DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns Hire John DeFilippo as OC

Nothing new. That's how we roll. First time owner's, GM's, coaches, and we trot out 3 new rookie QB's every year.

the guy who helped Jamarcus Russell and Mark Sanchez become nfl QBs?

Callahan was OC in Dallas last year
Greg Olsen was the OC in Oakland

Mike Pettine on new Cleveland Browns OC John DeFilippo: 'He's the total package'

January 21, 2015 at 8:02 PM


MOBILE, Ala. -- Browns coach Mike Pettine, whose last offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan quit with two years left on his contract, stressed that he hired former Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to run his offense in large part because of the quality person he is.

"The things John brings to the table are exactly what we were looking for. He's the total package," Pettine said in a release from the team. "He's very bright. He has great energy about him, great passion. Loves the game. Works extremely well with other people.

"You could see that when I brought him in and had a chance to meet with not just the offensive staff, but he spent time with the defensive staff. That was a big part of it, making sure we weren't bringing in just a playbook; we were bringing in a good person. That, to me, is one of the biggest reasons why he's here."

DeFilippo, a Youngstown native, interviewed for the Browns coordinator vacancy last season, but Pettine hired Shanahan instead. Shanahan resigned January 8 and is set to run the Falcons offense under Dan Quinn.

DeFilippo, 36, is the sixth Browns coordinator in six years, and has never been a coordinator in the NFL. He's held that title for one season at the college level, in 2011 at San Jose State.

Pettine said the Browns' muddy quarterbacks picture was addressed early on with all of the candidates, and that DeFilippo considers himself a "make-it-work" coach. He's coached classic dropback passers and running quarterbacks alike, and plans to be flexible. DeFilippo will be tasked with trying to mold Johnny Manziel into a quality NFL starter. If that doesn't work out, the Browns are committed to finding a quarterback who can take them to the next level.

It remains to be seen if they'll re-sign Brian Hoyer, whose contract will expire in March.

"I'm thrilled to be working with all the quarterbacks that are here and going to be here," DeFilippo said in the release. "We're going to treat everyone and coach everyone just as hard and just the same.

"The offensive line is really, really impressive just from a physical standpoint. The thing you notice about the Cleveland Browns offensive line is how athletic they are. The way they can change the line of scrimmage, they have a great mixture of strength and athleticism, which is hard to find on the offensive line. Young backs are really good and explosive and their receivers are good. I'm looking forward to just working with them and getting to know them better. "

DeFilippo, who's traditionally run a West Coast-style offense, stressed that the scheme will be a collaborative effort.

"This isn't going to be my offense or 'so and so's' offense,'' he said. "This is going to be the Cleveland Browns' offense. Whatever that is to get our best players the football, it's going to be very flexible.

"We're not going to just scrap something just because I'm here. I don't have that type of ego. If something's good that our players do well and they know, we're going to keep doing it. That's going to be my job here the next few weeks is I'm going to really study our last 16 games of this season and see what we're good at, see where it fits and see where it meshes with myself and coach Pettine seeing this offense."

DeFilippo addressed the revolving door at the coordinator position, saying he hopes this is "the last change for these guys for a long time. One of the things Mike and I talked about in our interview was if there's something these guys are familiar with in terms of a name, I don't need to change the name just because I see it as, for example, the play's called 'smash' and they call it 'hammer.' I can learn," DeFilippo said. "Let one guy learn the new tag for it.

"We're going to make this offense, the transition as simple as we can for our players. I think they'll really like playing in this offense."

Another thing that made DeFilippo attractive to Pettine was familiarity. The two worked together in 2009 under Rex Ryan with the New York Jets, with DeFilippo as assistant quarterbacks coach and Pettine as defensive coordinator. With DeFilippo's help, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez led the Jets to the AFC Championship Game that season.

The two coaches, who are also both are represented by agent Trace Armstrong, have developed a strong bond over the past five years, according to the release. That's important to Pettine, who was taken aback by Shanahan's sudden departure.

"Defensively, we worked late and worked some real late hours (in New York)," Pettine said. "A lot of times we'd look over on the offensive side and in the little area where the coaches were, his light would be the only one on. We spent a lot of late nights in New York talking football. That's when I knew this guy had something to him."

