Browns: Why Mike Mularkey is definitely not the answer for the OC job

An offensive coordinator is needed for the Browns to improve. That said, they won’t find their answer in Mike Mularkey.

The Cleveland Browns are in the process of searching for a new offensive coordinator. According to Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com, Hue Jackson is willing to relinquish his grasp on play-calling duties, a task he has had a tight hold on over his 1-31 start as the Browns’ head coach.

The Browns have undergone wholesale changes in their front office, headlined by the hiring of John Dorsey as general manager. Since being hired, he’s been successful in adding two major additions to his staff in Alonzo Highsmith and Eliot Wolf.

However, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s inexplicable choice to retain Jackson already presents issues for the organization. Numerous decisions lay ahead that will surely solicit opposing sentiments from Jackson and the front office.

NFL Network‘s Ian Rappaport reported that newly available ex-Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Mularkey could be the choice to become the Browns’ offensive coordinator. On the surface, this looks like a solid choice for the position.

He is fresh off of a 9-7 season and an impressive wild card weekend win over the Kansas City Chiefs before losing to the New England Patriots on Saturday.

A closer look at Mularkey’s departure in Tennessee brings to light some familiar concerns. The Titans came into the 2017 season with high expectations. Big things were expected from an offense headed by their young, exciting franchise quarterback, Marcus Mariota.

However, the Titans offense disappointed, finishing just 23rd in offense and passing offense, according to ESPN.

"Mularkey’s smashmouth offense did not appear a fit for the 24-year-old Mariota, and maybe his biggest mistake was not adjusting enough to what Mariota did best. He also never connected with the Titans’ fan base, many of whom didn’t want him as head coach and grew frustrated with his offense."

Mularkey went on to say “We’re going to play to the players’ strengths and do what they do best. It’s always been that way”.

Well, it was clear Mularkey didn’t do that with Mariota. The former second overall pick finished with a career-low 13 touchdown passes and a career-high 15 interceptions.

Certainly, Mularkey would bring a wealth of experience to the Browns. He would be a nice addition in helping to create the right kind of culture, which is greatly needed. Still, Mularkey’s inability to put his quarterback in the best possible situation to grow and succeed sounds awfully familiar to the problems Jackson had in 2017.

In today’s NFL, it is vital that a young quarterback be groomed properly. From what we saw with Jackson, it seems as though it would be a priority to hire a more quarterback-friendly offensive coordinator.

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The last thing the Browns need is another play-caller stuck in his ways. They had that last season.

Instead of jamming your quarterback into whatever scheme you believe in, an OC needs to work a scheme based on the talent he has available to him. The idea is to maximize a player’s potential by putting them in the best possible situation to have success individually and as a team.

The Browns interviewed the Houston Texans’ quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan on January 10. Ryan is viewed as one of the best assistants in the league. He has been lauded for his work with Deshaun Watson before he went down with a knee injury that ended his season.

Ryan wants to call plays and the Browns could potentially give him that opportunity, per ProFootballTalk via Cabot. Ryan was able to put Watson in a comfortable scheme for a rookie, where he found tremendous success under Ryan’s guidance.

Ryan seems like a good option for the Browns, but once again we may have our first power struggle underway. Jackson has already hired his short-lived successor as Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator Ken Zampese, as the Browns’ quarterbacks coach.

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It will be interesting who they do eventually hire to run the offense. However the Browns go about filling the OC role will say something about Jackson’s level of offensive control, something he surely is still attempting to hold onto.

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