Browns have interest for RB coach Duce Staley; would they interview Deshaun Watson’s ex OC?

admin | January 21, 2024 | Other Clubs | No Comments

The Browns face competition for Duce Staley, the former Panthers running backs coach whom they interviewed this week.

Staley, 48, would take over for Stump Mitchell, who was dismissed on Wednesday, along with the Browns’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney.

Staley spent the day interviewing with the Browns at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea, and a league source told Cleveland.com that they want to make him an offer. However, the Jets intend to follow suit, according to a source.

In Cleveland, Staley would take over a running game that finished 12th in the NFL this season after losing four-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. In Chubb’s absence, the Browns carried the ball by committee, with Jerome Ford leading the way with 813 yards (4.0 average) and four touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt coming in second with 411 yards (3.0 average) and a team-high nine running scores. Pierre Strong Jr. finished third on the squad with 291 yards (4.6 average) and one touchdown.

However, the running game faltered in the 45-14 wild card round defeat to the Texans, gaining 56 yards on 20 carries for a 2.8-yard average against the league’s sixth-best run defense.

Staley, a third-round pick by the Eagles out of South Carolina in 1997, won a Super Bowl as a player for the Steelers in 2005 and as running backs coach for the Eagles in 2017. Staley played five of his ten seasons in Philadelphia (2011-20) with Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, including on the Super Bowl-winning club that upset the Patriots 41-33 following the 2017 season.

He also worked as the Lions’ assistant head coach and running backs coach in 2021 and 2022, as well as the Panthers’ assistant head coach and running backs coach in 2023. In November, the Panthers dismissed Staley, head coach Frank Reich, and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown after going 1-10. Their offensive ended last in the NFL, with the run game ranking 20th.

With Chubb coming off multiple knee surgeries, the Browns could be searching for aid in the room, as well as new ideas at the position following five seasons with Mitchell.

Will the Browns interview Deshaun Watson’s former Texans OC Tim Kelly?

Deshaun Watson enjoyed playing for his previous offensive coordinator Tim Kelly in Houston and would surely like to work with him again in Cleveland.

Kelly, too, would want to coach Watson again, but it remains to be seen whether the Browns will interview him.

Kelly, 37, was the Titans’ passing game coordinator in 2022 and offensive coordinator this season before becoming available when coach Mike Vrabel was sacked last week.

Kelly is a potential candidate to join Vrabel if he accepts another top position in 2024. He has interviewed with the Chargers and has received interest from the Falcons and Seahawks.

Kelly worked with Watson for five seasons in Houston, helping him to his finest career season in 2020 while serving as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.

Watson had a 112.4 passing rating after going 382 for 544 (70.2) for 4,823 yards, 33 touchdowns, and seven interceptions that year. The yards were the highest in the NFL, and the rating was second only to Aaron Rodgers. However, the Texans finished 4-12 that season, with Bill O’Brien being fired at 0-4.

In 2019, Kelly’s first year as Watson’s coordinator, Watson went 10-5 with 3,852 yards, 26 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a 98.0 rating.

Kelly’s first season as Titans offensive coordinator saw the team finish 28th overall, 17th in rushing, and 29th in passing. However, they benched Ryan Tannehill in November and handed the season over to rookie Will Levis, who finished 3-6 with eight touchdowns, four interceptions, and an 84.2 rating. The Titans were 6-11 overall, including a 27-3 loss to the Browns in Week 3 in Cleveland.

Kelly was the Titans’ passing game coordinator in 2022, where he worked with tight ends, organized the first- and second-down passing game, and helped with the red zone offense. Tight ends ranked sixth in the NFL in terms of receiving yards (952). On first and second downs, the Titans averaged 7.6 passing yards per attempt, tied for sixth in the NFL. Their red zone TD rate was 64.3%, ranking sixth.

So far, the Browns have only conducted interviews with Seahawks offensive line coach Andy Dickerson for offensive coordinator, Staley for running backs coach, and Titans outside linebackers coach Ryan Crow for defensive line coach, indicating that current D-line coach Ben Bloom may be reassigned.

Andrew Berry to conduct his postseason press conference

Browns GM Andrew Berry will conduct his postseason press conference Monday at 11 a.m. at team headquarters. He’ll field questions about Joe Flacco, staff changes, Watson’s health, pending free agents, and more.