DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns DC Candidates

j/c:

I'll be good with either, but I thought Woods would be a decent DC too, so there's that. I'm also glad reasonable minds in the Browns organization saw the same things I did this year. Woods needed to go; he hurt us the past two seasons.

j/c...

As far as the Browns go, this will only apply to interviewing Sean Dasai of the known current candidates.

Being in South Florida, I see a lot of Miami games, and always thought Flores would have Miami in the running seasonally. He was almost there.
That defense was really good while he was there, and if not for Tua's slow progress and injury history they probably would have been contenders earlier.

J/C

Is anyone concerned about the potential distraction of Flores' lawsuit vs. the NFL? The Browns have already had distractions with the Watson situation. I wonder if they want to deal with any potential issues arising from Flores' suit. I totally get that the circumstances are night and day, but I'm simply speaking at the level of players having to answer questions about it and whether it would take away from the mental focus needed. Just throwing it out their for opinions as the suit seems to be in limbo at this point.

From what I can tell from the outside looking in, Flores is the injured party. Not the predator. So overall, it's totally different than the Watson thing. Watson is a sleeze,, Flores isn't. So yeah, I"d be fine with him from that standpoint. I see no distraction. There didn't appear to be on with Pittsburgh either.

Man, that's a pretty crazy article about Flores. Not sure what to think right now.

I asked a question about our Base defense on the Joe Woods thread and Milk supplied the following article. It's definitely worth the read.


https://www.footballoutsiders.com/s...personnel-cowboys-and-bills-abandon-base

Browns DC candidate Jerod Mayo possesses the great leadership skills this splintered defense needs
Updated: Jan. 10, 2023, 5:53 p.m.|Published: Jan. 10, 2023, 4:49 p.m.

By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns defensive coordinator candidate Jerod Mayo, the Patriots linebackers coach who will interview for the job here soon, is known for the great leadership skills and inner discipline that this beleaguered defense needs.

There’s no shortage of talent on the Browns’ defense, but the players didn’t mesh well in 2022, and need an overhaul. One of their star players, Jadeveon Clowney, was disgruntled most of the season, which permeated the team. Defensive backs clashed early over blown coverages, and players screamed at each in the locker room following the 23-20 loss in Baltimore.

At least five defenders were benched for all or parts of games for disciplinary reasons, and players like rookie defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey had maturity issues that were a distraction.

While the Browns retool the defense in 2023 to find the right mix of talent, leadership and fire, they could use a great leader at the coordinator position to fix the broken unit. Mayo, who’s earned the highest praise from Patriots coach Bill Belichick over the years, is known for unifying players both as an eight-year linebacker for the Patriots from 2008-15 and as a four-year linebackers coach there from 2019 to present.

“I think he’s as well-respected as any player in the locker room and I’d say one of the best overall team leaders, players and kind of a glue chemistry guy that I’ve been around,” Belichick said of Mayo in 2014. “He means a lot to our team. I’d say he’s really the guy that the team probably revolves around more than any other player.

“Not that there aren’t other players that are instrumental in that, but I think he touches pretty much everybody, not just the defensive players but all the guys — not just the older guys, but the younger guys. Even when he was captain in his second year, he had a relationship with the older guys.”

The No. 10 overall pick of the Patriots out of Tennessee in 2008, Mayo earned near-unanimous NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and went on to be voted a team captain of the star-studded roster in only his second season, holding the post for seven years until he retired.

“So, I walked into this locker room, right? All right, rookie of the year, Tom Brady’s in there, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau,” Mayo said on the World Reimagined podcast. “These are Hall of Fame caliber players, right? And they’re older. And so, when I say older, they’re 28, 29, 30. Tedy Bruschi, Bruschi is 33, 34, or something like that.”

Mayo, 36, was willing to do the little things to help the team, and said his teammates knew he cared about them more than he cared about himself.

