Shurmur says coaching staff nearly complete

By Mary Kay Cabot

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND

Browns coach Pat Shurmur confirmed he will go without an offensive coordinator — an unorthodox move in the NFL — and said his staff is basically complete.

He said he will call the plays and act as head coach/offensive coordinator his first season on the job.

“I think it’s going to stay that way [without a coordinator],” he said. “I will actually take that role and then we have quite a few very accomplished coaches on offense.”

Shurmur believes he will be fine assuming the extra duty, even though this is his first time as a head coach. Only one NFL team went without an offensive coordinator in 2010 — the Patriots under coach Bill Belichick. The Cardinals split the job between running and passing game coordinators.

“I feel like we’ve hired a terrific staff and everybody on this staff has roles and issues of the day,” Shurmur said.

“I feel really good about how we’ve structured things and I think it’s going to work well.”

Shurmur, who spent the past two seasons calling plays as the Rams’ offensive coordinator, said there was never any doubt he would call his own plays here.

“I think that’s the key piece,” Shurmur said. “As you go through the week, you put the plan together and everybody in the room has input. I think that’s the way I’ll do it.”

Shurmur hired Mark Whipple as quarterbacks coach and Mike Wilson as receivers coach. He retained three offensive assistants from former coach Eric Mangini’s staff: Gary Brown (running backs), Steve Hagen (tight ends) and George Warhop (offensive line).

Whipple has five years of NFL experience, including three with the Steelers in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s first three seasons in the league. Wilson has six years of NFL experience, covering stints with the Raiders and Cardinals.

Shurmur hoped to hire either Mike McCoy or Bill Musgrave as offensive coordinator, but McCoy remained in Denver and Musgrave took the Vikings job.

“We made an effort to hire the very best guys we could, and I think that’s the way it shaped up this year,” Shurmur said.

Shurmur said he’s thrilled to have landed defensive coordinator Dick Jauron, who worked under Browns president Mike Holmgren in Green Bay, and alongside Shurmur’s uncle Fritz, who was the Packers’ defensive coordinator.

“I’ve known [Jauron] a long time, just in the profession,” Shurmur said.