DeFilippo is credited with helping Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr develop throughout the 2013 season. The No. 36 overall pick finished 30th in the NFL with a 76.7 rating, but threw 21 TD passes against only 12 interceptions. He started all 16 games, throwing for 3,270 yards. DeFilippo has also coached young Raiders quarterbacks such as Terrelle Pryor, Matt McGloin and former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell.

In 2013, Pryor and McGloin combined to throw for 3,345 yards and Pryor added 576 rushing yards, the most by a quarterback in Raiders' history. McGloin also had more passes of 25 or more yards from Week 11 to Week 15 than any quarterback in the NFL.

"I think he has an excellent way with those guys," Pettine said. "He can be tough on them and at the same time, not have them tune him out. I think he holds those guys accountable. I think they feel his energy and they feel his passion and it's contagious. It's when you're around John you can't help but feel that."

In DeFilippo's lone season as a playcaller at San Jose State in 2011, the offense finished the season 23rd in passing (276.8 yards per game) and jumped 32 spots in total offense. His quarterback, Matt Faulkner, completed 274-of-422 passes for 3,149 yards and 13 touchdowns.

"I couldn't be happier to work with Coach Pettine and to work with such a great organization like the Cleveland Browns," DeFilippo said. "It's an honor that the Haslam family and Ray Farmer and Coach Pettine have given me this job. I'm very humbled. I can't wait to get to work."

DeFilippo starred at quarterback at James Madison and is the son of Gene DeFilippo, a former college coach and longtime athletic director at Boston College. DeFillipo has served as a coaching intern with the Carolina Panthers (1997) and Indianapolis Colts (1998). He's also been a quality-control assistant with the New York Giants (2005-06) and coached at Fordham and Columbia. link

With all due respect this is a flimsy argument. If you're going to pin the success of Russell and Sanchez on "Flip" then to be fair you'd have to give equal credit to Shananhan for Manziel and RG3.

never heard me say that was not true. at least as far as rg3.. as for johnny chuckles? well some one that states he is going to do what he wants no matter what just might be beyond coaching.

the truth is he never coached up a starting quality nfl QB. guess you could say palmer but its more likely he learned more from him than coached him up.

um... he did well with schabb in houston.

j/c

The new OC addresses the media at 1pm for anyone interested. I'm sure it will be live on the Browns' website or something.

Can't wait for Mary Kay's "insightful" questions....

ill watch it live this time. what channel is it normally on?

did not know that. never thought he coached in houston?

shanny was there for like 2-3 years

oh. ok. i thought we were talking about DeFilippo. he is the one i meant about never coaching up a starting quality QB.

ahh ok.

Carson Palmer was complete damaged goods and Flip rejuvenated his career. Everyone he has worked with has improved during his time there and most regressed once he left. Carr made tremendous strides in one year and was by far playing his best ball down the stretch and produced wins.

Maybe we should have hired Gase, you know someone that turned that bum Peyton manning into a star.

I welcome our new OC and wish him the best. Let's all get behind him and support him. it sounds like he knows what he is doing and has a plan.

I think that is the only constructive and productive way to look at it.

What other choice do we have?

I guess people can wallow in their misery. Or create a list of grievances (one of my favorite posts of the last couple of weeks). Neither accomplishes anything.

I think it is impossible to underestimate the meaning and importance of Pettine's comments. He basically said "It was important to bring in a good person to replace the bad cancer that was here before" . . . . Pettine is a professional - his language is specific and it couldn't have been more damning of Shanny.

Anyone still lamenting the loss of Shanny needs to pay attention. I sort of compare it to having a malcontent Terrell Owens on your team - he might be a good/great WR - but the erosion to the team and team chemistry just isn't worth it.

As I said I like the hire for no bigger reason than it's who Pettine wanted. I like what I have seen from Pettine and I think he needs to build his team and staff his way.

I also love the interview with Carr ... I was expecting some fairly bland platitudes and kool-aid .... but Carr was genuine and emphatic in his support and believe in Flip ... It's early days on Carr - and certainly his opinion carries less weight than if Manning, Brady, Rogers etc had given the same glowing recommendation - but you couldn't get more legit and positive feedback on your new Clevelnd Browns OC.

Welcome Flip!

So the Browns hire the QB coach from the great Oakland Raiders to be their OC. What a terrible decision. I swear the Browns are set up to fail.