“Part of the grunt work is opening up the divider in the rooms or closing the divider, stupid little things like that, carrying the helmets inside of the veteran players,” he said. “But also, it’s to go knock on coach Belichick’s door and say, “Coach, hey, we’re a little tired today. Can we get out of pads?” And so, everyone was scared to go knock on that door, right? So who do they send in there? They sent me in there.”

Mayo, who possesses the same quick wit and self-deprecating humor that quickly endeared Jacoby Brissett to his new Browns teammates this season, learned at an early age from his mom that the answer is always no if you don’t ask.

“I was like, ‘Well, if I go in there and Bill wants to fight me, I think I could take him,’” Mayo said. “The guy is 65 years old at the time, so I’m like, ‘I can take him.’”

He recalled that Belichick would be in his office two-finger typing, but that “now he can type with all of his fingers. And I’ll say, ‘Coach, hey, the guys are tired.’ This is back in the day when they could do two a day, too, right? So, I said, ‘The guys are tired, can we just get out of the pads today?’ And I’ll say, seven times out of 10, he’ll be like, ‘Get out of here, just go back in there and tell them to get ready for practice.’”

But Mayo looked at the bright side.

“I was batting 300. It was those times where I would come back to the locker room and like, ‘Guys, coach said, we’re not in full pads today.’ And it was like an eruption. Literally they would pick me up, throw me on their shoulders, like, ‘Yeah, let’s go, let’s go.’”

His willingness to step into the lion’s den showed his teammates more than he could ever tell them.

“I think the guys understood, I have no pride here,” he said. “I have nothing to lose. I’m going to go in here and fight for you, guys. And that’s how it started, right? The guys knew I cared about them. And I think, first and foremost, I think, that’s what a leader has to be able to do.”

A tireless film studier from back to his Tennessee days, Mayo was like another coach on the field and in the meeting rooms, much like middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. has been for the Browns.

“I thought I was a smart football player,” former Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower, whom Mayo hopes to coax into coaching someday, said before the 2015 playoffs. “But, I mean, that dude could be a defensive coordinator right now.”

Having spent his entire career learning the Patriot Way under Belichick, he understands the importance of culture to success. But as he said on the podcast, “Changing team culture is like trying to turn the Titanic.”

He also believes that “motivation is fleeting” but that internal discipline endures.

“Motivation, that’s the initial, ‘All right, New Year’s Eve, boom, I’m motivated to get into the gym the next day,’” he said on the podcast. “Discipline is ‘All right, it’s March 1, and I’m still at the gym.’”

He’s such an old soul that former Patriots linebacker Gary Guyton joked, “(Mayo) was born with facial hair. Only guy I know that was born with facial hair.”

Mayo’s uncanny ability to lead players and his excellent coaching prowess have earned him three head coaching interviews over the past two seasons; with the Eagles in 2021, and with the Broncos and Raiders before last season. In fact, he believes he’s ready to make the leap from position coach to head coach like others have done, including fellow former Patriots assistant Brian Flores, another current Browns defensive coordinator candidate.

“That’s never changed. I think I’m ready to be a head coach in the league,” Mayo said last month. “But I have to say this too, right now my focus is being here with the Patriots. But that definitely is still the goal.”

With his impeccable resume and stellar people skills, he’ll likely have no shortage of opportunities in this hiring cycle.

But he checks off the “great leadership” box the Browns sorely need.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...ntered-defense-needs-mary-kay-cabot.html

Oh, there's more, but I'll feel like I'm spamming.

I like Flores, and I'm not going to pretend to be able to decode that show that took place down south, but I'm not sure our guys would see him as a fit. There's a good chance they would be intimidated by him. And although I'm not really sure if that's more a reflection on them than him; I'm afraid they may be worried that would threaten their cozy notion of alignment (I mean that in the nicest way lol).

On one hand, that may be exactly what they need... on the other, it could be a disaster if things don't go well out of the gate. I don't think they're willing to flip that coin.

Information is not spamming, in my opinion.

