Shurmur Emerging as Frontrunner

[shepwrite]

@miktoxic said:

well then why would he want to come here with nothing to attack with?

either way it's going to be such a lame pick. i don't agree with wrrebel on most topics but, at this point landing gruden would be the 'sexy' pic.

ooh, put on some abba.

Keep this in mind: Both Mike Smith in Atlanta (even a dull name) and John Harbaugh in Baltimore were said to be un-sexy picks. We both know how they've turned out, though. Winning is sexy.

Pat Shurmur feels like the right choice not because it's sexy... but because it's right. He's perfectly qualified. He's a Holmgren/Heckert guy. The age feels right. He interviews and communicates well. He's a "quarterback coddler" at a time we have a 24-year-old QB.

As far as nothing to attack with... I don't get that. Has somebody told us we're not allowed to bring in WRs this offseason to go with Watson, Hillis, and McCoy? OBR predicts not one but TWO serious additions, one in free agency and one in the draft. We already have one of the best LTs and one of the best centers in football. Add Malcolm Floyd and Justin Blackmon and we're overflowing with weapons.

It's not a lame pick. It's a smart pick.

[Westside Steve]

@theclevelandsound said:

Has this whole forum turned homo?

I don't have a boner for any coach, even my favorite: Mike Holmgren.

I never say never. When does Paula Abdul come for an interview?

WSS

[shepwrite]

@canton-mike said:

Shurmur may be a decent candidate. Holmgren & Heckert will decide that.

One correction though, Pat Shurmur was NOT a DC from 1994 to 1998....His Uncle, Fritz Shurmur, was.

Mike

I think he was on the defensive staff. I know he worked on the D side of the ball in those years.

[Riffer X]

@shepwrite said:

I think he was on the defensive staff. I know he worked on the D side of the ball in those years.

That was his Uncle Fritz.

[shepwrite]

@riffer-x said:

That was his Uncle Fritz.

Yeah, but I've read several times now that Pat knows both sides of the ball because he was a defensive coach from 94 to 98 before joining the Eagles and eventually becoming their QB coach. It makes sense age-wise. I think he worked for his uncle.

UPDATE: I'm trying to figure out why they say he knows both sides of the ball. It has to be what he did BEFORE becoming QB coach in Philly. Not sure what it was yet.

[shepwrite]

Not seeing an explanation here. This was from an article from 2005 about how Pat was destined to be a head coach because every other WCO QB coach became an OC and then a HC:

It's not a huge surprise Shurmur is where he is. Coaching is in the family. His uncle, Fritz Shurmur, was Green Bay's defensive coordinator when Reid was an offensive assistant for the Packers. In the early '90s, Shurmur coached the offensive line, tight ends at special teams at Michigan State. When the family visited Fritz in Green Bay, Shurmur stopped by Reid's office.

"I started the interview process with Andy way back when," Shurmur said. "When Andy had an opportunity to be a head coach, I moved up the ranks."

In 1999, Reid hired Shurmur from Stanford, where Shurmur coached the offensive line. Shurmur started out as the Eagles' offensive line and tight ends coach. He moved into the QB job when Rod Dowhower retired and Childress was promoted from QB coach to offensive coordinator (take note of Childress' career path).

[LCDawgFan13]

I am not sold on Shurmur being the right guy. Is he the best OC available to correct our Browns' offense? Look at the numbers. His offense for the Rams this season was ranked 26th in the NFL, only 3 spots better than the Browns at 29. Even the better scoring offense of the Rams (26 as opposed to the Browns 31) is not really all that great. I know he had a poor receiving group and a rookie QB. So did the Browns for much of the season.

I will say that I still trust Holmgren, even despite the fact that I was against firing Mangini. I just hope that my trust is in the right place. If he hires Shurmur, I will trust that it's the right choice, even if I don't agree with it. I just see 2 other OC's on our radar who have their offenses ranked a lot higher and both that actuall made the playoffs, abeit they do have more talent in Philly and Atlanta.

I just am not sure that Shurmur has showed that much more than Daboll has this season...And I can't stand Daboll!!

[TheClevelandSound]

@shepwrite said:

Not seeing an explanation here. This was from an article from 2005 about how Pat was destined to be a head coach because every other WCO QB coach became an OC and then a HC:

It's not a huge surprise Shurmur is where he is. Coaching is in the family. His uncle, Fritz Shurmur, was Green Bay's defensive coordinator when Reid was an offensive assistant for the Packers. In the early '90s, Shurmur coached the offensive line, tight ends at special teams at Michigan State. When the family visited Fritz in Green Bay, Shurmur stopped by Reid's office.

"I started the interview process with Andy way back when," Shurmur said. "When Andy had an opportunity to be a head coach, I moved up the ranks."

In 1999, Reid hired Shurmur from Stanford, where Shurmur coached the offensive line. Shurmur started out as the Eagles' offensive line and tight ends coach. He moved into the QB job when Rod Dowhower retired and Childress was promoted from QB coach to offensive coordinator (take note of Childress' career path).

All I have is one request. Pat Shurmur better not be a "players coach". I like discipline coaches, not a white version of Romeo Crennel. No, thats not racist.

[shepwrite]

I get a John Harbaugh vibe off of Shurmur. Like he's smart and can communicate, but that doesn't mean he's soft.

