https://247sports.com/nfl/cleveland-brow...88/#127598488_1Freddie Kitchens makes decisions on current coaching staff
ByJOSH EDWARDS 17 hours ago
The Cleveland Browns announced the hire of head coach Freddie Kitchens Wednesday. It was the first move of what should be a very busy off-season for the organization from a coaching staff perspective. The reports are already pouring in over the futures of coaches on the current staff.
Cleveland Browns on 247Sports has gathered all of the information about the coaching changes into one place. Fans can work through the article to learn the fate of each member of the coaching staff.
SENIOR OFFENSIVE ASSISTANT AL SAUNDERS
STATUS: Unknown
"Al Saunders joined the Browns as senior offensive assistant on Jan. 22, 2016. He has more than 40 years of coaching experience, including the past 35 in the NFL. Saunders has been part of 15 playoff teams, five division titles and one Super Bowl championship as an NFL coach. His offensive units have ranked first in the NFL in total offense, passing, rushing or scoring 20 times.
He has been named NFL Offensive Coach of the Year (2005) and credited with the development of the two greatest receiving corps in NFL history (as documented by NFL Films) the St. Louis Rams “Greatest Show on Turf” and the San Diego Chargers “Air Coryell”. Saunders was recently ranked by ESPN as the NFL’s No. 1 offensive coordinator in the past 25 years. Additionally, as a tribute to his offensive averaging 478 points per season, Bleacher Report recognized him as the top offensive coordinator in Kansas City Chiefs franchise history," his bio reads.
WIDE RECEIVERS COACH ADAM HENRY
STATUS: Retained
"Adam Henry was named wide receivers coach on Jan. 12, 2018. He has 21 years of experience as a coach with 13 on the college level and eight in the NFL.
Henry spent the past two seasons (2016-17) as the Giants wide receivers coach. In 2016, Odell Beckham Jr. registered a career-high 101 receptions for 1,367 yards and 10 touchdowns. His reception total was the second-highest in Giants history and his yardage total was third. Sterling Shepard finished second among all NFL rookies with 65 receptions.
Henry was San Francisco’s wide receivers coach in 2015. He worked with veteran Anquan Boldin, who finished with 69 catches for 789 yards and four touchdowns," his bio reads.
RUNNING BACKS COACH RYAN LINDLEY
STATUS: Retained
"As a player, Lindley was a sixth-round pick by Arizona in 2012. He appeared in 10 regular season games with six starts in addition to starting a playoff game for the Cardinals in 2014. He spent two seasons playing under current Browns offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens, who served as Arizona’s quarterbacks coach from 2013-16. Lindley also spent time with the Chargers, Patriots and Colts. He was a four-year starter at San Diego State, where he set numerous school records, including career passing yards (12,690) and touchdowns (90)," his bio reads.
QUARTERBACKS COACH KEN ZAMPESE
STATUS: Terminated
"Ken Zampese was named quarterbacks coach on Jan. 12, 2018. He has been an NFL coach the past 20 years.
Zampese (pronounced zam-PEE-zee) spent the past 15 years with the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent 2016 and part of the 2017 season as offensive coordinator after serving as quarterbacks coach for 13 seasons (2003-15). He helped shape two of the best passers in Bengals history in Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton. Zampese served as quarterbacks coach for Palmer’s first seven NFL seasons (2004-10) and for Dalton’s first five (2011-15). Zampese helped develop each to multiple Pro Bowl selections as well as numerous franchise records. Dalton, a second-round pick in 2011, became just the second quarterback in the Super Bowl era to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons. Palmer led the NFL with 33 passing touchdowns in 2005. In 2004, Zampese helped quarterback Jon Kitna set several career highs en route to being named the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year," his bio reads.
OFFENSIVE LINE COACH BOB WYLIE
STATUS: Terminated
"Bob Wylie joined the Browns as offensive line coach on Jan. 19, 2017. Wylie has 44 years of experience coaching on the professional and collegiate levels. He has coached in the NFL for 25 seasons, CFL for six seasons and on the college level for 13 years.
Last year, the offensive line helped the Browns finish sixth in the league with a 4.46 rushing average and committed the third-fewest penalties in the NFL with 16. The line also protected for quarterback DeShone Kizer, who totaled the second-most passing yards by a Browns rookie and compiled the most rushing yards ever by a Browns quarterback. Left tackle Joe Thomas surpassed 10,000 consecutive offensive snaps in his career, but a torn triceps ended his streak at 10,363. Wylie helped develop Spencer Drango, who became the first player other than Thomas to start a left tackle for the Browns since Dec. 31, 2006," his bio reads.