As far as the hands go, I personally think the D needs a tougher minded coach. Our guys seem entitled on that side of the ball. Too much talking and not enough results. We need more guys who are mentally and emotionally tough. Not sure if that fits in w/what our FO wants.

What I like is a defense that plays downhill. Be aggressive and attack the offense rather than sit back and react. Force the offense to make mistakes rather than hold as long as you can and hope they make their own mistakes.


I feel like we have had a passive defense for more years rhan not the past decade.


For clrity, this doesn't necessarily mean frequently blitzing. Though I do like smart blitzing and feel we have som linebackers and defensive backs that are great blitzers that we severely underutilized in that role.

Sorry Referee 3, I've been doing that too much lately -- I'll clean it up.

So you're telling me Ivy League grad, Dr. Sean Desai, is going to be the Browns new DC!

Amen to that. I'm with you 100%. I've said as much -- passionately. I think Flores would may be pushing the envelope too far (their opinion, not mine). If he is clear in his intentions to come here and bring out the best in our defense, yet unapologetic for his style, I sign on the dotted line. If he seems to want us to court him, is wrapped up in how much power he would have, seems to be wavering in his true intentions... don't let the door hit you.

But man, we really need someone that will throw a clipboard, raise his voice and raise some eyebrows among the player ranks.

Could you imagine the narrative in the media and amongst the fans?? lol

LOL

In for a penny in for a pound? I mean if you've already made enemies out of the other owners what difference does it make at this point?

So to sum it up, we have a bunch of wussies on that side of the ball.

Between the guys that we have been reportedly interested in only Schwartz and Desai have DC experience and Desai's experience consists of 1 year as DC with Chicago in 2021 where they were 6th in yds given up but 22nd in points given up.

That would be a plausible scenario if they didn't look like crap in some games and looked great in others. That's where I see a D that's talented enough to play great but for some reason they're not consistent.

As I've said before, it's hard for me to fathom that a defense knows how to play great some weeks then forget how to play the game other weeks. That indicates to me that it's not the talent level of those players as much as it's been an issue with them not being coached properly. Sure the Browns need help on the defensive side of the ball. The interior of the DL is insufficient and the depth of talent at LB could use upgrading. There aren't any teams that don't have some weaknesses. But when you see units like the secondary shut teams down some weeks and look lost other weeks, I don't think the problem is with the personnel.

Our problem other than the hole at DT is coaching and scheme. When your starting Safties are both SS in the box type players yet play more snaps at FS there is a problem.

That DT 'hole' seemed to get smaller once Winfrey got his head on straight and saw the field more. Hopefully, this is trend.

I'll still never be able to unhear his intro press call w/ Cleveland media. Ugh.

Questions for anyone who knows....

I realize that Flores did not have the DC title in NE, but wasn't he actually the DC? It's how he got the Dolphin gig, right? Or, am I mistaken?

Correct, he took over after Matt Patricia left, but was not given the title DC.

IIRC, Patricia is the only one to ever be given the title DC in the Belichick era.

If he was a DC it would have only been in 2018 when he was listed as the LB coach because before that they had Matt Patricia as the DC.

In 2018 the NE defense finished 21st in yds given up but 7th in points given up.

Mostly fluff, but a nice "getting to know" Jerod Mayo...


Browns DC candidate Jerod Mayo possesses the great leadership skills this splintered defense needs: Mary Kay Cabot

Updated: Jan. 10, 2023, 5:53 p.m.


By Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns defensive coordinator candidate Jerod Mayo, the Patriots linebackers coach who will interview for the job here soon, is known for the great leadership skills and inner discipline that this beleaguered defense needs.

There’s no shortage of talent on the Browns’ defense, but the players didn’t mesh well in 2022, and need an overhaul. One of their star players, Jadeveon Clowney, was disgruntled most of the season, which permeated the team. Defensive backs clashed early over blown coverages, and players screamed at each in the locker room following the 23-20 loss in Baltimore.

At least five defenders were benched for all or parts of games for disciplinary reasons, and players like rookie defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey had maturity issues that were a distraction.

