the coaches searches

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by Merlin

re: Flip… here’s a nice quote on him that speaks volumes to me because it is the heart of being a great coordinator at the NFL level:

“The one thing I learned about him very quickly when I hired him is just it’s the combination of passion and football intelligence,” coach Mike Pettine said. “When a play breaks down, he knows immediately why it happened. He’s very good at troubleshooting. He’s very good at understanding defenses and what they’re trying to take away and how to take advantage of it and how we can get our guys in the right position to make plays.”

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by jrry32

The top proven OCs aren’t going to be on the market. This is exactly who the Rams should be targeting. Took lemons and made lemonade this year in Cleveland. The Browns were a top 15 passing attack with talent that looked awfully similar to ours when McCown went down.

DeFilippo did an amazing job with their passing attack. The Browns weakness this year was the rushing attack. Which isn’t an issue for us.

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It’s early, but John DeFilippo doesn’t look like a rookie offensive coordinator for Cleveland Browns

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2015/10/its_early_but_john_defilippo_d.html

BEREA, Ohio – John DeFilippo didn’t get married until age 36.

Most football coaches are wed to their work, but few seem as willing to admit it as the new Browns offensive coordinator.

“I’m one of those guys who puts my job first,” DeFilippo told NEOMG in the summer. “A lot of people will say that’s wrong, but I knew what I wanted to do and I knew how to get there and I had to do it the right way.”

Time spent on 10 college campuses and inside six pro organizations has prepared the 37-year-old for the task of coordinating the NFL’s Isle of Misfit Toys. To the surprise of many outside the walls of Berea, DeFilippo hasn’t coached like a first-time pro playcaller.

The Browns (2-3) head into Sunday’s game against the Broncos ranked eighth in total offense and 13thin scoring. Quarterback Josh McCown and his unheralded supporting cast deserve much credit for executing the game plan, particularly over the past three weeks.

But DeFilippo, with the help of coach Mike Pettine, has quietly put the offense in good position thanks to his knowledge, confidence and willingness to adapt to circumstances. Whether it’s condensing the playbook for Johnny Manziel or tailoring a plan to an opponent, the coordinator has been as nimble and unflappable as a high-wire walker in the face of lakefront gusts.

“He sees the game, and when a play breaks down, he knows immediately why it happened,” Pettine said. “He is very good at troubleshooting and very good at understanding defenses and what they are trying to take away and how to take advantage of it and how we can get our guys in the right position to make plays.”

DeFilippo’s attack is not without shortcomings. The Browns aren’t efficient in the red zone. They don’t run the ball with any consistency. Their playmakers, save for Gary Barnidge, lack size and the recent trend of asking McCown to throw 45 to 50 times per game doesn’t seem sustainable.

But who in July thought the offense could excel behind the talents of McCown, Barnidge, Travis Benjamin and rookie Duke Johnson? John DeFilippo, that’s who.

He was McCown’s biggest backer in the organization from their days together in Oakland when so many criticized the free-agent signing. DeFilippo took one look at Benjamin running routes in the spring and said the returner needed to be more involved in the passing game. He’s made exceptional use of Barnidge’s soft hands (feet and thighs) and told anyone who would listen Johnson would become a match-up nightmare for opponents out of the backfield.

The Browns rank sixth in passing, averaging 289 yards per game, on the strength of a veteran quarterback who can make use of the entire playbook and a varied offense that employs multiple formations and lots of motion. They have scored on 16 of their last 26 possessions dating to halftime of the Raiders’ game.

“Like I said last week, I feel him getting better every week and doing a good job of adapting really to what the game needs as far as where we’re at offensively,” McCown said. “(He) does a good job of staying calm and working through the call sheet and trusting his preparation. That’s been huge for us, obviously.”

DeFilippo understood the skepticism surrounding his hiring. The Browns went from veterans Norv Turner and Kyle Shanahan to a coordinator who had only called plays for two seasons at San Jose State.

If not for Ray Farmer’s text messages and the front-office meddling, DeFilippo wouldn’t have the opportunity. But the NFL is all about taking advantages of chances. So far, so good for the assistant Pettine calls “a hot-blooded Italian,” one who likes his red wine and Hoyo De Monterrey cigars.

The Browns haven’t scored fewer than 20 points since the opener against the Jets when McCown was lost on the first series to concussion. He staunchly backed Pettine’s decision to roll with McCown even after Manziel beat the Titans with a pair of TD passes to Benjamin.

Can the offensive production continue? That’s unclear. Lets not forget the Browns also enjoyed a quick start last season before another bridge quarterback, Brian Hoyer, began to play down to his level.

The league’s top defense comes to town Sunday and formidable Rams and Cardinals units await the Browns over the next three weeks.

DeFilippo, however, has the short and intermediate passing game humming. The swing passes to the versatile Johnson and Isaiah Crowell supplement a rushing attack averaging just 88.4 yards.

