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According to new Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley, the Cleveland Browns have hired Joe Cullen to be the team's new defensive line coach. Cullen has served as the defensive line coach for the Jaguars over the past three years, and prior to that, he has experience in the same position with the Detroit Lions. Our Jaguars affiliate, Big Cat Country, weighed in on Cullen's exit from Jacksonville:
Cullen joined the Jaguars in 2010, instantly becoming a fan favorite because of how he acted during training camp. Cullen is a fiery coach that's intense and often loses his voice early into camp from the yelling.
Unfortunately for Cullen, be it poor coaching or just poor talent, the Jaguars defensive line never seemed to materialize much of a pass rush outside of free agent pick up Aaron Kampman. Some players even seemed to regress during Cullen's tenure, but again the talent on the line was suspect at best, so it's tough to decide where it went wrong.
The Jaguars didn't have a very good performance up front this past season, but the Browns' depth up front is far more impressive than what Jacksonville had. The interesting thing about Cullen is that it seems like he has only coached a 4-3 defensive front during his time in the NFL. Defensive coordinator Ray Horton has historically run a 3-4 defense, but remember that Rob Chudzinski and company alluded to a hybrid type of defense a week or so ago. It's hard to imagine the Browns switching exclusively to a 3-4 defense, considering Cullen's background.
Cullen had some personal issues in 2006, but there haven't been any reported problems since:
He was arrested that year for driving under the influence, and in another incident, during the 2006 pre-season, he was arrested after driving through a Wendy's drive-thru while nude. He later told the Florida Times-Union that he blacked out that night and doesn't remember the incident.
What do you think the hiring of Cullen means for the Browns' defense? Is anyone familiar with his work in Jacksonville?