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

Whether we go with Manziel or another young QB, it is obvious that we will have a young QB who will need to be developed, and DeFilippo seems like a guy who can handle that job quite well.

Yep, all of those guys lining up for interviews were just a giant smoke screen.

Next man up. Hope it works. As a suggestion, start with the oline JD. Welcome aboard.

Official Statement:

BEREA, Ohio – John DeFilippo, who has a track record of developing young quarterbacks and maximizing production from the position, has been hired as the Browns’ new offensive coordinator, coach Mike Pettine announced Wednesday.

DeFilippo, who has been the Oakland Raiders’ quarterbacks coach for the past three seasons, replaces Kyle Shanahan, who resigned earlier this month.

“The things John brings to the table are exactly what we were looking for. He's the total package,” Pettine said. “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 interviewed for the same position last season. Pettine said it was a tough decision that ultimately came down to experience, but he had little doubt at the time DeFilippo was ready to call plays in the NFL.

“This isn't going to be my offense or ‘so and so's’ offense. This is going to be the Cleveland Browns' offense,” DeFilippo said. “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.”

Pettine, who enters his second season as the Browns’ head coach, has stressed the importance of continuity within the organization. There’s going to be a transition with a new offensive coordinator, Pettine said, but the team’s commitment to running the football hasn’t gone anywhere.

At an offensive coordinator position that’s been in flux in recent years, DeFilippo said 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.”

After his first stint as the Raiders’ quarterbacks coach (2007-08), DeFilippo worked with Pettine for one successful season with the New York Jets. Under DeFilippo’s guidance, rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez showed enough poise to lead New York to the AFC Championship. Pettine was the Jets’ defensive coordinator that season.

The coaches remained in touch and developed a strong relationship over the past five years.

“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.”

In 2011, DeFilippo got his first shot at calling plays with San Jose State, where he’d been quarterbacks coach the previous season. The Spartans’ offense thrived under his watch and finished the season 23rd in passing offense (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.

DeFilippo returned to the Raiders in 2012 and worked with veteran Carson Palmer during one of the most productive seasons of his career. Palmer threw for the second-most yards in Raiders history (4,018) to go along with 22 touchdown passes.

In 2013, DeFilippo worked with the young tandem of Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin, who combined to throw for 3,345 yards. Pryor added 576 rushing yards, the most by a quarterback in Raiders’ history, while McGloin had more passes of 25 or more yards from Week 11 to Week 15 than any quarterback in the NFL.

This past season, he worked with another young quarterback, rookie Derek Carr, who is viewed by many as one of the NFL’s rising stars after starting all 16 games and throwing for 3,270 yards and 21 touchdowns.

“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.”

The Browns’ uncertainty at quarterback was addressed early in the interview process with all candidates, Pettine said. DeFilippo, who calls himself a “make-it-work type of guy,” said he didn’t view it as a deterrent and views his offense as flexible enough to maximize the quarterback’s strengths and skill set.

“I'm thrilled to be working with all the quarterbacks that are here and going to be here,” DeFilippo said. “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 grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, and starred as a quarterback at James Madison. Even before he led the Dukes to a conference championship in 1999, he served as a coaching intern with the Carolina Panthers (1997) and Indianapolis Colts (1998).

DeFilippo’s path to the NFL began in the college ranks, as he coached quarterbacks at Fordham (2000) before holding down a graduate assistant position at Notre Dame from 2001-2002. After two seasons as the quarterbacks coach at Columbia, where he guided Jeff Otis to a number of program records, DeFilippo returned to the NFL as a quality control assistant with the New York Giants (2005-06).

“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.”

Link

Two things I like:

Very interesting read. I like what I am hearing but I was happy with the hire so take it for what its worth.

I have a hard time reading this stuff from a new hire anymore. It's always the same fluffy feel good stuff when he's first hired and then it quickly goes down the drain once we get into the season.

Meh, talk is cheap. Don't talk about it, do it.

Wait for it....Wait....Here it comes...........

What's a "John DeFilippo?"

The last OC available for hire

San Jose State to the Raiders to the Browns


at this rate by 2065 he'll be the head coach of the Packers

DeFilippo deserves the benefit of the doubt so he getting that from me. My biggest question is will he use a zone blocking scheme in his offense? We have players like Bitonio and the two young running backs who appear to be best suited for this system. I think JT stated early during the season that a ZBS fits our personnel well. This would appear to be a no-brainer but we are talking about the Browns.

I'm not going to bother reading the ten pages of homer crap posts right now.

