to avoid the sanctions that would be placed on the school in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal but O'Brien rallied the team to an 8-4 record, a much more successful season than anyone had anticipated. O'Brien was named Big 10 Coach Of The Year on November 27th and received ESPN's National Coach Of The Year award. While these accomplishments alone are impressive, O'Brien also worked with the New England Patriots for a number of years from 2007-2010 holding many different titles. You want a hard-nosed gritty, motivational NFL style coach? This might just be your guy. He's perfect for a town like Cleveland whose image in the NFL is in desperate need of redemption. 
   
                 So who will it be? It could be one of these five or numerous others such as Lovie Smith (released by the Bears) or David Shaw (Stanford) or Nick Saban but one thing is for sure, it takes a special type of personality to thrive in Cleveland where the media is known for being ruthless at times and where grace periods dont exist. My personal favorite is Bruce Arians. It's a long shot, but Arians exhibited exactly the type of leadership Haslam and Banner were looking for this year with the Indianapolis Colts. If indeed ownership is interested in Arians, they'll need to present an enticing enough offer to draw him off the market. 
   
    

Player Spotlight:

Brandon Weeden

          The Cleveland Browns hit the reset button yet again this last offseason when they drafted Trent Richardson with the 3rd overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft and Quarterback Brandon Weeden from Oklahoma State with the 22nd selection. They later added Josh Gordon, a wide receiver from Baylor in the suplemental draft. Weeden was received in Cleveland with cautious optimism. That is to say, while the fans were excited, they'd been through some dissapointments in the past and hesitated to fully embrace him immediately. 

           Weeden is not your typical NFL Rookie QB; He's already 29 years old. While it's not his first go round in the world of professional sports (He is a former pitcher for the New York Yankees) it's his first year in the NFL. The general expectation on Weeden is higher than that of many rookies given his age, though it's unfair to assume that it gives him any advantage. Weeden preformed very well in his years at OKST, defeating both Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck his senior year. 

           Going in to week 16 of the 2012-2013 NFL Season, The Cleveland Browns are 5-9 and yet, there is an optimism in Cleveland surrounding the Browns that could only compare to the Browns return in 1999 and for Brandon Weeden, this season has been somewhat of a roller coaster. The Browns begun the season 0-5 and for Weeden in particular, the beginning of the season was rough. In his first NFL game, the Philadelphia Eagles picked him off 4 times and didn't allow him a single touchdown pass.Over the next four weeks, he threw 5 more picks, one in particular that cost the Browns a close game against the Baltimore Ravens.

            Week 6 came for the Browns, and they were hungry for their first victory. In the week 6 match up against the Cincinnati Bengals, Brandon Weeden had one of his finest performances of the season throwing for 231 yards, 2 TD's and only 1 INT. Over the next several weeks, Weeden continued his improvement, making better decisions with the football and developing solid connections with fellow rookie John Gordon and second year player Jordan Cameron. Since the first victory over the Bengals, Weeden has thrown 7 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions. Not exactly stellar, but he's shown improvement in many areas. His poise in the pocket has improved over the course of the season and his field vision has undoubtedly improved as well. He's finding open targets and in most cases, throwing accurate passes. His issues mostly consist of forced plays. Often times, Weedens aggressiveness leads to turnovers. Rather than throwing the ball away when the play has broken down, he will force passes into double and even triple coverages. In the NFL, plays will come and go and sometimes, you simply must live to play another down.While Weeden has made some noticeable improvements since his first start, he will need to continue to work and improve not only his passes but his decision making and leadership.

             As the season winds down to its final two weeks, lets take an overall look at Weeden's stats and compare his first year (though not yet complete) with some other Browns QB's of recent years:

• 14 TD / 17 INT
• 3,281 Passing Yards
• 285 Completions
• 6.59 Avg yards per completion
• 72.4 Passer Rating

             How does Weeden's rookie season stack up with some other notable Browns QB's? First let's take a look back at the most recent, Colt Mccoy. Mccoy was drafted out of Texas and has the most wins of any college QB in history. His stint as the Browns QB was marred by inconsistency and injuries. 2011 was Colt's only season in which he played more than 8 games (he finished with 13) so we'll compare his 2011 stats to Weedens current numbers.