ASSISTANT OFFENSIVE LINE COACH MARK HUTSON
STATUS: Terminated
"Mark Hutson was named assistant offensive line coach on Jan. 22, 2016. He has 28 years of coaching experience on the college and professional levels.
Since he joined the team in 2016, the Browns are second in the NFL with a 4.67 rushing average. The Browns finished 2017 sixth in the league with a 4.46 rushing average. In 2016, the Browns finished second in the NFL with a 4.89 rushing average. The average was the seventh-best in team history and the team’s best mark since 1966. In 2016, left tackle Joe Thomas became the fifth player in NFL history to be selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons," his bio reads.
TIGHT ENDS COACH GREG SEAMON
STATUS: Terminated
"Greg Seamon was named tight ends coach on Jan. 22, 2016. He has more than 40 years of experience coaching and scouting football.
Last year, Seamon helped develop first-round pick David Njoku, who recorded the most receiving touchdowns by a Browns rookie tight end. He led the Browns with four receiving scores. Njoku finished with 32 receptions for 386 yards and Seth DeValve set career highs with 33 receptions for 395 yards.
In his first season with the Browns, Seamon worked with Gary Barnidge, who logged 55 receptions for 612 yards and two touchdowns. Barnidge joined Ozzie Newsome (six) and Kellen Winslow (two) as the only tight ends in Browns history to record multiple seasons with at least 50 receptions. In 2016, three tight ends found the end zone for Cleveland, including fourth-round pick Seth DeValve, who recorded two touchdowns," his bio reads.
OFFENSIVE QUALITY CONTROL/ASSISTANT WIDE RECEIVERS COACH BOB SAUNDERS
STATUS: Terminated
"Bob Saunders enters his fourth season with the Browns and his third as offensive quality control/assistant wide receivers coach. Saunders has coached in the NFL for 10 seasons.
Last season, the Browns had three receivers record multiple touchdowns receptions, including Josh Gordon, who returned to the field after missing the previous 44 consecutive games. In five games, Gordon recorded 18 receptions for 335 yards and one touchdown.
In 2016, Saunders helped Terrelle Pryor Sr. make a successful transition from quarterback to wide receiver. In his first season at the position, Pryor led the team in receptions (77), receiving yards (1,007) and receiving touchdowns (four). His reception total was the fourth-most by a Browns wide receiver and his yardage total was seventh-most by a Browns wide receiver. He also helped develop 2016 first-round pick Corey Coleman, who was named NFL Rookie of the Week after a 104-yard, two touchdown performance in Week 2," his bio reads.
OFFENSIVE QUALITY CONTROL COACH BRIAN BRASWELL
STATUS: Terminated
"Brian Braswell enters his first season as the Browns’ offensive quality control coach in 2018, after previously serving at the club’s coaching assistant from 2016-17.
Prior to his tenure with the Browns, Braswell worked alongside head coach Hue Jackson and quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese in Cincinnati for the Bengals as offensive quality control/assistant offensive line coach for two years (2014-15). With the Bengals, he worked closely with the offensive staff both on the practice field and in meetings. He also handled other game preparation duties with Jackson," his bio reads.
DEFENSIVE LINE COACH CLYDE SIMMONS
STATUS: Unknown
"Clyde Simmons was named defensive line coach on Jan. 19, 2017. He has been an NFL coach for seven seasons following a 15-year NFL playing career.
Simmons helped develop Myles Garrett, the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Garrett led the Browns with seven sacks, tied for second among all NFL rookies and third-most by a Browns rookie. Garrett joined Oakland defensive tackle Tommy Kelly (2004) and Cleveland linebacker Barkevious Mingo (2013) as the only NFL players since 2004 to record at least one sack in each of their first three NFL games. In his first game, Garrett recorded a sack on his first NFL play and became the only No. 1 overall pick to record multiple sacks in his NFL debut," his bio reads.
DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH DEWAYNE WALKER
STATUS: Retained
"DeWayne Walker was named defensive backs coach on Jan. 19, 2017. Walker has 12 years of NFL coaching experience.
In his first season, the Browns defense made significant improvements in many categories. The Browns, who finished 31st in the NFL in both total defense and rushing defense in 2016, ranked 14th in total defense and seventh in rushing defense in 2017. Walker worked specifically with the Browns defensive backs and Jason McCourty led the team in interceptions. McCourty also recorded the first INT-TD of his nine-year career," his bio reads.
LINEBACKERS COACH BLAKE WILLIAMS
STATUS: Terminated
"Blake Williams was named linebackers coach on Jan. 19, 2017 and has eight years of NFL coaching experience.
