Keeping cool

Shurmur unruffled by early miscues

By Marla Ridenour

Akron Beacon Journal

CLEVELAND

If Pat Shurmur had any worries that he wasn’t ready for this moment, wasn’t ready to be an NFL coach, his demeanor never showed it.

There was not a glimpse of anxiety or doubt on his face, at least during occasional glances his way during the Browns’ 27-17 preseason-opening victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers on Saturday night.

Shurmur looked calm and professional, unruffled by a few inevitable mistakes after the NFL lockout robbed his young team of valuable offseason work.

He seemed in control, almost like a born leader.

“That’s exactly what it is,” Browns cornerback Joe Haden said. “He has that ’it.’ “

Shurmur joked about having 12 men on the field for the first defensive snap, forcing the Browns to take a timeout just six seconds into the game.

“We tried to set a record,” he said.

He couldn’t have liked how starting quarterback Colt McCoy handled the first play, an incompletion to rookie fullback Owen Marecic that ended up being ruled a fumble. Marecic was the fifth option and wasn’t ready for the ball, but Shurmur didn’t seethe about it later.

“My first response was, ’Oh, geez, that’s backward,’ “ Shurmur said. “I didn’t want to make it too obvious. [McCoy] came right back and said, ’Coach, I should have just run with it.’ “

Those two miscues could have opened the floodgates for disaster, or at least disorganization. But the Browns regained their composure, perhaps because their leader never lost his.

At least that was the feeling from middle linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, playing for his third Browns coach in six years.

“It all starts up top,” Jackson said. “[Shurmur] has created a winning environment. The coaches are relaxed and it trickles down to us players.”

Second-year strong safety T.J. Ward also appreciates Shurmur’s approach.

“Coach Shurmur is real calm,” Ward said. “He expects you to do your job and be a professional. He lets us go out there and be men. We really appreciate that because he’s not riding us all the time.

“As men we have to knuckle up and know that this is our job. We’re not just here to play football. We’re here to win and play football. He let us know that right off the bat.”

Shurmur’s predecessor, Eric Mangini, had his strengths, foremost his attention to detail and expertise on defense. But never did one of his Browns players describe him as “calm.” On the field, his face usually conveyed consternation.

Before Mangini was Romeo Crennel, whose visage eventually signalled resignation, his authority robbed by General Manager Phil Savage, his roster not nearly as talented as Savage thought. Supremely qualified to be a defensive coordinator but overmatched as a coach, Crennel gave his players too much rope.

Hired on Jan. 13, Shurmur has never been a head coach at any level. He served as a coordinator for only two seasons, directing the St. Louis Rams’ offense in 2009-10. Ten of his previous 12 years in the NFL were spent in Philadelphia, coaching quarterbacks, tight ends and offensive linemen.