Colt Mccoy

• 14 TD / 11 INT
• 2,733 Passing Yards         
• 265 Completions
• 5.90 Avg Yards per Completion 
• 74.6 Passer rating

            Now lets take a look at how Weeden's numbers stack up with former Browns QB Derek Anderson. In 2007, Anderson led the Browns to a 10-6 record, one of their best seasons since the teams return to Cleveland. Anderson played in 16 games that season.

Derek Anderson

• 29 TD / 18 INT
• 3,787 Passing Yards
• 298 Completions
• 7.19 Avg Yards per Completion
• 82.5 Passer Rating

          

            Finally, lets put Weeden's stats up against the former 1st overall pick Tim Couch. In Couch's rookie year, he played 15 games only2 of which were victories.

Tim Couch

• 15 TD / 13 INT
• 2,447 Passing Yards
• 223 Completions
• 6.13 Avg Yards per Completion
• 73.2 Passer Rating

           So where does this leave Brandon Weeden going into the final two games? It means he's got something to prove. If he wants to show that he's really the QB of the future for the Cleveland Browns, he's got to come out strong in his final 2 performances against the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers. Brown's fans possess the same cautious optimism about the rookie QB as they did when the Browns selected him and with new owner Jimmy Haslam making his "evaluations" at every position of the organization, Weeden needs to take the caution out of that equation.

Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

  Phil Dawson has been a Brown for as long as many fans can remember. Not only has Phil been an asset on and off the field with his skill and veteran leadership, but he’ also been a big hit in the community. With all the focus on the Browns three game win streak which is incredible to say the least, many fans have become even more vested in Phil’s contract negotiations with the team. 

A vast majority of Cleveland fans want to see him retire wearing Orange and Brown, but he’s expressed interest to go elsewhere and in order to franchise tag him once again, the Browns would have to pay Phil an exorbitant salary; among the top 5% of all NFL players.Now before everyone gets started on the importance of a kicker, Lets hear some facts: Phil Dawson recently joined the 300 club, as one of the only 25 players to ever register 300 field goals made. This year Phil Dawson has attempted 27 field goals and has made 26, his longest being a 52 yarder. The definition of reliability. 

I for one believe that the Browns should pay him good money for his efforts. While we are on the subject of kickers, lets face it, they  don’t get paid much (comparatively speaking of course). Kickers are undervalued as it stands and with all of the recent media attention surrounding the possible elimination of kickoffs, kickers stock might plummet even further. Many NFL kickers are known for their loyalty to their respective franchises Guys like Sebastian Janikowski, Jason Hanson, and of course Phil Dawson. Thats where a hard working, blue collar, roll up the sleeves and get to work guy like Phil Dawson hits home. He’s the first on the field and the last to leave. Browns fans love him for a reason, we all want to see him back in Ohio but first things first we have got to get a contract figured out. 

Dawson is the most senior member of the Cleveland Browns at 37 and is a role model for many of the younger players in the locker room, his value far surpasses that of the points he puts on the scoreboard. Phil is sure to be inducted into the hall of fame at some point and he should forever be enshrined wearing the same jersey he’s worn his entire career.  After All he is a true member of the Browns nation and the Browns franchise. While new Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has stated he won't be doing any negotiating until after the season has wrapped up, you can bet he’ll be under heavy pressure to keep Dawson a Brown for life.       

                                                                                                  By:Raymond Lucas Jr

Monday's Marks

The Browns took on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at home. Coming off a win in Oakland, they wanted to keep the momentum in their favor to turn back to back wins into a legitimate streak.

Kansas City struck first when, on the first play from scrimmage, Jamaal Charles broke through the Browns defense for an 80 yard touchdown run. The Browns would punt on their first possession setting up a field goal opportunity for KC, which a false start penalty would force back 5 yards, causing Ryan Succop to miss the field goal off the left goalpost.

