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The Cleveland Browns quickly moved on from head coach Freddie Kitchens and general manager John Dorsey following the end of the disappointing 2019 season.
But that is apparently not the case for some of the assistant coaches who helped lead the Browns to a 6-10 record.
According to Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Browns are taking a wait-and-see approach to some of their assistant coaches while they sort out the situation at head coach:
I'm hearing some @panthers & @browns assistants currently under contract are temporarily being blocked from job interview requests elsewhere until those teams figure out what they're doing at head coach. More on my next @SiriusXMNFL show 9 am - 12:24 pm et Sunday
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 4, 2020
Marvez followed that Tweet up with one saying that the Browns are allowing defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi, who spent just one season with the Browns after coaching for 11 years in college, including five at Alabama, to interview with another team:
Update from earlier Tweet - @browns did allow one assistant coach - Tosh Lupoi/d-line - to interview with another team after the request was initially rejected
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 4, 2020
While Marvez did not specify which coaches were being “temporarily blocked,” there are a few that the Browns might want to keep around in case they appeal to the new head coach:
- Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer would presumably be on that list as he is considered one of the league’s best at his position. While the bar was about as low as it could be after taking over for Amos Jones, Priefer did a solid job, especially incorporating a pair of rookies in punter Jamie Gillan and kicker Austin Seibert into the unit.
- The same goes for offensive line coach James Campen, who arrived in Cleveland last season with a reputation as a top coach after spending 20 years with the Green Bay Packers. The offensive line may not have been very good in 2019, but that had more to do with Dorsey’s failings that anything Campen did with the unit.
- Run game coordinator Stump Mitchell has a strong case after running back Nick Chubb rushed for 1,494 yards, which is the best single-season total by a Cleveland running back not named Jim Brown in franchise history.
- Wide receivers coach Adam Henry could be another one who might remain, if only for his relationship with wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Henry coached Beckham with the New York Giants and at the college level at LSU (along with fellow wide receiver Jarvis Landry), so having a familiar face among what will be a sea of new coaches could be beneficial for the mercurial Beckham.
Other than those few, it would be hard for a Browns fan to get upset if the team let everyone else head elsewhere. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken was another Dorsey mistake, quarterbacks coach Ryan Lindley was a Kitchens’ hire that did little, and the less said about defensive coordinator Steve Wilks the better.