Cleveland Browns coaching staff coming together

The Cleveland Browns continue to build Hue Jackson’s coaching staff with the addition of several veteran coaches.

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson continues to build his coaching staff with several reported hirings coming on Wednesday.

As expected, the offensive staff now includes Al Saunders as a senior offensive assistant, Pep Hamilton as associate head coach/offense, Kirby Wilson as running game coordinator, and Hal Hunter as offensive line coach. Ray Horton will also make his return to Cleveland as defensive coordinator.

Saunders and Cleveland head coach Hue Jackson have a history together as Saunders was the offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders when Jackson was head coach in 2011. That season the Oakland was among the league leaders in rushing (7th; 131.9), total offense (9th; 379.5) and passing (11th; 247.6). In addition, the Raiders tied for seventh in the league in rushing touchdowns (16) and tied for fifth in the NFL with 14 completions of 40 or more yards.

Saunders has 32 years of coaching experience in the NFL. He has previously served as offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs (2001-05), assistant head coach for the Washington Redskins (2006-07), offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams (2008) and an offensive consultant for the Baltimore Ravens (2009-2010).

Hamilton was brought to the Colts in 2013 to reunite with quarterback Andrew Luck after serving as offensive coordinator at Stanford during Luck’s senior season with the Cardinal.

The Colts finished 10th in offense in Hamilton’s first year and then jumped to third in 2014, only to regress this past season as Luck struggled with injuries.

Wilson has 17 years of experience coaching running backs at the NFL level, including the past two with the Vikings. He worked with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2007 to 2013, so he knows the realities of coaching in the AFC North Division, which is nice. In addition to the Steelers, he served as the running backs coach for the Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins and New England Patriots, along with several coaching stints at the collegiate level.

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Hunter has more than 30 years of coaching experience, including a successful seven-year run with the San Diego Chargers, this past season was his first as offensive line coach for the Colts.

The line struggled for the Colts and gave up 118 quarterback hits – second only to the Browns, who gave up 121.

Horton was the defensive coordinator in Tennessee for the past two seasons, and while the Titans finished 12th overall in yards allowed per game with 342.2, the team was 27th in points allowed per game with 26.4 – just a tick ahead of the Browns, who gave up 27 points per game in one of the worst performances in franchise history.

In the past three seasons, Horton’s defenses have given up an average of 26.4 points per game and during his first stint running the Browns defense in 2013, the Browns gave up a league-high 145 fourth-quarter points, so something needs to change.

Jackson is putting together what appears to be a solid coaching staff, especially on the offensive side of the ball, and you can see how if everyone knows their roles that the idea of Jackson acting as his own offensive coordinator may not be such a burden.