Terrelle Pryor, John DeFilippo, Matt Leinart

Oakland Raiders quarterback Matt Leinart (7) and quarterback coach John DeFilippo are shown during a 2012 minicamp.

(AP)

NEW YORK -- Broncos quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp, who oversaw Browns offensive coordinator candidate John DeFilippo for three years in Oakland, compared the young Raiders quarterbacks coach to another one of his associates the Browns sought to hire this year: Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

"Don't let his age (35) fool you,'' Knapp told cleveland.com at the Super Bowl media availability Wednesday. "He's like Adam Gase. He's got great knowledge and a great future ahead of him.''

Former Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who has six years' experience as a coordinator, met with the Browns on Wednesday, and DeFilippo, who's never been a coordinator in the NFL, will interview with them Thursday.

When Knapp was Raiders offensive coordinator in 2007-08, DeFilippo had the unenviable task of coaching troubled No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, who flopped in the pros. It was later learned that Russell had tested positive for codeine even before the Raiders made him the top pick and gave him a $68 million contract, including $31.5 million guaranteed.

Russell went 0-1 as a rookie and 5-10 in 2008, but Knapp saw tremendous potential in DeFilippo -- a Youngstown native -- right from the start.

"When I was coordinator in Oakland, I said to him, 'You're the quarterback coach, and it's your job to coach me out of the room,' '' recalled Knapp. "He did that in a half a year's time -- and that was seven years ago, when he was really young.''

After the 2008 season, DeFilippo left Oakland to take over as quarterbacks coach of San Jose State, and earned the added duties of offensive coordinator in 2010. In his first year as coordinator, the Spartans jumped 32 places nationally in total offense from the previous year.

When Knapp returned to Oakland as coordinator in 2012, he brought DeFilippo back with him. That year, he coached Carson Palmer for most of the season and then former Buckeye Terrelle Pryor for the final game after Palmer was lost to a rib injury. In 2013, Pryor started nine games and won three after expected starter Matt Flynn flopped.

"He did a great job last year developing Terrelle Pryor during the offseason and he spent a lot of extra time talking to him about mechanics, on the field and in the classroom with him,'' said Knapp. "John has that work ethic that you want as a coach in the NFL, and certainly as a play caller.''

DeFilippo was also forced to start undrafted rookie Matt McGloin for seven games last season after a concussion rendered Pryor ineffective. McGloin went 1-5, but largely because of the Raiders' below-average defense, which finished 28th against the pass. McGloin threw for eight touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 76.1 rating.

"The quarterbacks really like John,'' said Knapp. "He's very personable, and it's important to him that he has a relationship with the players, not just as a coach but a person-to-person relationship.''

Knapp cited DeFilippo's football pedigree as his primary asset. His father, Gene DeFilippo was a former graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee, then coached offense at Youngstown State and Vanderbilt. The elder DeFilippo went on to become athletic director at Boston College, where he spent 15 years before retiring in 2012.

"John's been around football all of his life,'' said Knapp. "He's the son of a coach/AD, and he's a bright, young coach who has great knowledge of the game.''

DeFilippo also played quarterback at James Madison University and interviewed for their head coaching vacancy this offseason.

On the college level, DeFilippo coached quarterbacks at Fordham in 2000. He then went on to Notre Dame as a graduate assistant under Bob Davie in 2001 and Ty Willingham in 2002. He helped lead the Irish to an 8-0 start in 2002, with wins over No. 7 Michigan and No. 11 Florida State, and a Gator Bowl berth.

DeFilippo’s NFL coaching career began with the New York Giants in 2005, when he served as offensive quality-control coach on Tom Coughlin’s staff for two years. He helped the Giants to two postseason appearances, and New York posted a 19-13 regular-season record during his time there.

In 2009, as assistant quarterbacks coach for the Jets, he helped tutor rookie QB Mark Sanchez, who led the Jets to the AFC Championship in his first season as a pro. Browns coach Mike Pettine was Jets defensive coordinator at the time.

"John's worked under a lot of good coaches, including Tom Coughlin,'' said Knapp. "He's been on enough offensive staffs and gameplanned with enough experienced coordinators that he has a good feel what it takes to help develop a gameplan and to execute it.''

Knapp said he has no doubt that DeFilippo is ready to call plays at the pro level.

"I have the utmost confidence in him,'' he said. "He'd take charge in the classroom, and you'd see it on the field as well.''