Kyle Shanahan: What could have been for the Cleveland Browns

Kyle Shanahan went from Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator in 2014 to the head coach of a Super Bowl team in 2020.

Kyle Shanahan should be referred to as the coach that got away from the Cleveland Browns. The 2014 season for head coach Mike Pettine and the Browns was a roller-coaster to say the least. After a terrific 7-4 start that saw offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan bring out the best in quarterback Brian Hoyer, the bottom fell out and the club finished 7-9.

Turmoil surrounded that season as management clearly wanted the coaching staff to play an unprepared Johnny Manziel at quarterback. It was also the season in which general manager Ray Farmer had his infamous texting scandal to the sideline during games.

At the end of the season, the lone bright spot remained Shanahan, who was somehow able to scheme up an offense that lacked any true playmaker. But by the end of the season, Shanahan had seen enough.

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So dismayed by the clubs management structure and way of doing things, Shanahan presented a 32 point paper on why he wanted out of his contract with the Cleveland Browns. Some thought it was a Power Point presentation but Shanahan cleared that up in 2017, via Cleveland.com:

"“It wasn’t a Power Point presentation. It was all on paper. I gave a number of points — 32 of them, which you guys were accurate on. I gave them to the head coach. I told him he could do whatever he wanted with those, whether he gave them to the owner or the general manager. I’m sure that he did. I just wanted to be up front about it. I had some specific reasons I didn’t think it was going in the right direction, why it wasn’t the best place for me and my family. Pet was real cool about it. He understood.” – Shanahan via Cleveland.com"

From there, Shanahan went on to be hired by the Atlanta Falcons as offensive coordinator and helped lead them to almost winning the Super Bowl before squandering a 28-3 halftime lead to the New England Patriots in 2016.

After two seasons with the Falcons, the San Francisco 49ers thought highly enough of him to make them their head coach in 2017. Only two seasons after being in Cleveland was he named the head coach of another NFL franchise. One would venture to say that Shanahan was correct in his assessment to get the heck out of Cleveland.

But for all the coordinators and all the coaches who have passed through the building in Berea over the years, losing Shanahan might hurt the most. Not only was he an extremely impressive play-caller for the Browns, but he is someone who has an eye for talent and how to best use that talent, as evidenced with the 49ers this past season.

If only Jimmy Haslam would have seen it back then and would have tried to convince Shanahan to honor his contract instead of letting him walk out the doors in Berea, maybe they would have Kyle Shanahan running the show for the Browns.