Instead of grinding it out against the Ravens, a strategy that would have played into Baltimore’s favor, McCown threw the ball 51 times. The fact the Browns fell behind aided in the decision to stay aggressive through air. By game’s end, the Ravens’ defense was exhausted and the Browns found some success running the ball.

McCown finished with a franchise-record 457 yards passing.

“I know Josh is going to get heaped with praise, and it is well deserved, but I just think we functioned extremely well as a unit,” Pettine said.

That includes the man calling the plays.

DeFilippo has much to learn as he grows into the job. He won’t lack for effort, however. He has a strong work ethic and an understanding wife to thank for that

Fwiw, DeFilippo runs a WCO.

Fisher from the press conferences before and after the Browns game, discussing the Cleveland offense, and therefore, by extension, their coordinator:

Fisher – 10/24/15

Based on what they’ve done the last few weeks, it’s quite impressive. . . .They’ve got a great passing game . . . .They’ve got a quarterback that they trust. He’s first in the league in third down passing. Their offense is fourth in the NFL in third down efficiency. You saw what he did to Baltimore and the numbers that he put up there. They can run the football.

Fisher – 10/25/15

Very explosive offense that we’d seen prior to today on tape with their run game and their passing game.

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Tim Kawakami @timkawakami
Right now, there’s a lot of focus in coaching circles on John DeFilippo. It’s assumed the 49ers want him as their OC. What HC fits w/that?

http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/nfl/cle/cleveland-browns

Browns OC John DeFilippo is interviewing with the Rams on Tuesday.
According to the Sacramento Bee, DeFilippo could also be in the running for the 49ers’ coordinator position if Tom Coughlin is hired. The Browns are trying to keep DeFilippo in-house as they search for a new coach, but he could be lured away before Mike Pettine’s replacement is identified.

InvaderRam wrote:

rgiii anyone???

Personally? I can’t stand that idea. Really. Even suggesting it bothers me. The guy lost a locker room. Jeff George, but with more legs than arm.

If it means anything, McCown played well for DeFilippo in Cleveland. That suggests he can get a lot out of guys others couldn’t. But RG3? The very idea has me cross-eyed.

Just a friendly difference of opinion.

But if they do go after RG3, be prepared to watch me meltdown worse than Foles did.

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Browns OC John DeFilippo told he won’t be back; he may join Rams

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2016/01/browns_oc_john_defilippo_told.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo was told by the club Saturday morning that he won’t be back, a league source told cleveland.com.

DeFilippo has two years left on his contract, and the Browns owe him the full amount unless he takes another job before it expires. He has a chance to join the Rams as passing game coordinator and interviewed for the 49ers head coaching vacancy that went to Chip Kelly.

It became apparent that DeFilippo wouldn’t be needed when head coach Hue Jackson told Sirius XM NFL on Friday that he probably won’t hire an offensive coordinator and plans to call his own plays. ESPN’s Adam Caplan first reported that DeFilippo was out.

Jackson interviewed former Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton Friday for a prominent role on the offense, possibly assistant head coach or passing game coordinator.

DeFilippo, who was waiting to hear Jackson’s plans before making a decision, is still in the running for the Rams job, as the team prepares to move to Los Angeles for the 2016 season. He’s drawn interest from other teams as well.

DeFilippo was one of four Browns assistants were told the day after Mike Pettine was fired that they were welcome to stay if the new coach wanted them. The others were Kevin O’Connell, who has also been told he won’t be back, secondary coach Jeff Hafley and assistant secondary coach Aaron Glenn, who joined the Saints.

In 2015, DeFilippo’s first year as a coordinator, the Browns threw for 4,155 yards, fourth-most in franchise history. It was also the fourth time in team history the club threw for 4,000 yards and rushed for 1,500 yards in the same season.

The 2.0 interception percentage was second-best in franchise annals and the quarterbacks’ 12 interceptions were third-fewest in a 16-game season.

wv wrote:

Its interesting to me that Fisher wants a
passing co-ordinator. Does that mean
that he doesn’t think Boras is up to the task
of making the passing game go?
What exactly does it mean?
Is he just trying to give Boras some help?

My opinion?

It means that he wants DF to learn the Rams system instead of coming onboard and teaching everyone, coaches and players, the WCO he was used to running. There are of course a lot of advantages to doing it like that.

Coordinators regularly rely on someone else to work up the running game. For example, Boras did that with Cigz, and if memory serves Hanifan did that with Martz. Near as I can tell, this version would just reverse the usual hierarchy. It basically makes DF the coordinator, but they (sounds like) would do it by having him become part of the system they already have in place.

nittany ram wrote:

I wonder if the passing coordinator would work within the scheme of the existing offense or would he install his own scheme and terminology?

We posted similar thoughts at the same time. My guess was that doing it the way they want to do it would mean DF would learn the Rams system instead of having everyone learn DF’s system (which is a WCO btw).

Blue and Gold

Outgoing #Titans OC Jason Michael in line for TE coach or passing game coordinator with #Rams.[/quote]