How Cleveland Browns OC John DeFilippo Brings Refreshing Approach to Change

It has been about a week since the Cleveland Browns put an end to their offensive coordinator search with the hire of John DeFilippo.

The former Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach takes over for the departed Kyle Shanahan with a limited resume and no NFL play-calling experience. Since this is the long-dysfunctional Browns, this is going to feel like another Mike Pettine-esque hire of a guy who was on nobody's radar until (unless) DeFilippo proves himself.

However, DeFilippo's relative inexperience doesn't make him the wrong guy for the job.

The Browns have had plenty of wrong guys at the offensive coordinator position—five different ones in the five years before DeFilippo, to be exact. Shanahan was the latest, and he was allowed to leave the organization in search of greener pastures.

Year(s)	Offensive Coordinator
2015 - ???	John DeFilippo
2014	Kyle Shanahan
2013	Norv Turner
2012	Brad Childress
2011	Pat Shurmur*
2019 - 10	Brian Daboll

Head coach Mike Pettine, another guy who nobody seemed to want before his Cleveland hiring, explained why an unhappy Shanahan was allowed to leave when introducing Filippo during a press conference. 

"

He was very up-front, very honest with me. I just felt it would be better off if we parted ways, so I accepted his resignation. I felt like it was the best course of action for the Browns and as I said, our goals are to move and to improve and with the hiring here of John DeFilippo I feel extremely confident that we can do that.

"

Keeping Shanahan in his contract could have had adverse effects, as he clearly desired a job with a more stable organization (and a more stable quarterback situation, no doubt). Yet losing him has the potential to create a lack of continuity in the offense. 

The Browns finished the regular season ranked just 27th in points scored (18.7 per game) and 23rd in yardage (324.6 yards per game). However, Shanahan's system had a number of positive qualities.

His zone-blocking scheme created a potent rushing attack, at least until the season-ending injury to center Alex Mack occurred in Week in Week 6. Through the first six weeks of the season, running back Isaiah Crowell led the team in yards-per-carry average (5.4) among running backs seeing at least 25 percent of offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Ben Tate ranked 16th (4.6 yards per carry) and Terrance West ranked 21st (4.4).

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Before the loss of Mack, quarterback Brian Hoyer was rated 10th overall by Pro Football Focus. This was due to the balance of the offense and the efficiency of the roll-out and play-action calls in Shanahan's playbook.

In fact, Hoyer still finished the season ranked seventh overall in deep passing, per Pro Football Focus. This suggests that Shanahan's playbook allowed Hoyer to find success down field, even with an average receiving corps and with the rest of the offense beginning to struggle. 

With a couple of additional pieces (including a healthy Mack and a little quarterback stability), it would appear that the Browns offense would be playoff-caliber in Shanahan's system. 

This is why DeFilippo's unique approach to the offense has the potential to create quick success for the Browns.

"This isn't going to be my offense or ‘so and so's’ offense. This is going to be the Cleveland Browns' offense.” DeFilippo said, according to the Browns' official website. “Whatever that is to get our best players the football, it's going to be very flexible.

"We're not going to just scrap something just because I'm here. I don't have that type of ego. If something's good that our players do well and they know, we're going to keep doing it."

Generally, the hiring of a new coordinator means that players are forced to learn a new system—new concepts, new play calls and new terminology. A new system also tends to call for an influx of different personnel. For a young and evolving team in need of continuity like Cleveland, this would create an obvious problem.

Instead of building upon what the offense did well last season, the Browns would be starting over with your typical coordinator change.

However, DeFilippo seems to be willing to adapt to what is already in place, rather than cram his ideas down the collective throats of the Browns' offensive players.

This is a novel approach that seems rooted in common sense as much as anything. As Pat McManamon of ESPN.com wrote during the Browns' coordinator search "Even though it's completely logical for the coach to adjust to the scheme, it just doesn't happen."

Yet, it would appear that adjusting is exactly what DeFilippo plans to do.

DeFilippo, via the Browns' official website:

"

We're not going to just scrap something just because I'm here. I don't have that type of ego. If something's good that our players do well and they know, we're going to keep doing it. One of the things Mike and I talked about in our interview was if there's something these guys are familiar with in terms of a name, I don't need to change the name just because I see it as, for example, the play's called ‘smash’ and they call it ‘hammer.’ I can learn. Let one guy learn the new tag for it.

"

Not only does this statement suggest that DeFilippo is willing to keep many of the plays and packages the players are familiar with, it seems to indicate that he is also open to keeping the same or similar terminology.

For the guys on Cleveland's roster, this should make for a much smoother offseason experience than years past.

Of course, DeFilippo's willingness to be more adaptable than most coordinators likely stems from the fact that he has no NFL play-calling or coordinator experience, and this is not why the Browns hired him.

Team owner Jimmy Haslam and general manager Ray Farmer were most likely drawn to DeFilippo because of his work with Raiders rookie quarterback Derek Carr last season. The former second-round draft pick out of Fresno State finished his inaugural season with 3,270 passing yards and 21 touchdowns.

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, DeFilippo's work with Carr was noted pre-hire. 

There is also the fact that Pettine and DeFilippo worked together with the New York Jets a few years back. DeFilippo was interviewed for the position last year before Shanahan was hired.

However, it may actually be the 36-year-old DeFilippo's malleability that actually makes him best suited for Cleveland's current situation.

"I'd like to have continuity on the offensive side of the ball,"  Browns Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas said earlier this month, via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. "It's not something we've had for a while." 

If DeFilippo stays true to his word and really does work to fit in with what the offense already does, continuity might just be exactly what player like Thomas will get.