Just like with the drafts, us Cowboy fans are again left on the sidelines watching all the meaningful action occur elsewhere.
Cleveland newspaper reporting that the Browns are prepared to make Kelly an “offer he can’t refuse”, but I don’t know the credibility of that. In any case, I never understood why there wasn’t a salary race for coaches - there’s no salary cap on coaches, so some billionaire wanting to make a splash could offer huge compensation packages. Why not? Your coach is someone who can completely change your program around, why not spend as much on him as you would a star player? Especially since it doesn’t even affect the ability to build the rest of the team by occupying cap space. Seems like a no-brainer to me - find the guy you want, an give him a huge contract.
That offer would be “we’ll pay you to coach a team that isn’t the Browns.” 
The desirability of an NFL job and the limited number of those jobs probably plays a role because it makes it easier for a team to say “here’s our offer, take it or leave it.” And unless there is a clear connection between spending more money on a head coach and winning, NFL owners aren’t going to drive a dump truck full of money to a coach’s house. I don’t know that that connection exists. Coaches who win get contract extensions and raises, but shelling out for a new coach is a different thing.
This is the same attitude that bugs me so in the NFL draft. If Chip Kelly were a for sure candidate, I’d agree. But he’s not, nor is anyone else (maybe Sean Payton). So, given the uncertainty, it seems a waste to simply pay whatever a guy asks. Personally, I think a great deal of Chip Kelly’s success is simply due to Nike, and his “innovations” are already known in the NFL (hurry up offense, spread out the defense, read-options and create mismatches). He’s not reinventing the wheel here.
But, hey, anything that gives the fine fans of Cleveland a reason to hope is fine by me.
I’m putting this here, because this thread is about coaches so it sort of fits (fits better here than in the playoffs thread.)
Rex Ryan has a tattoo of his wife wearing a Mark Sanchez jersey.
I just…I mean…bwa?
nfl.com and foxsportsnews both reporting Browns are close to a deal with Kelly.
It sounds like Pioli is out, and basically everyone except the Chiefs is saying Reid is the new head coach in KC.
Woop.
No whammy no whammy no whammy no Lombardi go.
Carolina sticking with Ron Rivera
This move is a bit surprising but I guess the Panthers decided stability is worthwhile. Might be tough to land a GM if he can’t pick his own coach, but the Panthers aren’t that desirable a destination so maybe a known coach is better than an unknown one.
I thought this was an interesting development, Trestman has a pretty solid resume and while Gruden gets a lot of publicity as the QB guru it’s worth noting Trestman was the QB coach during that time. That he worked closely with Steve Young is also a nice notch on his belt and interesting for the Bears since Cutler has some similar athletic gifts as Young.
On the flipside, he’s bounced around an awful lot and I am left to wonder why he’s currently coaching in Canada and never got a better shot in the NFL following his time under Gruden. But he’s had a lot of sustained success in the CFL and might bring the type of creativity to the Bears offense that they desperately need.
Some other names the Bears are reported to be talking to.
Mike McCoy, OC Denver
Great QB/offense credentials and my guess is he’s the front-runner. Timing might be an issue if the Broncos make a deep run. I think he’s my choice so far, but that’s just gut feel.
Mike Sullivan, OC Tampa
Same basic resume as McCoy. Top notch QB expert who’s offenses were really productive through the air. McCoy has a bit more experience and seems like he might be a little more ready to run the show somewhere.
Pete Carmichael Jr, OC New Orleans
Rinse, lather, repeat. Pretty clear where the Bears are leaning. The knock against Carmichael is that he’s only done it in one place with help from Payton and Brees. It’s also interesting that Vitt was chosen to lead in Payton’s absence this year and when Vitt was out they went with Kromer. What’s wrong with Carmichael? Can he call plays but not lead?
Tom Clements, OC Green Bay
I think he’s my second choice after McCoy. I dislike the idea of getting a Packers coach here, but you can’t deny the results and I like the idea of weakening them. Still, he’s only been an OC for one year and it’s possible that he’s less responsible for that success than Rodgers, Philbin and McCarthy. The Packer’s offense was not special this year.
Bruce Arians, OC Indianapolis
He’s the public favorite right now I think. He had success in Pittsburgh and the Colts turnaround was really amazing in the W-L column when Pagano was out. That QB guru tag is there again. He worries me a little because he was fired from Pittsburgh and has guilty of getting his QB killed there and often abandoning the run game. I’ve seen that story.
Joe DeCamillis, Special Teams Dallas
Seriously, why?
Keith Armstrong, Special Teams Atlanta - Rooney Rule
Another one that’s a bit of a head scratcher. Atlanta’s ST haven’t been that notable and his resume is thin to say the least. I’m guessing he’s a token to pass the Rooney Rule, not that there are really any notable HC candidates out there who are black except for Lovie so maybe this isn’t as big a deal. He said he wanted to bring in Norv Turner to be the OC. I love that idea (and had they kept Lovie that actually had the chance to be a great pairing) but I doubt Norv’s going to come work under a guy that’s his junior and it might have been some bullshit that Armstrong threw out there in a purely theoretical sense.
Equally interesting is who hasn’t been connected to the Bears yet.
First, they didn’t talk to Dave Toub yet. Not sure he deserves to be the HC but interviewing a pair of middling ST coaches who aren’t him has to be a slap in the face. Like to bring him back no matter who the HC is, but that bridge might be burned.