I think the Browns are the most inept franchise in sports. We are hiring rejects from the Raiders. Yeah, the Raiders. The 32nd ranked offense in 2015. Worse than the Jags.

Now you guys can turn this around and start your BS about wallowing in misery and make the thread about posters who don't agree w/you instead of dealing w/the facts.

It's so freaking typical.

The Browns suck!

You forgot the purple font.

Eh. Talk is cheap. We will see what he produced on the field come preseason.

I really like the statement about terminology as well. As long as he doesn't get lost, trying to keep everyone happy, it should stand him in good stead.

Anyone wanna make a wager on who produces better offenses numbers next year between Shanny and DeFlip?

LOL!

One guy has Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Roddy White. The other has ???

You are right......and the team that had all that talent wanted Shanny and DeFlippy.

What's that tell you?

I am not sure what your point is. I think if you actually looked into DeFlippo you would discover that he is not horrible. If you are unwilling to do that then you will just look like the crazy guy shouting on the corner. That is fine as well, people just won't take you seriously.

Oh my, you won't take me seriously. So, why reply?

You're starting again. You need to make it personal because we disagree about team matters.

Did I say you were a jerk for believing in the Browns? Did I belittle you because you like DeFlipper?

And did you even address my point about why ATL chose Shanny over DeFile? Oh wait, you made it about me, instead.

Is that trolling?

I am going to say it again and this will be my final response to you.

You should look into DeFilippo before writing him off.

Are we talking about W-L or completed passes and yards?

Do you mean that Versatile Dawg isn't the crazy guy in the corner shouting?

LOL
No, that boat sailed awhile ago...

I do like what Flip is saying, he's saying all the right things. He will do what the players do best, he will study all the games this year to figure that out. He will change what he calls a play to fit what the players already know it as- heck, it makes sense for one guy to learn the new lingo then the entire team. That makes too much sense. It helps keep some continuity.

So we have two more hires right--- need a QB coach and WR coach. Any news or speculation on those hires??

all i can say to this is...SMH.

I expect lots of delay of game penalties next year.

I like the hire. The above statement reveals a lot about Pettine's opinion of Shanny without stating it in so many words, IMO. I do believe DeFilippo is a much better fit for the type of complimentary leadership team Pettine and Farmer are trying to build.

I doubt we hire a QB coach, I am pretty sure DeFillipo will be working very closely with our qbs. may hire a couple more offensive assistants but i will be surprised if we hire a QB coach.

I still see us hiring a QB coach. It would take some of the workload off of a first time NFL coordinator.

As for the John DeFilippo signing on to be the OC for the Browns, I must say that I like it.

Here's his resume:

2001–2002: Notre Dame (Graduate Assistant)

2003–2004: Columbia (QB Coach)

2005–2006: NY Giants (Off. Quality Control Coach)

2007–2008: Oakland Raiders (QB Coach)

2009: NY Jets (QB Coach)

2010–2011: San Jose State (QB Coach)

2012–2014: Oakland Raiders (QB Coach)[quote]

He has lots of experience with QBs. It also tells us a couple of other things.

1. The front office isn't giving up on Manziel. DeFilippo will be given a shot to work with Manziel to improve his game.

2. The Browns probably have no intentions of re-signing Hoyer.

3. The Browns will add either a young FA QB or draft a QB in this year's draft.

4. The Browns will know what they have in Manziel early in the off-season training regimen. They will know whether he will be the starting QB or not.

5. Whoever the Browns QB turns out to be, they will be passing the ball.

I can see it happening exactly this way.

I'd like to thank the guys here that are actually talking football. I'm really trying to find out as much as I can about our new OC.. So sue me, I'm excited. I'd like to see what he can do.

From my opinion, playcalling is playcalling. It really comes down to the talent on the field executing the plays.

Therefore, it behooves us go get talent on the field and develop the talent.

So the question is.. can Farmer bring the talent and can Flip develop the talent?

I am excited as well. Calling Carr to let him know what was going on showed some real class imho. From reading his statement, it really reminded me a lot of Pettine. Adapting to what we have. Keeping the similar verbage. I also liked that he singled out our OL and RBs.

If you look through his background, he has the Giants run based pro set, Jets run based WCO, Raiders in the spread and also in the more Coryelle offense with the raiders in his second stint. Other than this last run with the Raiders the teams he has been on has run the crap out of the ball. In college he ran a lot of 4 and 5 receiver sets often using his backs and getting them in motion moving them around.