My guess is clevelandbrowns.com. But I'm sure 92.3 The Fan and 850 AM will also have a live radio broadcast as well.

At this point I kind of look at the whole situation like being attacked by a bear. We have no control over the situation. We just have to lay here in a ball and wait for the bad times to stop. You can complain to the bear, or about the bear, but it won't resolve a thing. The bear is in control.

He is our OC. Pettine knows him and respects him. It should be mutual. I gagged when I saw he was going to mold JFootloose into a real NFL QBee.

Good luck! Welcome aboard, Flip. Win us some.

Sorry, you're right. I put the wrong name in.

Live Video: Live from Berea

Watch Browns Head Coach Mike Pettine and new Offensive Coordinator John DeFilippo speak to the media at approximately 1 pm.

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/media-cen...04-5485f481af31

We could of hired the reincarnation of Bill Walsh and people still would of complained..

Nice conference. I like they way they are thinking and if they do what they preach then we have a chance.

With avg to good QB play we can hang with any team out there IMHO. After this next draft we could be better off that's for sure.

I like how Pettine addressed the continuity issue. Outside of a few players most of the guys on the team have only been here a short time and its not that big an issue. If only Joe and Mack will stay we have a chance.

Media sure wants to know about Shanny..

I seem to get a sense that Pet and Flip will work well together.. At this point it's a wait and see..

Just hope it works.. I'm ready for football

I was also pleased to hear Pet wants to help bridge the communication between the D and O..

Every little thing can make a big difference

I just hope they put their words into action =)

Thus far, I think Pettine has be very true to his word. Especially the "holding people accountable" part.

But ya, it's still a wait game with soooooo much time that needs to pass before we get a hint of reality. Man... Is it regular season yet!?!? Lol

I wonder if this means the negotiating between Hoyer's camp and the new Browns will ramp up? Hmmmmmmmmmm ..........

Hers' the link to the Presser with Pet and Flip...


Pet and Flip Presser

I think he has been true to his word too. This new OC seems genuine enough too. He is definitely more enthusiastic. Shanny has a track record of poor people skills with non players and I think that is something that will hold him back in his career.

And we could have hired the reincarnation of Pat Shurmur and some would have still said it was brilliant and belittled those who are looking at things realistically.

Oh.........and I was trying to figure out why we hire the QB coach--not the OC---from the worst offense in football, and then I saw the article that Flip and Pet have the same agent.

So, we're back to The Big Show era. Oh yeah, you guys liked that tub of lard, too.

Both those statements are true.








The Raiders OC has pretty much showed he wasn't very good. Why did it take them so long to start giving the ball to Murray. The Qb coach is thought of as a bright up and comer.

So Vers, I have seen a lot of your posts criticizing a lot of the OC candidates that we were going to interview. Now you may have mentioned it but I don't remember seeing it. Who would you have chosen to be our OC?

[quote=Versatile Dog]

Kyle Shannahan.

I like you, jester. And I don't want to yank your chain. But man, I'm sorry...........I think it is a terrible indicator of where this organization is at if Shanny wanted out. The guy is brilliant. People are going to continue to rip me for saying that, but it's just the way I feel. I'm sorry.

You can't have the FO choosing who plays. You can't have FO personnel mocking the play calling. You can't force high-profile draft picks on a team if they are not ready to play. You can't make such terrible first round picks.

And if you do those types of things, you will lose a talented coach who knows better.

But, just because I think you are a good dude, I will say that there were only two guys that mildly interested me. I kinda like Clements in GB, but even if they would have given us permission to speak to him, I doubt he would want to leave a winning team and the best QB in the league for perhaps the worst franchise in the entire NFL and Johnny Drunk. The guy I liked best was Marty Mornhinweg, who is pretty smart and has legit experience.

Don't rip me for this, jest........you are one of the guys I do respect.

jc ...

Isn't DeFlip like in his early 30s or something?

Guy looks like he's had a rough 30 years.

36 I believe

cfrs15

*** You are ignoring this user ***

Silence is Golden.

Shanny will be missed by me also.

Sure he could've used the running backs more in the passing game and tried to utilize the screen game more as well. But overall I finally saw some imagination in the play calling and <gasp> halftime adjustments.

I'm rooting for Flip, but have major doubts in him.