The Great Cleveland Sports Awards were held Thursday night, and Joshua Cribbs beat out offensive lineman Joe Thomas and Indians outfield Shin-Soo Choo for Professional Athlete of the Year, and award that was won last year by a former member of the Cavaliers.
Perhaps the bigger news at the event was the fact that new Browns head coach Pat Shurmur made his first public appearance. Shurmur confirmed to reports that the team will not bring in an offensive coordinator this season and that he will handle playcalling duties. With quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple and Gil Haskell involved with things though, Shurmur has some other guys he can bank on for assistance if needed.
Another big benefit of a Browns head coach at this sports award event? He didn't "stiff" one of the star players on the Browns in his first opportunity to meet a prominent player in public.
Shurmur made sure he introduced himself to return specialist Joshua Cribbs, who was named the professional athlete of the year.
"I just saw Josh for the first time and we shook hands," Shurmur said. "I said what I wanted for him was to get in the end zone, so it's the start. He seemed to give me a big smile, so I think we're on the same page."