Should the Cleveland Browns give Lovie Smith a call?

The Cleveland Browns need a head coach and Lovie Smith is surprisingly available. Should the team give him a call?

The Cleveland Browns are currently working their way toward hiring the 16th full-time head coach in franchise history.

The Browns have completed interviews with Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Case and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. They are scheduled to interview Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Cincinnati defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line coach Doug Marrone.

They have also received permission to speak with New England defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

Related: Browns interview Adam Gase

But should the Browns be looking to add another time to that list?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers shocked everyone Wednesday night when they fired head coach Lovie Smith after two years on the job.

Smith complied an 8-24 record in two years with the Bucs after spending nine years as head coach of the Chicago Bears, where he helped lead the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006.

Smith’s dismissal left many of his current and former players surprised and they took to social media to express themselves in no uncertain terms.

So should the Browns give Smith a call?

While some fans are calling for Smith to be hired immediately – having a familiar name will do that – the reality is that Smith is probably just an average coach.

That Super Bowl appearance with the Bears is almost 10 years ago, a lifetime in the NFL. Since then Smith has only had a winning record three times in eight seasons and is currently just two games over .500 in his career.

Remember: the goal here is to turn the Browns into a winning franchise, not just one that is 7-9 or 8-8 every year.

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Smith’s calling card is as a defensive coach, especially in the secondary, but his defense was worse his second year with the Bucaneers than in his first year. As NFL.com pointed out, Smith released Darrelle Revis, traded former first-round safety Mark Barron, hand-picked his own secondary and oversaw the two worst pass defenses in franchise history.

The Bucs gave up almost as many points as the Browns this year (417 vs. 432), almost as many pass yards (240 vs. 250) and, while not as bad as the Browns against the run (few teams can be), still gave up 100 yards per game on the crowd.

Cleveland just fired a coach in Mike Pettine in large part because the defense, his speciality, was not good. Why would they turn to a coach like Smith who has the same problems?

More importantly, the Browns are moving in a different direction with this next coaching hire by looking for a coach that will embrace the change and look at things in a different way. Smith doesn’t seem to come across as that type of coach.

So while he is a name that many fans would be familiar with, Smith is most likely not a coach the Browns will be bringing in for an interview.