While the Browns retool the defense in 2023 to find the right mix of talent, leadership and fire, they could use a great leader at the coordinator position to fix the broken unit. Mayo, who’s earned the highest praise from Patriots coach Bill Belichick over the years, is known for unifying players both as an eight-year linebacker for the Patriots from 2008-15 and as a four-year linebackers coach there from 2019 to present.

“I think he’s as well-respected as any player in the locker room and I’d say one of the best overall team leaders, players and kind of a glue chemistry guy that I’ve been around,” Belichick said of Mayo in 2014. “He means a lot to our team. I’d say he’s really the guy that the team probably revolves around more than any other player.

“Not that there aren’t other players that are instrumental in that, but I think he touches pretty much everybody, not just the defensive players but all the guys — not just the older guys, but the younger guys. Even when he was captain in his second year, he had a relationship with the older guys.”

The No. 10 overall pick of the Patriots out of Tennessee in 2008, Mayo earned near-unanimous NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors and went on to be voted a team captain of the star-studded roster in only his second season, holding the post for seven years until he retired.

“So, I walked into this locker room, right? All right, rookie of the year, Tom Brady’s in there, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork, Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau,” Mayo said on the World Reimagined podcast. “These are Hall of Fame caliber players, right? And they’re older. And so, when I say older, they’re 28, 29, 30. Tedy Bruschi, Bruschi is 33, 34, or something like that.”

Mayo, 36, was willing to do the little things to help the team, and said his teammates knew he cared about them more than he cared about himself.

“Part of the grunt work is opening up the divider in the rooms or closing the divider, stupid little things like that, carrying the helmets inside of the veteran players,” he said. “But also, it’s to go knock on coach Belichick’s door and say, “Coach, hey, we’re a little tired today. Can we get out of pads?” And so, everyone was scared to go knock on that door, right? So who do they send in there? They sent me in there.”

Mayo, who possesses the same quick wit and self-deprecating humor that quickly endeared Jacoby Brissett to his new Browns teammates this season, learned at an early age from his mom that the answer is always no if you don’t ask.

“I was like, ‘Well, if I go in there and Bill wants to fight me, I think I could take him,’” Mayo said. “The guy is 65 years old at the time, so I’m like, ‘I can take him.’”

He recalled that Belichick would be in his office two-finger typing, but that “now he can type with all of his fingers. And I’ll say, ‘Coach, hey, the guys are tired.’ This is back in the day when they could do two a day, too, right? So, I said, ‘The guys are tired, can we just get out of the pads today?’ And I’ll say, seven times out of 10, he’ll be like, ‘Get out of here, just go back in there and tell them to get ready for practice.’”

But Mayo looked at the bright side.

“I was batting 300. It was those times where I would come back to the locker room and like, ‘Guys, coach said, we’re not in full pads today.’ And it was like an eruption. Literally they would pick me up, throw me on their shoulders, like, ‘Yeah, let’s go, let’s go.’”

His willingness to step into the lion’s den showed his teammates more than he could ever tell them.

“I think the guys understood, I have no pride here,” he said. “I have nothing to lose. I’m going to go in here and fight for you, guys. And that’s how it started, right? The guys knew I cared about them. And I think, first and foremost, I think, that’s what a leader has to be able to do.”

A tireless film studier from back to his Tennessee days, Mayo was like another coach on the field and in the meeting rooms, much like middle linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. has been for the Browns.

“I thought I was a smart football player,” former Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower, whom Mayo hopes to coax into coaching someday, said before the 2015 playoffs. “But, I mean, that dude could be a defensive coordinator right now.”

Having spent his entire career learning the Patriot Way under Belichick, he understands the importance of culture to success. But as he said on the podcast, “Changing team culture is like trying to turn the Titanic.”


He also believes that “motivation is fleeting” but that internal discipline endures.

“Motivation, that’s the initial, ‘All right, New Year’s Eve, boom, I’m motivated to get into the gym the next day,’” he said on the podcast. “Discipline is ‘All right, it’s March 1, and I’m still at the gym.’”

