Kyle Shanahan watches from the sidelines against the Chicago Bears at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Browns have reportedly snagged “their guy” to fill the offensive coordinator vacancy, as a source tells FOX Sports’s Alex Marvez that the Browns have hired Kyle Shanahan as their offensive coordinator. It was reported earlier this week that Shanahan was no longer a candidate for the gig, which made sense since the Browns hired former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to the staff. However, the Browns always had their eyes set on doing what the Baltimore Ravens did this week by assembling a stacked staff of coaches on the offensive side of the ball. Their plan was to hire both Loggains and Shanahan to the staff, which Shanahan as an OC and Loggains as, likely, the quarterbacks coach.
The Ravens, of course, hired former Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, who once had interest from the Browns, and brought in his former offensive coordinator Rick Dennison as their QBs coach. They tried to make their coaching staff even more stacked by going after former Texans and Washington Redskins OC Shanahan, but he ultimately turned them down.
If the Browns lost out on Shanahan, then they would have simply let Loggains be their offensive coordinator, which definitely wouldn’t have been “settling”. Although having both Shanahan and Loggains is obviously better, Loggains is a very solid OC and has plenty of respect. Norv Turner is a great OC and was a great hire for Mike Zimmer and the Minnesota Vikings, but I think it’s safe to say that the Browns came out winners by getting both Shanny and Loggains, who are both terrific minds on offense. The Browns desperately need some great offensive coaching, too, since they don’t have a franchise QB, a legitimate running back, or a No.2 wide receiver to help out Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron.