The Cleveland Browns are hoping that the hiring of Rob Chudzinski can help turn the Browns into a winning team. Chudzinski comes to the Browns by way of the Carolina Panthers where he served as the teams offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. The Panthers finished the 2011 season at 6-10. They didn’t do much better in 2012 finishing the season at 7-9. Some fans don’t understand why the Cleveland Browns would hire a coach with a losing record as an offensive coordinator and bring him into Cleveland.
Joe Banner has a history of hiring coaches that haven’t been big names, he did it with Reid when he was with the Eagles. Many think the Browns could have slowed down the process and interviewed guys like Arians. Some feel the Cleveland Browns are going back to the drawing board and starting over. There have been statements made about Chudzinski changing everything about the Cleveland Browns. He is rumored to want a 3-4 defense and not wanting to keep the services of Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron.
While the Browns defense has been the strong point over the past two seasons, they still have had their fair share of problems stopping the run. There is room for improvement but starting over could take a couple of seasons.
Chudzinski grew up in northern Ohio and loved the Cleveland Browns as a kid. Now that he is the head coach of the team he grew up watching, he knows how much winning means to the greatest fans in the world, the Browns fans. Chudzinski will be the Browns 6th full time head coach since returning to the NFL in 1999.
There are fans with a lot of questions about this head coach hiring. Chudzinski is rumored to be bringing in Norv Turner the former head coach of the San Diego Chargers to run the Browns offense. Chudzinski served as assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the Chargers under Turner from 2009-2010.
This will be Truner’s fifth stop as an offensive coordinator in the NFL.
Chudzinski has had two previous stints with the Browns as an assistant coach. He coached tight ends for Butch Davis in 2004, and then came back to the Browns in 2007 and was Cleveland’s offensive coordinator for two seasons under Romeo Crennel.
Chudzinski grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he pulled for the Browns. Chudzinski interviewed with the team on Wednesday, and was viewed by many to be a longshot for the job.
However, he wowed owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner during his meeting, and the team decided to give him the job after interviewing at least eight other candidates.
Now lets hope this guy can wow all the fans with some wins…..
Filed under: Cleveland Browns
Tagged with: Cleveland Browns, jimmy haslam III, Joe Banner, Norv Turner, Rob Chudzinski
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Hmmm…reminds me of the Shumar hiring two seasons ago…
Personally i’ll give guy a chance he did get us to ten wins as a oc back in 2007 P.S. with DA as qb
wow, is that the best they can find
For the record…I’m not mad about the hire, just a little shocked!!! I personally wanted Zimmer though
I have finally given up on the Browns! I’m going to burn my Browns hat, shamed to wear it anymore.
Can I use your name and statement in an Article Tom? How long have you been a Browns fan?
I’ve been a Browns fan since 1955, back in the good ole days! Yes you can use my response, I’m disappointed in the decision, don’t like Banner all ready.
hi TOM … wow !! , you’re giving up & chud hasn’t even coached his 1st game yet … i can’t guarantee you chud will be a great coach , but how do we know he won’t.
jimmy haslam has a great conviction to win & he obviously thinks chud is the guy … give it a chance before you give up.
then again you can always go root for the steelers.
Didn’t ROB CHUDZINSKI lead us to a 10-7 season in 2010 as an OC? It was terrible that we didn’t make it to the playoffs but it is what it is. I am not happy about the decision that’s for sure. If he gets rid of Dick Juron he is an absolute Moron! Can this team have any consistency at all. I am so sick of this. Stick with a Scheme and work with it. Its BS!
hi LG … as i posted on the browns page …
remember where haslam came from … pitsburgh … 3 head coaches since 1969 (noll , cowher & tomlin) … NONE of them had previous head coaching experience & NONE of them were the “sexy” pick for the job.
chud has paid his nfl dues & is ready for the head job … sure, people wanted experienced guys like arians , cowher etc. … arians is 60 already, how long would he be able to go ?? i expect chud will get every opportunity to be around here for a long time.
whisenhunt was brought back for a 2nd interview , which obviously made him the front-runner for the post … yet chud walked out with the job. he must’ve done something right. not saying he will be the greatest , but every great coach had to get their first shot.
how do i know chud will be successful ?? … because he’s from toledo,ohio & us people here in toledo know how to get things done.
LG … the panthers were 5th & 12th in total offense the last 2 years despite their record … and chud was also the OC the last time the browns were in the playoffs in 2007.
I know that he was with the Browns. I am saying some fans don’t like the pick. Not me…
as far as starting over & changing everything (again !!) … we all knew it would happen when haslam bought the browns … no matter how good heckert or jauron or anybody else is , everyone had a chance of being shown the door. haslam is going to do it with his people, his way.
i know us browns fans are super-impatient & tired of the browns always starting over … i am very very hopeful that this is the last time we will have to hit the “restart” button for a very long time.
our day is coming …
Ok first off the Browns didn’t make the playoffs in 2007 when they went 10-6. Second you can not have a record of 10-7 in the NFL. Third if you want to take your hat and
Burn it then go ahead becuase you are a sorry fan and to be honest would rather you not be a fan of the Browns .Fourth I will give Chud a chance to prove himself because to be honest anything is better then Pat Shurmur as the head coach.
You sure have that right Andrew, anything is got to be better than SHurmur!!!
hi ANDREW … good post.
I stand corrected on the browns being in the playoffs in 2007.
