What the hiring of former Steelers OC Todd Haley means for the Browns
The Browns scored the fewest points in the NFL in 2017 so there’s nowhere to go but up for Todd Haley.
Todd Haley’s time between jobs was less than a week as the former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator is expected to take the same position with the Cleveland Browns, according to NFL Network’s Mike Silver.
Haley, 50, rose to prominence as offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals during the team’s run to the Super Bowl in January 2009. It earned him a head coaching gig with the Kansas City Chiefs, which he led to a 19-26 record. The team went 10-6 in his second season, including a trip to the playoffs, but he was fired before the end of the next year.
He spent the last six seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Steelers, who had one of the NFL’s best offenses in each of the last four seasons. It finished top five in passing yards in each of the last five years and was No. 3 in total yards in 2017.
In Cleveland, he will take over play calling duties from Hue Jackson, according to MMQB’s Albert Breer, and will be tasked with turning around a Browns offense that scored the fewest points in the NFL during an 0-16 season in 2017.
Why did the Steelers part ways with Haley?
There wasn’t much to complain about when it came to the results on the field. Even in the Steelers’ playoff loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh still found plenty of offense against a top-rated defense in a 45-42 defeat.
There were frustrating moments in the loss for the Steelers, including two failed attempts to convert short fourth downs, but the decision to move on from Haley after the expiration of his contract appeared to be due to a clash of personalities.
In particular, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote about the tense relationship between Haley and Ben Roethlisberger, who were butting heads as of late.
The unceremonious divorce adds a little extra spice to Haley’s choice to stay in the AFC North. In Cleveland, he’ll have two chances a year to face the Steelers and that brings a little bit of revenge drama to the mix.
Hue Jackson is ceding some control
The NFL is a notoriously impatient place, but Hue Jackson managed to keep his job with the Browns after a 1-31 record in his first two seasons.
With the hire of Haley, the Browns are at least making some big changes to the coaching staff. And the team is putting a coach with a long track record of offensive success in charge of turning a struggling offense around.
The cupboard isn’t bare in Cleveland, where the team first-round picks on Corey Coleman and David Njoku in the last two years and has a solid group of offensive linemen after signing J.C. Tretter and Kevin Zeitler a year ago. But the top priority will be finding and developing a quarterback of the future.
Cleveland owns the No. 1 and 4 picks in the 2018 NFL Draft and Haley will presumably play a part in the hunt for a quarterback led by new Browns general manager John Dorsey.
There’s nowhere to go but up for the Browns and there are enough pieces in place where the team could be much better in a hurry. Cleveland hopes Haley can be the one the lead that charge.