Former Cardinals head coach and offensive play-designer Bruce Arians, who’s been out of the NFL since he retired from the Arizona job after five years following the 2017 season, recently told NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport that the Browns’ soon-to-be-vacant head coach position is the only one he’d want if he returned to the game from his current position as a broadcaster for CBS.

“I would listen to the Browns,” Arians said. “And only them… “I’ve always loved Cleveland. The fans, shoot, one of the best groups in the league and when I called their game this past year, I got that feeling about them.”

Cleveland’s faithful and long-suffering fanbase aside, whoever replaces defensive coordinator and interim head coach Gregg Williams will be charged with the maintenance and improvement of quarterback Baker Mayfield, the Oklahoma alum and first overall draft pick in 2018 who has thrived under new offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens following the October 29 firing of both head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Mayfield has thrown five touchdowns to just one interception in two November games, and against the Falcons on November 11, he became the only rookie in NFL history to post a passer rating of over 150 on 20 or more passing attempts in a single game.

That game had me believing that Mayfield should be the prohibitive favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year, but even if that doesn’t happen, he’s going to need a head man with a deep understanding of the quarterback position and all its nuances to fulfill his potential. And that’s what Arians has always been.

Arians told Rapoport that he’d keep Kitchens and Williams on staff, but based on his history, the offense would certainly be one of his own design—and Mayfield would be likely to benefit more than anybody else.

From his time as the Colts’ quarterbacks coach from 1998 through 2000 (where he helped to develop Peyton Manning) to his stint with the Steelers from 2007 through 2011 (where he designed the offense that took the shackles off Ben Roethlisberger) to his amazing 2012 season as the Colts’ offensive coordinator and interim head coach in 2012 (where he matched rookie Andrew Luck’s talent with a fully-developed passing playbook) to his time with the Cardinals from 2013 through 2017 (where he presided over Carson Palmer’s career resurgence), Arians has always known how to get the best out of quarterbacks.

In a 2015 piece for Sports Illustrated, I went under the hood of Arians’ philosophies on quarterbacks and came away very impressed. Arians isn’t a dogmatic “do it my way or else” coach, and he’s certainly an expansive playcaller who encourages his starting quarterback to add his own thoughts on play design and sets up route concepts that are favorable for big plays. Moreover, Arians’ “No risk-it, no biscuit” style would mesh perfectly with Mayfield’s own on-field bravado.

“A scheme comes up and we’re working on a scheme and he might change his mind, and he’ll give you a reason why,” Palmer told me. “He doesn’t just change a certain route within a scheme or put something new in, there’s always a reason behind it. So he’s always giving you insight. He’s brilliant offensively. He’s as bright an offensive mind as I’ve been around. So just having a chance to be around that type of guy just enlightens you on tons of things that you don’t know about. Being in year 13, there’s a lot I don’t know. I still am always trying to learn, and being around a guy like him just accelerates the process. I’ve just learned a ton about football. A ton about offense, and a ton about protections, and coverages, and really just everything through him.”

If Arians was able to show a veteran like Palmer a few new things, imagine what he could do for Mayfield. And then, think about how well Mayfield has played through a ridiculous coaching situation, and imagine how a guy like Arians could open things up for him.

Once Arians trusts his quarterback, he wants to put the game in his quarterback’s hands—with the full power of the playbook behind him. And Arians isn’t just calling a bunch of four-verts stuff out there—like most of the best deep-ball playcallers, he has left his quarterback with a backside slant or crosser if the frontside deep read isn’t open.

“I think the one thing we always have done with all our quarterbacks is they’ve really called the game,” Arians told me. “Friday, we’ll sit down and pick out his 15–20 favorite first-and-10 plays. Saturday night before the game, we’ll sit down and go through the entire third down package and let him pick the plays, the ones he’s most comfortable with. I can call what I think is the greatest play, but if he’s not comfortable with it, it’s probably not going to work. My job is to talk him into running those once he sees the picture on the sideline. He’s a veteran guy who works extremely hard, and you just, as a coach, try to put him into a position to be comfortable and successful.”

Bruce Arians may want to return to the NFL. Baker Mayfield needs a coach who can help him define his future. This could be a match made in heaven, in a city that has often been hellish for its football fans.