The hands we saw from West in camp is something we will see more of and I would not be surprised if we were to see both backs in the game at the same time. I liked a lot of what Shannahan did with the backs but thought we should have used the backs much more as passing threats.

Anyway I think it will work out well for the Browns. I do hope we add some experience to the o staff to take some of that pressure off. Saunders or Martz or both I think would be great.

These statements give me some vague hope that we will remain a ZBS offense. I think DeFilippo will have to become more "run first" than his resume would indicate. At the same time I hope that he helps the team to better execute the pure drop back part of the passing offense and keep the good play action stuff we were able to run last year.

The strides these Browns player's took before the wheels came off last season tell me that they want to win. They are willing to develop their individual and collective skills and will benefit from some carry over and continuity. Sounds like this is what Pettine thinks the new OC can help achieve.

Saunders or Martz would be great to have under the "Senior Offensive Consultant" role. Someone with experience in the league for DeFilippo to bounce ideas off.

That did seem like a backhand to Shanny.

Obviuosly, Shanny is more experienced and has been successful as an OC compared to DeFlip.

But if he doesn't want to be here and doesn't fit the vision and the culture the GM and the HC are trying to build, why keep him?

If this was 2004, or even last year, I'd be all pumped up thinkin' bout ways to rationalize Browns victories in the coming year. I don't know what's up. I've been apathetic since Manziel couldn't get a play in after the two-minute warning against Cincinatti. Maybe I just have other stuff that's more worthy of my energy; yet I'm posting about it at 12:30 a.m. on a Tursday. That being said, I want to maintain some sort of optimism. Think back to the feeling you had at the end of the first half in Pittsburgh this year, "NOOOOO! I can not sit through a whole season of this, AGAIN!"

Here's contrasting views:

I would be interested to hear Flip's thoughts on why he couldn't bring the best out of Jamarcus Russell. Didn't he possess a generational skillset that had every GM in the NFL dreaming wet dreams? Yet, you couldn't help this kid realize his potential. Sure, he had a box of rocks for a brain, but coaches coach. A good coach can relate to players on an individual level. So now this guy is going to help our anally-craniated quarterback look like an NFL starter. I'm not feeling confident that DeFillipo will fulfill his potential. If you never fulfill your potential, maybe you never had it in the first place.

Conversely, Flip coached 2nd yr QB Mark Sanchez on his way to an AFC championship game appearance. That team had a rock-solid O-line, stingy Defense, and a solid run game. No we are not the Falcons, but I would argue that we are built a lot like that Jet team. The Falcon's ride has some sweet rims, but the knucklehead driving it hasn't changed the oil in 9,000 miles. The Jets big play receiver was Braylon and I believe Gordon can be a much greater contributor throughout the course of the season (knock on wood). Yeah we can't call our defense stingy if we can't stop the run, but I gotta think that the middle will be stoutened up next year. If Flip can get serviceable play out of a QB who many thought had franchise written all over him, then the Browns should be in a position to challenge for the division.

Dang! Even my optimistic view had a lot of questions attached to it. Heck I can weigh positives and negatives until next season starts, but it comes down to results. AAH! I hate waiting. Glad you're a Brown, Flip. Now do it the hard way and show us something, cuz they're waiting for you to fail.

Edit: Regarding Falcons/Browns. I normally wish the best to any individual who moves on from the Browns organization, but I feel disrespected by Shanahan. I really hope that shiny new ride ends up being a lemon, while the Browns usher in a new era of punch a punk in the face football.

I don't think the best coach in the world could have gotten Russell to be successful. Purple drank has a tendency to suck the life out of a person (this is what Gordon was suspended for the first time).

I agree with you on the Jets point of view. The easiest way for us to win is to run the ball successfully, not have many turnovers, and play excellent (not just good) defense.

You speak like DeFilippo was the Raiders OC last year. He was not. That was Bill Callahan. DeFilippo was the QB coach, and he helped develop Carr. I would say that he did a solid job there.

He has been stuck with guys like McGloin, and Terrell Pryor, among other luminaries. He has managed decent, though hardly spectacular results from guys who never belonged int he NFL.

He has said that he will keep the system we have largely in place, as it is similar to his own preferred system. He has said that he will alter his calls so that the players are not having to learn a new language. I think that we will like him as our OC. I have heard a lot of NFL bigwigs really like the guy, and equate him with Adam Gase. We'll see how he works out. I think that he'll do really well.

All the right things being said.. that's good. Hope it works out.

First time OC in the NFL.. I see growing pains. To be expected.

Good luck and welcome aboard.. now, get to work