Cleveland Browns Looking To Hire Urban Meyer?
Are the Cleveland Browns looking to hire Urban Meyer?
Coming into this season expectations were high for the Browns. Some had them as a dark horse pick to win the AFC North. Others just expected some moderate level of improvement from years past.
Ultimately, Cleveland just couldn’t deliver on those expectations.
Through 15 games the Browns find themselves 6-9 on the season.
Originally Cleveland brass said that it planned to retain head coach Freddie Kitchens no matter what. He was more or less promised one more season to figure things out.
Given how things look like they are about to end, though, it would not be surprising to see the organization cut ties with its head coach early.
Particularly if an interesting new candidate enters the fold. Someone like, say, Meyer.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, the Browns will make a run at Meyer if Kitchens ends up getting the boot.
Meyer reportedly has a good relationship with team owner Jimmy Haslam.
“The Cleveland Browns could be poised to make big changes again pending the results of their final two games, league sources said, with ownership continuing to assess the performance of the staff,” the report notes.
“If the Haslams do opt to make a coaching change, they could provide Urban Meyer’s best chance of leaping to the NFL.”
Meyer’s Ohio State success really endeared him to Cleveland-area sports fans.
“Jimmy Haslam has a very strong bond with Meyer, the sources said, and the two have long been confidants,” the report continues.
“Meyer has often shared inside information on his Ohio State players with the owner in the past — with the owner privileged to player reports and potential red flags that most if not all teams close to that program were not aware of.
“It was not uncommon at all for the men to be in conversation and act as a sounding board for one another, and Meyer has a unique cache in Ohio based on his successful stint with the Buckeyes.”
Meyer has also been linked to the Washington Redskins job, should this Cleveland thing not work out.
Early this year Meyer was seen as a lock to become the new head coach of USC. Unfortunately, the Trojans opted to retain Clay Helton for another season. That left Meyer as the odd man out in college football with no coaching job to fall back on.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
