Cleveland Browns: Todd Haley adds continuity to offense
By Joel W. Cade
The Cleveland Browns offense was predictable last season making it painful to watch. But all of that could change with the hiring of Todd Haley.
Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson took a major step this offseason toward fixing the offense by simply handing it over to an offensive coordinator. He was reluctant to hand over the play calling duties. But when the right person came along, Jackson boldly made his move.
For Jackson, hiring an offensive coordinator was in the works all along, he was simply waiting for the right coordinator to come along — at least that’s what he said according to Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot.
"“This is something I’ve always dreamed of transitioning into. For the first two years I didn’t think there was somebody out there that could do it better than myself. I’ve said that from Day 1, I just don’t think that’s fair.”"
If this is truly the case is up for debate. Jackson adamantly stated that he wanted to call the plays when he was first hired. There may be some revisionist history occurring here. Nonetheless, the Browns seem to be moving into a new phase of the multi-year rebuild. It makes sense for Jackson to transition to a more CEO type role and hire the right guy for the offensive coordinator position. As Jackson states, again per Cabot,
"We’re in a different phase of this process here in Cleveland and we’re well set up to move forward on offense where I can feel comfortable saying, ‘Hue, you need to be more of the CEO head coach. Let your role really on game day be about the football team, not just the team on offense.’"
The change in Hue Jackson’s role brings the dreaded “new offense” that players will have to learn next season. However, learning a new offense may not be what the Browns are doing next year. The styles of Todd Haley and Hue Jackson are very similar. So similar in fact that next year may see more of a “melding of the minds” than a brand new system displacing the old.
What defines Todd Haley’s approach?