Source: Brad Childress Likely to Be Browns’ New Offensive Coordinator
With Mike Sherman likely to take the offensive coordinator position with the Miami Dolphins, it looks as though former Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress is the front-runner to be the new offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
A source said that the Browns had narrowed down their choices to Sherman and Childress, but the decision now appears to have been made for them. Childress was the offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2003-05, when Pat Shurmur was the quarterbacks coach.
Both Childress and Shurmur spent seven years on the Eagles’ staff together under head coach Andy Reid before Childress left to become the Minnesota Vikings head coach in 2006.
Hiring an offensive coordinator was a priority for the Browns this offseason. With Pat Shurmur calling the plays in 2011, the offense sunk to near-historic lows, ranking 29th in the NFL.
If Childress is hired, there is still the question of whether he will be the one calling the plays. At his year-end press conference, Shurmur said that he would relinquish the play-calling duties if a high-caliber coordinator was hired. That could be possible with Childress, but keep in mind that he didn’t call his own plays in Philadelphia, either.