Rob Chudzinski named new Cleveland Browns head coach

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BEREA, Ohio -- Rob Chudzinski, the new Browns head coach.

So this is Joe Banner's new Andy Reid.

Will Chudzinski be right for the Browns?

Who knows? He's never been a head coach before.

Of course, the same was said of Reid when he was picked by Banner in 1999 to coach the Philadelphia Eagles.

Reid was a relatively unknown quarterback coach from Green Bay. Reid didn't call plays for the Packers. He wasn't on anyone's hot list of coaches.

But he turned out to be one the NFL's best head coaches for more than a decade.

Reid is now so respected that when he had a 4-12 season with the Eagles and was fired, he immediately was hired by Kansas City. Not only is Reid the Chiefs' head coach, he's in charge of the entire football operation.

Which brings us to Chudzinski, who actually comes to Cleveland with more coaching experience than Reid brought to Philadelphia in 1999.

Chudzinski was the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2007 and 2008. He spent the past two seasons as the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator.

To Chudzinski's credit, he turned Derek Anderson into a one-year phenom, when Anderson threw for 29 touchdowns as the Browns were 10-6 in 2007. Their high-powered offense earned Chudzinski a contract extension through 2011.

In true Browns' fashion, he was fired after the 2008 season when the Browns were 4-12. Four different quarterbacks played because of injuries. In the past two years, he did some good work with Cam Newton in Carolina.

I'm still stunned by the hire and never expected it.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam kept stressing "leadership" when it comes to the new coach. He talked about competing for the elite candidates on the day coach Pat Shurmur and General Manager Tom Heckert were fired.

Banner added: "The top quality in a coach that we’re going to look for going forward is somebody with some really strong dynamic leadership."

To the average fan, that sounds like someone such as Nick Saban, who is not leaving Alabama. Or it's one of the big names who don't seem ready to return to coaching: Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy or Jon Gruden.

Or even Oregon's Chip Kelly, the latest designated genius among college coaches.

Well, leadership is critical, but a big name isn't coming to Cleveland.

The Browns sorted through Ken Whisenhunt, Mike Zimmer, Marc Trestman, Ray Horton, Chudzinski and others.

They came up with 44-year-old Chudzinski, who has never been a head coach at the college or pro levels.

He is from Toledo, and grew up a Browns fan. He was the tight ends coach here in 2004, and even called plays for a few games when Butch Davis quit as head coach because of a "panic attack" and a 3-8 record.

So Chudzinski has been here twice before, fired twice before.

There is little reason to hold that against him. He was wiped out the first time with interim coach Terry Robiskie. Then swept out with former general manager Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel after the 2008 season.

With the Browns, it seems every coach is fired every few years.

But I do confess to feeling a bit deflated.

Then again, Steelers fans probably had the same experience when Mike Tomlin was hired in 2007. Or when Baltimore hired a special teams coach named John Harbaugh. No doubt, Philadelphia fans were underwhelmed when Reid was introduced.

Harbaugh and Tomlin had the advantage of joining franchises that already were winners and had strong, stable front offices.

Reid and Banner had to build that in Philadelphia.

Now, Chudzinski and Banner will have to do it here, where there is no general manager in place.

It will be critical for the Browns to surround their rookie head coach with experienced coordinators. How about keeping Dick Jauron and the 4-3 defense?

The Browns also must hire someone to run the draft and sort through the free agents. It seems Chudzinski would not have that experience, at least not right now.

So the Browns are taking a chance, trying to find a young coach who can build a winner here.

And the pressure will be on Haslam and Banner to make sure their new coach has the right people in place to give him a chance to succeed.