Cleveland Browns: Who is Joe Kim?

The Cleveland Browns are reportedly turning to martial arts expert Joe Kim to help fix the team’s ailing pass rush.

The Cleveland Browns have reportedly made another addition to the coaching staff, adding Joe Kim as an assistant strength and skill development coach.

While the team has not made an official announcement on the move, Kim’s Twitter bio reflects his new position. He comes to the Browns after spending the 2015 season with the Washington Redskins as the team’s strength and conditioning assistant.

This will be Kim’s third go around with the Browns, having previously worked with the team under Bill Belichick in 1992 and Chris Palmer in 1999. Kim’s relationship with the Browns began when the team sent defensive linemen Michael Dean Perry and Anthony Pleasant to work with him at his studio, Kim’s Martial Arts School in Avon, a suburb of Cleveland.

“They build confidence in camp and they build confidence against their opponent — and we’re gonna get some pressure on the quarterback.” – Joe Kim

“I said I really don’t know a whole lot about NFL football other than being a Browns fan,” Kim told ESPN in a 2015 article. “But I was happy to help, and after a month training with those guys coach Belichick asked to meet me. Within three days he asked if I’d be willing to work with him.”

Kim has also worked for the Dallas Cowboys (1998), Miami Dolphins (2001 to 2006), Green Bay Packers (2005), Denver Broncos (2007), Buffalo Bills (2009), New York Giants (2010), Kansas City Chiefs (2010 to 2012) and the Chicago Bears (2014).

“He’s a real big pass rush specialist,” former Kansas City defensive end Tyson Jackson said in 2010. “He works with several teams in the NFL and some of the great pass rushers that play this game. What’s real big with him is the use of hands and hand/eye coordination to develop pass rush technique.”

According to the bio on his website:

"GrandMaster Joseph E. Kim is a 7th Dan Black Belt recognized by the World Taekwondo Federation, Kukkiwon and USA Taekwondo."

"GrandMaster Kim is recognized as one of the most successful Taekwondo Instructors and Coaches in the United States. He has produced over 250 Black Belts as well as several National and International Champions. GrandMaster Kim has dedicated his life to the development of Taekwondo in the Cleveland community."

"In 1989 he became a permanent athlete resident at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was a multi time member of the U.S. National Taekwondo team including earning a bronze medal at the 1990 Pan Am Games and World Cup. GrandMaster Kim is a 2 time U.S. Olympic Festival Gold Medalist and National Champion."

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Kim’s philosophy is to focus on the hands and feet of pass rushers and teaching them to different approaches to attack. For example, rather than making contact with an offensive lineman’s forearm or wrist, rushers are tasked with aiming for the elbow as it is more difficult for a blocker to reload his arms if he is hit in the elbow as opposed to the forearm.

“Everything from Move 1 has a purpose,” Kim told ESPN. “They build confidence in their hand speed and hand placement and they build confidence in the footwork. They build confidence in camp and they build confidence against their opponent — and we’re gonna get some pressure on the quarterback.”

While sacks are only one way to measure the impact of a pass rush (and perhaps not the best way), Kim’s work has helped contribute to a year-to-year improvement in sacks for six of the teams he has worked with during his career.

Which could be good news for a Browns defense that had just 29 sacks last season and bad news for opposing quarterbacks.