In Williams’ first season, he helped Joe Schobert become the first Browns linebacker named to the Pro Bowl in 16 years. Schobert tied for first in the NFL with 144 tackles, while Christian Kirksey tied for fourth in the league with 138. Schobert and Kirksey joined N.Y. Jets linebacker Demario Davis as the only players in the NFL to play every defensive snap for their team in 2017," his bio reads.
ASSISTANT DEFENSIVE LINE COACH KEN DELGADO
STATUS: Unknown
"Ken Delgado was named assistant defensive line coach on Feb. 8, 2016. Prior to joining the Browns, he spent 30 years coaching on the college level, where he helped his teams to 15 postseason bowl games and developed a number of future NFL players.
Delgado helped develop Myles Garrett, the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Garrett led the Browns with seven sacks. The total tied for second among all NFL rookies and ranked third for the most by a Browns rookie. Garrett joined Oakland defensive tackle Tommy Kelly (2004) and Cleveland linebacker Barkevious Mingo (2013) as the only NFL players since 2004 to record at least one sack in each of their first three NFL games. In his first game, Garrett recorded a sack on his first NFL play and became the only No. 1 overall pick to record multiple sacks in his NFL debut," his bio reads.
DEFENSIVE QUALITY CONTROL COACH SCOTT KANIECKI
STATUS: Unknown
"Scott Kaniecki enters his first season as the Browns’ defensive quality control coach in 2018, after previously serving in the club’s player personnel department from 2015-17.
Kaniecki began his time with the Browns working remotely within the player personnel department during the 2015 season, then transitioned into a scouting assistant in 2016.
Prior to his tenure with the franchise, Kaniecki accrued eight years of coaching experience as an assistant coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (2008-11) and most recently at Colorado School of Mines (2012-14). His resume consists of coaching quarterbacks, tight ends, receivers, specialists and linebackers, as well as performing quality control duties," his bio reads.
DEFENSIVE QUALITY CONTROL COACH ERIC SANDERS
STATUS: Terminated
"Eric Sanders was named defensive quality control coach on Feb. 8, 2016. In 2011, he was part of Head Coach Hue Jackson’s staff in Oakland.
Last season, Sanders assisted with a Browns defense that saw Joe Schobert become the first Browns linebacker named to the Pro Bowl in 16 years. Schobert tied for first in the NFL with 144 tackles. Defensive lineman Myles Garrett, the first overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft, led the Browns with seven sacks, tied for second among all NFL rookies and third-most by a Browns rookie.
In 2016, Christian Kirksey finish third in the NFL with 148 tackles. Rookie Emmanuel Ogbah recorded a team-best 5.5 sacks, tied for the fourth-most by a Browns rookie," his bio reads.
ASSISTANT DEFENSIVE BACKS/SAFETIES COACH JEROD KRUSE
STATUS: Terminated
"Jerod Kruse was named assistant defensive backs/safeties coach on Jan. 19, 2017. He has 17 years of coaching experience.
In his first season, the Browns defense made significant improvements in many categories. The Browns, who finished 31st in the NFL in both total defense and rushing defense in 2016, ranked 14th in total defense and seventh in rushing defense in 2017. Kruse worked specifically with the Browns safeties and helped develop first-round pick Jabrill Peppers and second-year pro Derrick Kindred," his bio reads.
SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR AMOS JONES
STATUS: Terminated
"Amos Jones was named special teams coordinator on Jan. 24, 2018. He has 37 years of experience as a coach on the high school, college and professional levels.
Jones served as the special teams coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals from 2013-17. During his five seasons at Arizona, Jones helped Justin Bethel (2013-15) and Budda Baker (2017) to Pro Bowl selections as special teams players. In 2014, kicker Chandler Catanzaro tied the NFL record for the most consecutive field goals to begin a career with 17 and set a Cardinals rookie record with 114 points. The 2014 Cardinals kickoff coverage unit also ranked fourth in the league with an opponent average drive start at the 20 yard line. In 2013, punter Dave Zastudil tied for the NFL lead with 35 punts inside the 20-yard line, while Drew Butler did the same the following year with 34," his bio reads.
ASSISTANT SPECIAL TEAMS COACH SAM SHADE
STATUS: Unknown
"Sam Shade was named assistant special teams coach on Feb. 7, 2018. He has coached on the college and high school level for 13 years following an eight-year NFL playing career as a defensive back.
Shade spent 2017 coaching the cornerbacks at Georgia State following an eight year (2009-16) stint at Samford. He began his Samford tenure as the secondary coach and was promoted to special teams and defensive pass game coordinator in 2014. During his time at Samford, the secondary produced three NFL draft picks in James Bradberry (second round), Jaquiski Tartt (second round) and Corey White (fifth round)," his bio reads.