He’s such an old soul that former Patriots linebacker Gary Guyton joked, “(Mayo) was born with facial hair. Only guy I know that was born with facial hair.”

Mayo’s uncanny ability to lead players and his excellent coaching prowess have earned him three head coaching interviews over the past two seasons; with the Eagles in 2021, and with the Broncos and Raiders before last season. In fact, he believes he’s ready to make the leap from position coach to head coach like others have done, including fellow former Patriots assistant Brian Flores, another current Browns defensive coordinator candidate.

“That’s never changed. I think I’m ready to be a head coach in the league,” Mayo said last month. “But I have to say this too, right now my focus is being here with the Patriots. But that definitely is still the goal.”

With his impeccable resume and stellar people skills, he’ll likely have no shortage of opportunities in this hiring cycle.

But he checks off the “great leadership” box the Browns sorely need.


https://www.cleveland.com/browns/20...ntered-defense-needs-mary-kay-cabot.html

I think mentally they are wimps. Some not so much from a physical standpoint.

So sometimes they look like mental wimps and sometimes they don't?

That's my guy - Jerrod Mayonnaise, please.

That is full time. Sometimes they play hard, others not.

Agree largely with both posts - I heard a great interview with Jim Donovan on Tuesday (850 AM) - he must have talked for nearly 40 minutes and was surprisingly candid. One of the things he talked about was how Depo and Berry have said in the past about wanting to do things differently and buck trends - and he talked specifically about the defense and the DECISION to go with smaller lighter DL and LB to gain speed and athleticism. He said that clearly when Taki and Ragland cvame in and played the MLB position and the D was much stouter against the run, it's no big surprise because those two guys are bigger and more traditional MLB size.... So whether it was scheme or personnel or a little bit of both - Donovan painted a picture that it was clearly a decision by the front office to go smaller/faster and that they need to reflect that they got that decision wrong.

Hopefully whoever the new DC is - they are strong enough to demand the player type that makes their D scheme work efficiently AND that they help make the defense meaner and nastier (while still disciplined). I honestly think Flores or Schwartz would turn Garrett into the real beast he has the physical tools to be... Donovan alluded to that as well talking about how TJ Watt impacts every play with his attitude and the way he plays, the implication that we don't get that same impact our of MG.

j/c...

FWIW, this is from Albert Breer in the MMQB...

From Tyler Johnson (@T_johnson_TJ): Who do you believe the #Browns will hire as defensive coordinator?

Tyler, I really like their candidates, and I do think it’s indicative, to some degree, of ex-Lions GM Bob Quinn’s growing influence in the organization—three of the four guys interviewing were raised in the business by Bill Belichick, just like Quinn. The one who doesn’t have such ties is Seattle assistant Sean Desai, who is friendly with Kevin Stefanski, is a favorite of the Browns analytics team, and competed against the Browns coach for years in the NFC North.

If I had to peg a favorite right now, I’d probably go with Pittsburgh senior defensive assistant-linebackers coach Brian Flores, and I have heard owner Jimmy Haslam is a fan of his. Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo has merit, too, in that there have been a lot of coordinator-type functions to his job with the Patriots—he runs meetings and helps design the defense and gameplans—and he could be a culture-changer for a unit that, in an honest moment, Browns people would tell you they need on defense.

Conversely, going with Jim Schwartz (whose connection to Belichick is actually from Cleveland) would represent two different things. The first would be scheme familiarity—what he would presumably bring is a lot closer to the Pete Carroll style of defense that Joe Woods ran the past three years in Cleveland. The second is a connection to GM Andrew Berry, from the time the two were together in Philadelphia.

So, again, I’d say Flores is probably the one, with the added benefit of such a hire kicking the legs out from underneath a division rival. We’ll see what happens.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/01/11/albert-breer-mailbag-coaching-carousel-sean-payton-patriots

*Note: Bob Quinn is the Browns Senior Personnel/Coaching Executive