Another offseason shakeup for Browns

Quarterbacks coach Loggains also let go

By Nate Ulrich

Akron Beacon Journal (TNS)

The Browns made major changes on their coaching staff Thursday by parting ways with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains after their first season on the job, a league source confirmed for the Beacon Journal.

Fox Sports 1’s Alex Marvez first reported the news, noting that Shanahan, 35, asked for and was granted his release with two seasons remaining on his contract and Loggains, 34, was fired. The Browns have yet to announce the moves.

Rumblings about Shanahan seeking a departure from the Browns surfaced earlier this week. The Browns decided they wouldn’t force him to stay if he didn’t want to be in Cleveland.

Shanahan will interview with the Buffalo Bills for their head-coaching vacancy on Thursday. He might be a long shot for that job, but he should have plenty of other opportunities as an offensive coordinator.

He and his father Mike were the offensive coordinator and head coach, respectively, in Washington from 2010-13, and now Mike is a head-coaching candidate of the Bills, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears. And if Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn were hired as a head coach, he would try to hire Shanahan as his offensive coordinator, Jason Cole of BleacherReport.com reported Wednesday night.

On Tuesday night, Cleveland.com reported Shanahan would consider leaving the Browns because of friction between some coaches and some members of the front office who aren’t seeing eye to eye on key issues. Some coaches were upset when a high-ranking personnel member texted from the press box to the sidelines about play calls, according to the report.

With veteran quarterback Brian Hoyer slumping, the coaches also felt pressure from the front office to start Johnny Manziel on Dec. 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He wasn’t ready, and the Browns, who were 7-6 entering the game, had their slim playoff hopes buried with a 30-0 loss that contributed to them finishing 7-9.

In a radio interview with 92.3 The Fan on Tuesday afternoon, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora spoke about tension within the franchise regarding Manziel, the 22nd overall pick in last year’s draft who was abysmal in two starts as a rookie and fined by the team the day before the season finale for failing to report to treatment for his injured left hamstring on time because he had been out partying with friends the previous night and overslept.

“I hear that it is not great there between the front office side and the coaching side,” La Canfora said. “We’ll see. There’s a lot of issues at quarterback, a lot of issues on the offensive side of the ball in general, a lot of issues with skill positions.”

Speaking specifically about Manziel, La Canfora said, “There’s plenty of coaches in that building that would run from him screaming if they could.”

Shanahan was the Browns’ fifth offensive coordinator in the past five seasons. Brian Daboll was the last one to hold the position in consecutive seasons (2009-10). The Browns have spent the past year learning Shanahan’s complicated scheme predicated on zone blocking and play-action passing, so they’ll be starting from scratch again this offseason.

Although the Browns finished 23rd in total offense (324.6 yards per game) and 27th in scoring (18.7 points per game) under Shanahan’s guidance, he helped steer them to a 6-3 start despite center Alex Mack and tight end Jordan Cameron missing significant time with injuries and wide receiver Josh Gordon serving a drug suspension for the first 10 games. All three players made the Pro Bowl in 2013.

So where will the Browns turn to replace Shanahan?

They’ve reached out to Charlie Weis, La Canfora reported Tuesday. Weis was fired as head coach of the University of Kansas this past September and the University of Notre Dame in 2009, though he’s impressed during stints as an NFL offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs (2010), New England Patriots (2000-04) and New York Jets (1998-99).

Weis, 58, entered the league in 1990 as an assistant with the New York Giants under Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells. He also worked for Parcells in the late 1990s with the Jets.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has often communicated with Parcells and sought his advice in the past.

Before they hired Rob Chudzinski as head coach two years ago, the Browns interviewed Marc Trestman, who was recently fired after two seasons as the Bears’ head coach, for the same position. ESPN.com reported Trestman, who served as an offensive coordinator for the Browns in 1989, is now under consideration to replace Shanahan. Trestman would be interested in talking to the Browns, according to the report.

The Browns also interviewed Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter for head coach last year before hiring Pettine. Koetter recently interviewed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator job.

Before the Browns hired Shanahan last year, they interviewed Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, a 36-year-old Youngstown native. DeFilippo and Pettine were Jets assistants on Rex Ryan’s staff in 2009.

In addition to DeFilippo, Bears quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh, who’s not under contract next season, Bills senior offensive assistant Jim Hostler, Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Bill Callahan and Louisiana State University offensive coordinator Cam Cameron are among the others who were linked to the Browns’ search for offensive coordinator last year.