You really can't look at stats for head coaches because of all the other variables. If stats were key, no way Rob Ryan gets hired as our DC, let alone gets some heat as a head coach. His rankings at Oakland weren't impressive and they weren't all that good here.

Or you could look at his "stats" when he was with the Eagles... because those are impressive. And in year two as OC, he improved the Rams offense and made them a competitive team.

What matters, I think, is the interview. Does he have a vision and can he communicate it? Does he seem like a leader of men? And in Shurmur's case, our brass knows him better than just about anybody. If they think he's a head coach, that's pretty telling.

All that said, and the coin flip decision aside, Mornhinweg is viewed as an offensive genius in league circles.

[bonedawg]

Really?

"Elsewhere:

In Jobville: I said Saturday on NBC that 45-year-old St. Louis offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was the hot name in Cleveland, and probably the leader in the clubhouse for the Browns job. That could change, but I hear they want to make a decision quickly, and Shurmur was very impressive when he interviewed with Mike Holmgren on Friday.

Shurmur points of interest: He knows Holmgren from his days hanging around the Packers occasionally when Uncle Fritz was Holmgren's defensive coordinator. He has an MBA. He coached under Nick Saban at Michigan State and Andy Reid in Philadelphia. He's tight with Browns GM Tom Heckert; they worked together for eight years under Reid in Philadelphia. He'd run the exact West Coast offense Holmgren wants run, the one Holmgren taught Reid, and the one Reid taught Shurmur. So the connections are good. We'll see this week if they're good enough"

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writ...l#ixzz1AfvqqjR5

[shepwrite]

Pretty long thread on this already.

[shepwrite]

I like the Packers a lot and they're run by an offensive coach, a WCO guy from the Walsh/Holmgren tree. I like everything about that team, including the combo of a WCO and a 3-4 defense, which I have a feeling we'll be playing. I think Bill Walsh is my favorite coach of all time and Holmgren was a pretty damn good one, too.

I like it a lot.

Keep in mind that when you reminisce about the Mangini days, you're dreaming of back to back 5-11 seasons. Honestly, I don't get why anybody's getting "salty" (Hoss) over that. I seriously don't. Is it because he was kind of dull and didn't like quarterbacks much?

[Canton Mike]

I just have a gut feeling that Gruden is STILL the guy...What about Shurmur as OC & Asst HC? The silence about Gruden is deafening.

Mike

[shepwrite]

@canton-mike said:

I just have a gut feeling that Gruden is STILL the guy...What about Shurmur as OC & Asst HC? The silence about Gruden is deafening.

Mike

I think Gruden is the get, yeah. But if not, it's Shurmur or Mornhinweg. All three are WCO guys.

[Kosar_For_President]

@canton-mike said:

I just have a gut feeling that Gruden is STILL the guy...What about Shurmur as OC & Asst HC? The silence about Gruden is deafening.

Mike

Wwrbell is waiting with lube for chucky

[WRREBEL]

@kosar_for_president said:

Wwrbell is waiting with lube for chucky

I kinda have a boner..

They are saying that shurmur will be named head coach with in the next 48hrs. don't believe it..

Here is a tip after the bcs game, gruden will come in.

Stop! Gruden time!

[shepwrite]

@wrrebel said:

I kinda have a boner..

They are saying that shurmur will be named head coach with in the next 48hrs. don't believe it..

Here is a tip after the bcs game, gruden will come in.

Stop! Gruden time!

A lot of fans don't get how HUGE the interview process is. It's kept Ron Rivera out of a head coaching job for a very long time. Did the same to Romeo Crennel. A head coach can't just know stuff... he has to be THE LEADER of the team. He has to communicate and motivate. You have coordinators for a lot of the detail work.

Shurmur interviewed extremely well, which probably surprised Heckert and Holmgren not at all, given how well they know him.

Then again... tough to communicate better than Gruden. But a lot of players can't stand him.

[shepwrite]

Another sign pointing to Shurmur: The Browns have NOT asked Philadelphia for permission to interview Mornhinweg. NY reporters are expecting Fewell back because the Browns are widely expected to ink Shurmur this week.

[ballpeen]

Maybe Gruden doesn't want the job.

Anybody think of that??

Maybe he has been contacted and declined to interview.

Maybe he simply doesn't want a job in Cleveland, or maybe he is satisfied with his MNF gig and the scratch it pays.

Prep on the players a day or two...show up Sunday mid day for a meeting, find the booth, hit the restaurant. Show up Monday mid morning for a sound check, go out to lunch, show back up arounf 5PM for the final game prep, then showtime.

Catch a later dinner at the hotel....fly home Tuesday morning.

Monkey around Tuesday and Wednesday, hunker down on names Thursday and Friday, then do it all over again Sunday morning.

[WRREBEL]

@ballpeen said:

Maybe Gruden doesn't want the job.

Anybody think of that??

Maybe he has been contacted and declined to interview.

Maybe he simply doesn't want a job in Cleveland, or maybe he is satisfied with his MNF gig and the scratch it pays.

Prep on the players a day or two...show up Sunday mid day for a meeting, find the booth, hit the restaurant. Show up Monday mid morning for a sound check, go out to lunch, show back up arounf 5PM for the final game prep, then showtime.

Catch a later dinner at the hotel....fly home Tuesday morning.

You

Monkey around Tuesday and Wednesday, hunker down on names Thursday and Friday, then do it all over again Sunday morning.

Blasphemy!