The Cleveland Browns fired coach Freddie Kitchens after one rather dismal season at the helm of a team that was supposed to take a leap into the playoffs and instead took a step backwards to finish 6-10, closing the season with a loss to the, at the time, 1-14 Bengals.
Shortly after Kitchens was dismissed, general manager John Dorsey “mutually parted ways” with the organization just three years after arriving with great expectations. What exists currently in Cleveland is a void in the two most important non-playing positions in the franchise, and as such the search is on for replacements. By getting rid of both Dorsey and Kitchens, the team can offer a larger role to their next coach, allowing him to be a bigger part of the personnel decision-making process, for better or worse.
The Browns have long appealed to their fanbase by bringing in players from Ohio State through the draft, so it should come as little surprise that Urban Meyer’s name has become connected with the Browns opening. The Browns reportedly have “strong interest” in the former Ohio State and Florida head coach, per The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter also floating Meyer as a possibility for the Browns on Get Up! on Thursday morning.
I’m hearing that the #Browns have strong interest in former #OhioState head coach Urban Meyer, per sources.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 2, 2020
"I don't think he winds up as the Dallas Cowboys head coach. I think Cleveland would be an interesting situation to watch with Urban Meyer."
—@AdamSchefter pic.twitter.com/ThWopkTR6Z— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 2, 2020
That’s enough smoke to raise eyebrows, but the question remains: Why would the Browns want Urban Meyer? Ohio State got better in the first year after he stepped down, with Ryan Day taking over as head coach and making staff upgrades that got rid of some of the coaches Meyer hired because they were his friends or had some connection to one of his mentors somewhere along the way. Meyer has always been an elite recruiter at the college level, but that isn’t a skill that translates in a major way to the NFL level. As a coach there is no doubting he is good, but at this point of his career it’s hard to see it as being a tremendously high upside hire.
All of that is to say, it would be the perfect Browns hire to bring in a coach who was once leading the offensive revolution in the sport but is no longer on the vanguard of what’s next, who has ties to the region thanks to a very successful stint at Ohio State that means nothing to NFL success.