So you say “Burn it then go ahead because you are a sorry fan and to be honest would rather you not be a fan of the Browns” So you call a fan a “sorry” fan because they have been a fan since 1955 & they finally had their braking point? Why should Tom Hayes want to be a fan anymore? You think it’s fine that this organization is one of the worst in the NFL? Do you think it’s fine that the stadium is half filled for games? Do you think it’s fine that the Browns have new QBs every year? Do you think it is fine that the team failed to hire an experienced head coach or even a successful OC currently on a playoff contending team (eg. Greg Roman, Mike McCoy)? Do you think it’s fine that this new regime made a spectacle last week over finding a big name successful coach and then hired a guy from another unsuccessful 2012 team? And now they got a OC from another losing 2012 team that was in fact beaten by Shurmur?
This decision stinks on so many levels. So this guy “Chud” is hired after one interview after Haslam & Banner spend 4-5 days chasing down a successful college coach in Arizona, have a 7 hour meeting with Kelly, get embarrassed by the Eagles, and then get stood up by Kelly? Who dropped the ball not having Kelly vetted beforehand to see if he was really serious before after he strung Tampa Bay last year. What was the deal putting the story out that Banner talked to McCoy and that McCoy was the choice of the new coach?
What happened to Arians? How about Lovie? How about Greg Roman? How about Mike McCoy? All of which are from winning 2012 teams. I suspect that in the end Haslam/Banner were turned down by coaching candidates to even come in and interview. That’s how they ended up with this choice. Maybe Chud will do well, but the fact that he does not even come from a team that made the playoffs this year after such a big deal was made over Kelly just a week ago is telling. Didn’t even Cam Newton complain about the plays under Chud’s watch this year? Now we have a guy that has the nickname “Chud the Dud”? And I thought Shurmur was the dud? I have an acquaintance who is a Carolina fan who finds this amusing. I am not laughing.
I happy with the pick. I would have preferred Arians, but it’s still a good pick for the Browns. If Turner is OC, I am definately fine with that. Now give me Lovie Smith as the DC and we’ll be set.
Hope everyone has a great day.
A mediocre pick for am mediocre team. Typical Browns move. Why couldn’t the Browns choose a guy coming off a “WINNING” team to bring some or ANY level of hope? Because a winner would not come to the Browns that’s why. Trying to sell us on him because he was a fan since he was a little boy. He was fired by the Browns twice before. Geez.
hi BOB … you’re just upset because the browns didn’t get a proven name.
we have gotten previous coaches from winning organizations … b.davis, mangini & crennel … how did that work out ??
let chud coach a few games before you lose it … he has earned this chance , you should give him a chance too … EVERY head coach just needs
a chance to prove his worth.
i think you greatly underestimate mr. chudzinski without even knowing what he’s about.
” before you lose it … ” – Ha! Ha! – I lost nothing – Browns “lost it” in Arizona chasing down Kelly. Only thing I lost was time watching this team lose EVERY year.
“i think you greatly underestimate mr. chudzinski without even knowing what he’s about.” – Really – The Browns 2008 season and the Panthers 2012 season tells me and others a lot especially the last 6 games of the Browns 2008 season.
I agree, Bob. I was hopeful at first that Chud would be one of the innovative coaches who has brought elements of the spread, especially the zone option, into the NFL and tied traditional NFL defenses in knots — coaches like Bellichick, Harbaugh, Carroll, and the Shanahans, for example.
That was what Haslam and Banner appeared to be going after.
But apparently, Chud wants to make sure that we not only have a Derek Anderson clone at QB but the real thing as well. And this guy was so stuck on Anderson that he modified the Carolina offense this year to make it a better fit for what his back-up QB could do and created a train wreck.
He’s innovative for sure — probably the first coach in history to tailor his offense to fit the skills of a back-up QB instead of his starter.
He wasted half of the season on that clunker of an idea, lost all but one game in the first 8, and destroyed any chance of getting to the playoffs. His mentors are featured in a recent list of worst all time head coaches — Davis, Crennel, and Turner — who have distinguished themselves for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
I hope he’s what Haslem thought he was getting and I’m wrong.
But after hearing the Anderson rumors and going back to look at the problems in Carolina this year, I’m starting to believe that Cleveland really is cursed and there really may be another coach just as bad as Pat Shurmur.
I don’t know about the pick, bt we have nothing to do but wait and see. I really hope he brings in someone as DC that runs a 4-3. To try and revamp the offense and defense is a bit much, especially since they have taken so long to get the pieces for a 4-3 defense. The defense is a player or two away from being top notch, going to a 3-4 would put us back at square one and trying to find more players to fit the defense and take away from where we need help on offense, a guard (or two) and another threat to add to Gordon. With a good CB, we can move Brown to Safety and then get either an End or outside LB to finish off the defense. We just do not have the LBs to run a 3-4.
Ya know Dan B Haslam and Banner have been making the point they plan to be aggresive in getting the guys they want. I think they proved that with the HC search. Even if some people think being that aggressive makes you look foolish. In hearing that and seeing a guy like dwight freeney on the free agent list makes me feel a little better if we switch to a 3-4. I don’t think any new owner would change schemes if they didnt feel they would have the ability to staff it. Or I’m just way too optimistic. I would love for Jauron to stay and keep the 4-3 also but i think the D is young enough to learn a new system and still play at a high level.
Shocked but happy with the pick. As a Ca resident Browns fan, im a little mixed up about the Norv Turner move. I hated seeing him run Marty’s Chargers into a mediocre team. Its obvious in his time in San Diego that he couldn’t get the job done without an awsome OC and DC. I really hope just being able to focus on offense makes him more effective. As for Chud, great track record and was poised to get this job. He moved the ball once here with less talent than we have now. If he could make Derek Anderson look good, he should be able to put Weeden in a good position to win a lot more games. I agree its tough to hit the reset button yet again on our Browns but lets hope this is the regime that finally gets us back.
GO BROWNS!!!