Shurmur secure with ex-head coaches

Associated Press

BEREA

Pat Shurmur sure must be secure in his abilities.

A first-time head coach now in his second season leading the Cleveland Browns, Shurmur comes from a coaching family with a strong NFL resume. He has created what he considers another family of his own by hiring three former head coaches on his staff: Brad Childress, Dick Jauron and Ray Rhodes.

And he works for one of the most successful coaches in recent NFL history, Browns President Mike Holmgren. Now, to top it all off, a new owner, too.

It can be a tricky dynamic. Should things go sour — Cleveland was only 4-12 in Shurmur’s debut season — there are experienced replacements at the ready.

Not an issue, the 47-year-old Shurmur says.

“I don’t feel threatened at all,” says Shurmur, who had 12 years as a pro assistant, including two as the Rams offensive coordinator, before taking on the challenge of rebuilding the Browns. “It’s smart to use all of the resources you have, and these coaches have tremendous knowledge and experience to offer.

“A good staff needs to have a good mix, whether it’s guys with that experience or young guys coming in. Every coach is better at certain things than others, and you use all of that to help your team.”

Helping the Browns emerge from a funk that has lasted nearly since returning to the NFL in 1999 — two winning records, one short playoff appearance — intrigued Jauron, the former head coach of the Bears, Bills and, on an interim basis, the Lions. He began coaching in the NFL in 1985 after an eight-season playing career.

His success as a head coach has been minimal (60-83), but he is considered one of the sharpest defensive minds in the game.

“The fact they have not had a lot of success here was interesting to me,” the 61-year-old Jauron says. “I like to be a part of building something and that is what I see coach Pat doing here. I think it’s a lot of fun and a great challenge.

“Pat is clearly in charge. He has a strong personality and a great football mind. He is the guy. [Shurmur feeling threatened] has never been an issue and won’t be with any [coaches]. When he wants info, he will ask for it and we readily provide it. There is nothing like [undermining] here.”

But it does exist on some teams, as Childress notes. Childress has had one stint as a head coach, nearly getting the Vikings to the Super Bowl in the 2009 season. But everything fell apart in 2010, including the unthinkable: Brett Favre getting hurt and missing starts. Childress was fired 10 games into that season.

Shurmur was eager to hook up again with Childress, with whom he worked on the Eagles, but felt Childress needed some time away from football. He hired Childress this year after Childress sat out 2011.

“Pat and I worked together in the basement of the old Vet, listening to the cats chasing the rats through the rafters before we moved to NovaCare and to Lincoln Financial Field. We had common problems we had to deal with there,” Childress says, laughing at the memories.

Coaching is all about solving common problems. Unfortunately, not all staffs have that common team goal. It’s like in rowing: If everyone in the boat isn’t in synch, the race is lost.

The situation can be particularly dicey when a less-experienced man in charge has former head coaches working under him. That dynamic existed in Kansas City, for example, last year.

Shurmur isn’t worried in the least. Nor should he be, Childress says, who had this to say about his head coaching aspirations: “I don’t have any, it’s more of a ‘I’ve been there, done that.’ If it happens, great, but I am here strictly to be the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns and to help us win and to help Pat win.”