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The Cleveland Browns announced the hiring of two additional coaching assistants today: tight ends coach Jon Embree and outside linebackers coach Brian Baker.
Embree's coaching career began in college ranks during the early 90s at Colorado, where he coached tight ends and defensive ends off-and-on for a decade. From 2003-2005, he was an assistant head coach at UNLV with a focus on the offensive side of the ball. In 2006, he finally joined the NFL ranks as the tight ends coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, a position he lasted in until 2008. He spent one year with the Redskins in 2010, before returning to Colorado over the past two years as the team's head coach. Unfortunately, he was fired after a dismal 4-21 record over two years. Now, he's back to coaching tight ends in the NFL.
"Jon is an outstanding football coach, and he has proven himself at the collegiate and NFL levels," said Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski. "He has coached some outstanding players in this league, and has also been instrumental in developing players in college who have gone on to productive pro careers. We believe he can have a great impact on our tight ends, and I look forward to working with him."
As for Baker, he spent the past two seasons as the defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys. From 2009-2010, he held the same position with the Carolina Panthers; that was before Rob Chudzinski's time there, though. Baker has also been a defensive line coach for the Rams, Vikings, and Lions. This is the first time he has been named an outside linebackers coach, though.
"Brian’s addition to our staff gives us another coach with extensive NFL experience," Chudzinski said. "His players have consistently achieved a great deal of success and he has coached numerous Pro Bowl-caliber players. He has coached in several defensive schemes in his career and that versatility will be valuable as he works with [defensive coordinator] Ray [Horton] and the rest of our defensive staff."
Let the 3-4 and 4-3 speculation continue with this type of hiring.