Cleveland Browns potential defensive coordinator set for Super Bowl LIV

MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 29: The Vince Lombardi Trophy is displayed with helmets of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs prior to a press conference with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for Super Bowl LIV at the Hilton Miami Downtown on January 29, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The 49ers will face the Chiefs in the 54th playing of the Super Bowl, Sunday February 2nd. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 29: The Vince Lombardi Trophy is displayed with helmets of the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs prior to a press conference with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for Super Bowl LIV at the Hilton Miami Downtown on January 29, 2020 in Miami, Florida. The 49ers will face the Chiefs in the 54th playing of the Super Bowl, Sunday February 2nd. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)

Joe Woods has been an assistant coach in the NFL since 2004 and is looking for his second Super Bowl win. He could be joining the Cleveland Browns afterward as defensive coordinator, a title he had in Denver back in 2017 and 2018.

Fans were excited about the addition of Steve Wilks last season, who was hired to run the Cleveland Browns defense under rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens. Wilks came in with plenty of experience and was even a head coach in 2017, although that ended in disaster.

Still, his time coaching the Carolina Panthers defense stood out as an example of what he could do for the Browns. Unfortunately, the team struggled mightily and the majority of the blame for the defensive woes was heaped on Wilks.

Now with Kitchens out, Wilks is also going to be a former Cleveland coach. And it looks as though his replacement will be a man who is about to be coaching on the biggest stage in America — Super Bowl LIV.

Joe Woods is currently the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator for the NFC representative San Francisco 49ers and it’s believed that he will be announced as the defensive coordinator once the game is done.

Cleveland clearly respects the work being done in San Francisco as they were reportedly very high on Robert Saleh, the team’s defensive coordinator, while searching for their coach. While Saleh was not the final choice, they still hope to improve their defense with a member of his staff.

As for Woods, he was coaching collegiately from 1992 through 2003. He then broke into the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the defensive quality control coach for two seasons before joining the Minnesota Vikings as the defensive backs coach. It was there he worked with Kevin Stefanski, the Browns newest head coach.

Super Bowl LIV will be big for everyone involved but Woods has already tasted such a victory. In 2015, he was coaching the Denver Broncos secondary as they won Super Bowl 50.

Should the 49ers find a way to win, Cleveland will bring in a guy with two rings. Either way, they should have someone who understands what it takes to win in the postseason, something this defense needs to learn about.

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