The Browns marched back down the field and collected 3 points of their own and followed that drive with a punt return touchdown courtesy of Travis Benjamin, giving the Browns a 10-7 advantage, which they would take into halftime.

The second half was even better for the Browns, as a pair of Trent Richardson TD's and a pair of Phil Dawson FG's sealed the Browns third consecutive victory 30-7.

Milestones

It was the largest margin of victory for the Cleveland Browns since Nov. 16th, 2003 when the Browns thumped the Cardinals 44-6.

Trent Richardson tied Jim Brown’s 1957 team record for rushing touchdowns by a rookie with nine.

Phil Dawson registered his 300th FG. One of only 25 players ever to do so.

Grades:

   Brandon Weeden: B

Weeden made some nice throws to Greg little, Josh Gordon and Benjamin Watson, but in instances, he took unnecessary sacks by waiting too long to get rid of the football. He showed improvement today by not throwing any INT's but to be a successful NFL QB, you need to make quicker decisions.

   Trent Richardson: A

Richardson may not have run for 100+ yards on Sunday, but he made big plays when they counted most, scoring 2 TD's in short yardage situations. The Browns will take points any way they can get them and it sure helps to have a guy who's as close to a sure thing as it gets around the goal-line.

    Josh Gordon: B+

Another good day for the young wideout, John Gordon caught 8 passes for 86 yards. Weeden and Gordon seem to have developed a solid connection and it's paying massive dividends for both parties. Gordon, who was taken in the 3rd round of the NFL supplemental draft, is looking more like a top 5 pick with his play this season. He's minimized rookie errors while maturing at a fast pace throughout the season. He's been a huge contributor to the Browns current 3 game win streak.

    Defensive Front-4: A

This may come as a surprise, given Jamaal Charles' 165 rushing yards, but, lets not forget that most of his yards came on one play at the opening of the game. After that, the guys up front did a tremendous job maintaining both Charles and Droughn, allowing no TD's the rest of the game. They also registered 3 sacks and put plenty of pressure on former Browns QB Brady Quinn all day long. Perhaps best of all, they allowed very few yards to Peyton Hillis who sat out most of last year on  a contract dispute.

Final Thoughts:

Another win for the Browns shows that this young team has grown this season after the 0-5 start. The Browns have won 5 of their last 8 games headed into the next game against the Washington Redskins who are likely without their starting QB Robert Griffin III. It's not playoffs, but another win would sure get Cleveland excited for whats in store for them going forward with this young core of players. 

 

Welcome to the Dawg blog

Welcome one, welcome all....

To your source for everything orange and brown. First, let me introduce myself. I'm Casey Stamp, a 21 year old journalist living in Los Angeles, California. I was born in the greatest city on the planet. I'm talking of course about Cleveland, Ohio a.k.a the 216 a.k.a Believeland a.k.a Brownstown.

I have dedicated my life to perusing a career in sports broadcasting for the National Hockey League. I am currently attending California State (Northridge) for my Journalism Bachelors. Why hockey? It's all about the passion. The passion of the players, the game and of course, the fans. I currently own and operate my own website (www.pensicebergradio.com) and host an internet radio show on Tuesday evenings throughout the NHL regular season covering the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Being that I am a proud native son of Cleveland, naturally, I live and breathe for my teams. The Cavs, The Tribe, The Buckeyes and of course, THE BROWNS!!!

I bleed orange and brown just like my father before me and his father before him. I LOVE my Browns and I love my city and no matter how tough things get, I always support my hometown boys.

I started up this blog so that my fellow Browns fans and indeed NFL fans can have a place to read about the goings on in the Browns organization. This blog will follow the team, it's players, the stadium and of course, snippets from the Cleveland community. 

Tony Rizzo once said in an awe inspiring rant "We invented football in this town". Indeed we did Tony and we WILL rise again. Believe that. Under new owner Jimmy Haslem, our Browns will flourish with experience and return to greatness as one of the NFL's most historic and dominant franchises. 

If you'd like to write for the Browns blog, you can contact me anytime on my facebook page. GO BROWNS!!

http://www.facebook.com/cstamp91