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| Wednesday, January 24 Associated Press | |||
| CLEVELAND -- One of the offensive gurus the Cleveland Browns had scheduled to interview for their head coaching vacancy ran a reverse on them.
Marty Mornhinweg, San Francisco's former offensive coordinator who had been rumored to be headed to Cleveland for months and was supposed to talk with the Browns on Wednesday, instead was hired as coach of the Detroit Lions.
Mornhinweg's decision to bypass the Browns without meeting with
them was a bit surprising.
He had previously worked with Cleveland president Carmen Policy
and director of football operations Dwight Clark with the 49ers and
had been rumored to be Chris Palmer's successor as far back as November.
Palmer was fired on Jan. 11 after going 5-27 in just two
seasons, a move that perhaps scared away Mornhinweg.
The Browns maintained their media blackout during the head
coaching search.
However, media relations director Todd Stewart did say that
Policy was still planning to interview defensive coordinator Romeo
Crennel this week and the club was still attempting to set up a
meeting with Minnesota offensive line coach Mike Tice.
Tice, though, was promoted to assistant head coach with the
Vikings on Wednesday, and may now be off the Browns' interview
list.
Earlier this week, the Browns interviewed New Orleans offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy and Tennessee defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Both said their visits went well and were hoping to hear back from the Browns.
Following the Super Bowl, the Browns will meet with New York
Giants defensive coordinator John Fox and Baltimore defensive
coordinator Marvin Lewis.
Both coaches are also considered the top candidates to coach the
Buffalo Bills. Each has previously worked with new Bills president
Tom Donahoe.
The Bills have also received permission from the Titans to talk to Williams.
On Tuesday, the Browns said they had narrowed their coaching
search to just NFL coaches, ending speculation the club was
secretly courting Butch Davis of Miami, Bob Stoops of Oklahoma or
Rick Neuheisel of Washington.
The 53-year-old Crennel, who is very popular with Browns players, is considered by some to be the frontrunner for the position.
In his first season with Cleveland, Crennel improved the Browns'
defense in nearly every statistical category. Bolstered by the
addition of rookie end Courtney Brown and free agents Orpheus Roye
and Keith McKenzie, the Browns recorded 42 sacks after getting a
league-low 25 in 1999.
Crennel has 20 years of NFL coaching experience. He has been on
three Super Bowl coaching staffs, twice with the New York Giants
and once with the New England Patriots.
| ALSO SEE
Mornhinweg will replace Moeller as Lions coachBrowns interview Titans' defensive coordinator Williams | ||