BEREA -- Browns coach Pat Shurmur said he will search for an offensive coordinator immediately and indicated he would be willing to let him call plays -- if he's the right guy.

"I want to hire the best coordinator I can. That's the goal," he said.

When pressed if he would give up play-calling for the right guy, Shurmur said, "That's one of the details we will work out as we go through the process."

Asked if the coordinator needed to be schooled in the West Coast offense, he said, "I'm trying to find the best guy, so a guy who speaks our language, so to speak, might have a leg up."

Shurmur declined to comment on potential candidates. Two obvious choices are Brad Childress, with whom Shurmur worked on Andy Reid's staff with the Philadelphia Eagles, and Mike Sherman, a former Mike Holmgren assistant coach in Green Bay.

Childress was available to him last year, but did not reportedly receive an interview for the position.

Shurmur said that after he was unable to find the right guy last year, he knew he would hire a coordinator in his second season.

Shurmur said he did not plan to make any other changes on his coaching staff.

Other topics:

Shurmur declined to say that Colt McCoy would be the starting quarterback in 2012 and he declined to comment on the team's plans at the position. He said McCoy improved during a trying first season at the helm and said he needs to improve during the offseason.

While he said he had a "very good conversation" in his exit interview with Peyton Hillis, Shurmur again declined to say whether he wanted the running back to return in 2012.