No mention of them talking to Reid, Gruden or Cowher at all. I didn’t love the idea of any of them, but you’d expect them to at least have the conversation. That said, each of those guys wants to be the GM I’m sure and Emery isn’t going to slit his own throat.
No college coaches were rumored either. no Chip Kelly, no Brian Kelly, no Kirk Ferentz and so on. I guess these guys are likely to keep any interview hush-hush but there doesn’t seem to be any hints from Halas Hall that they are on their minds. Probably OK, not sure this veteran team would benefit from college rah-rah stuff.
Also, not a single defensive coach on the list either.
Well, there goes Kelly. Wait, what? After these reports the Eagles had a 9 hour lunch with Kelly? Uh… so what were these reports?
The Chip Kelly recruitment tour is extremely fascinating on so many levels, I’m surprised this chase isn’t more prominent in the sports news. It’s basically a soap opera in NFL form. Obviously Kelly alone is a fascinating subject because he has so much potential and so much risk. He’s the most polarizing coaching candidate by far.
Then you have the whole Joe “Nickels” Banner vs. Jeffrey Lurie subplot. The two were close friends while Nickels was the President with the Eagles. But there are reports their friendship collapsed which led to Nickels being pushed out and joining Cleveland. That these two are competing head to head for Kelly is just incredible theater.
So where is everything now? The Eagles had their 9 hour lunch. Kelly was scheduled to have dinner with the Browns but passed it up to finish his meeting.
The Eagles are still scheduled to meet with Mike McCoy and Doug Merrone, which indicates that a deal isn’t imminent. Nobody really has anything concrete right now and it’s clear that early reports about the Browns finalizing a deal with Kelly were just to generate more leverage and pressure on the Eagles and Bills. You could feel Ian Rapaport’s tweets becoming more and more stressed as the day wore on and he came to realization that he was used as a puppet.
I would love to know what the negotiating pitches were like. I find it hard to believe the Browns could compete with an organization like Philly’s, but maybe they’re desperate and willing to hand him personnel control and final say on the new GM? Maybe they’re offering more money? I have a feeling the Eagles, after giving GM Roseman a vote of confidence when Reid was fired, aren’t going to mortgage their future with Kelly. They very much look like a team that is focused on recreating the atmosphere that made them one of the winningest teams in the last 12 years.
This is all very interesting for someone who has never followed a coach search before.
Woo, another player or coach using the Browns offer as leverage.
Omni-Does Armstrong have a legit shot at job? IMO, A-A coaches being interviewed should mostly be offended by the process. If they have no shot at the job, they’re only getting interviewed because the team HAS TO interview them.
This will sound hyperbolic, but I honestly don’t think anything has ever gone right for me as a Browns fan.
Marrone to the Bills.
I don’t know what the hell that leaves for the Browns. They apparently won’t interview Arians. Whisenhunt? Dear god.
FWIW, wrongly reported or not, there was a lot of optimism coming out of Kelly’s interview with the Browns. Pretty much none after meeting with the Eagles.
There seem to be a lot of good candidates out there. even if you miss out on Kelly (which might still be a blessing, mind you). Is it usually this way?
No, we all know the Browns history. That’s not hyperbole. In fact, it’s rather restrained.
This is going to get really interesting if Kelly decides to stay at Oregon.
Haslam seems like a cool guy to me, but I haven’t heard or seen anything about Banner that didn’t make me think he was a gigantic douchefire that’s going to sink the organization through hubris and incompetance. That’s just what we need, Lombardi being a yes-man so some business guy can play GM because he thinks he knows football.
Cleveland has changed players, coaches, front office, and now even ownership, and they can’t catch a fucking break with any of them. For fucks sake. At some point I have to stop putting myself through this shit.
Incidentally, I can’t get a feel if Kelly is being reasonable and just feeling his options out and the reporting is making a big deal out of it, or if he’s jerking everyone around. The fact that he cancelled his second meeting with the Browns (but didn’t yet immediately sign with the Eagles as if his mind were made up) suggests to me he’s fucking around. Not an auspicious start to his NFL career. I wonder if the Bills just said “Fuck this, we’re out” and hired Marrone because they didn’t want to lose time dicking around.
Someone with a long history on a Browns board says he has a source inside the organization telling him Kelly is coming back to finalize the contract today. That’s an extremely spurious rumor, but a 12k posting history without making shit up… well, I’m just grasping at straws at this point.
I guess the fact that he didn’t sign with Philly after their extended meeting is something.
I’m so (justifiably) pessimistic that it seems like even if we do land him, he’ll bust. But every once in a while, it would be nice to know the team got the guy they were really after.
Why is Arians such a bad coach candidate, by the way? Apparently he’s never had an interview for a head coaching spot, but he’s been a coordinator around the league for years. He overachieved with a bad team all the way to 11 wins when an interim coaching position was thrust on him. You’d think he’d be getting more notice.
Edit: Another Browns board poster who’s been around for years claiming to have a friend (in a different department) saying the Kelly is meeting with the Browns right now. Or at least that’s the buzz around the office.
Eagles interviewing McCoy today.
Something occurs to me. Maybe the Browns stuff was legit, then he met with the Eagles and… there’s a lot of history there. Lurie and Banner. Maybe the Eagles managed to sour him on the idea of the Browns because they told him all about douchefire Banner and who he’d be working under.
FML that sounds plausible.