Daily Dawg Tags: Todd Haley to the rescue?

The Cleveland Browns may be zeroing in on a new offensive coordinator as the team is reportedly having serious talks with Todd Haley.

The New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles will meet in the Super Bowl on Feb. 4.

Meanwhile, in Cleveland, head coach Hue Jackson is still mulling over whether or not to hire an offensive coordinator for the Browns.

Jackson and the Browns may be getting a little more serious about bringing someone on board as ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported on Sunday that the Browns are in “serious talks” with Todd Haley, who was axed last week by the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Browns and Haley could be a good match. Haley is familiar with the Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens after spending the past six seasons as the Steelers offensive coordinator.

Cleveland Browns

During that time, Pittsburgh’s offense was among the league’s top 10 in scoring and in yards gained, and Haley helped Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger continue to play at a high level and built an offense that helped wide receiver Antonio Browns catch more than 100 passes for five consecutive season.

The opportunity to stick it to the Steelers twice a year would also seem like a good selling point to Haley. And the last time we saw his offense in action it was scoring 42 points on a Jaguars defense that only gave up 16.8 points per game in the regular season.

So what’s the downside?

Haley reportedly clashed with Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin and Roethlisberger, which helped lead to Haley now being unemployed. Given that, it is not that hard to envision some conflict between Haley and Jackson or Haley and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams during a game. That might be entertaining, but it is also not productive.

It is also questionable whether or not Jackson would want to give up play calling duties, something that seems highly unlikely, and whether or not Haley would want to accept a job where he wasn’t the one calling the plays on Sundays, which also seems highly unlikely.

The Browns are not the only team looking for an offensive coordinator, so Haley has options if he does not like what he hears from Jackson.

But he is a name worth watching and, given the right set of circumstances, could be someone who can help the offense take a big step forward in 2018.

Cleveland Browns news:

Browns: 5 running backs to target in the NFL Draft

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Browns: Is 4.5 a solid over/under for wins in 2018?

The Cleveland Browns have had trouble winning games, especially the past two years. So taking the over on 4.5 wins for 2018 may be a tough bet.

Browns mock draft season off and running

With the 2018 NFL Draft on the not-too-distant horizon, the silly season of mock drafts is upon us, which is always all kinds of fun.

Heard the one about the Cleveland Browns?

The Cleveland Browns have been the league’s laughingstock since 1999. Dawg Pound Daily writer Mike Lukas, a retired professional comedian, shares some of the best jokes he’s heard about the team.

NFL news:

Titans looking for that Patriots magic with largely unproven Mike Vrabel (tennessean.com)

"The Titans made news exactly two weeks after they made history, so let’s assess the news with the history in mind. If you were told right after Mike Mularkey led the Titans to their first playoff win in 14 years — a Jan. 6 thriller at Kansas City that was the NFL’s second-largest road playoff comeback ever — that Mike Vrabel would be named the coach in two weeks, how would you have reacted?"

Vikings to consider McCoy, McAdoo for offensive coordinator (NFL.com)

"The Minnesota Vikings must replace offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur whenever their season ends. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported two names they’ll consider are ex-Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and ex-Giants coach Ben McAdoo."

Nick Foles silences doubters with performance for the ages (philly.com)

"Nick Foles had spent three-and-a-half quarters alone in this realm, dropping back, sliding forward, calmly planting and spinning pinpoint throw after throw. For three hours, he had been all of the things they said he couldn’t possibly be: poised, tough, accurate, confident … a Super Bowl caliber quarterback in every sense of the phrase."

How the Patriots came back to win the AFC Championship (New York Times)

"The New England Patriots were down 20-10 early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s A.F.C. Championship game. Little had worked for the Patriots all day, but like Tom Brady has so many times over the years, the 40-year-old quarterback kept his cool and led the Patriots to a 24-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. It would have been shocking for any other team and quarterback, but seemed par for the course in this case."