Pep Hamilton Leaving Browns, Joining Michigan

The Browns now have another vacancy on their coaching staff. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that associate head coach Pep Hamilton has accepted a job with Michigan to become their assistant head coach/passing coordinator. Reports from this weekend indicated that Hamilton was considering the role, although head coach Hue Jackson expressed optimism that Hamilton would be sticking around Cleveland.

NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that Michigan was actually eying Greg Roman for the vacancy. Ironically, Rapoport notes that the coach now may be a contender for the vacancy on the Browns staff. Roman started the season as the Bills offensive coordinator, but he was fired in late September following a loss to the Jets.

Pep Hamilton (vertical)Hamilton joined the Browns last offseason following a three-year stint with the Colts. Despite the presence of quarterback Andrew Luck, the Colts offense only had one top-10 season during Hamilton’s tenure. The 42-year-old’s offense predictably struggled during his first season in Cleveland, as the team was forced to rely on five different quarterbacks. Besides his duties as associate head coach, Hamilton also served as the Browns quarterbacks coach.

This will be a reunion of sorts for Hamilton and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. Hamilton previously served as Harbaugh’s wide receivers coach while the duo was at Stanford. As Nate Ulrich of Ohio.com writes, the Michigan coaching staff had an opening after passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch left to become UCLA’s offensive coordinator. While there are no reports regarding the length or value of Hamilton’s new contract, Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com notes that Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown recently earned a five-year contract worth $1.4MM annually.

The Browns filled one hole on their coaching staff yesterday, as the team hired Gregg Williams as their new defensive coordinator.

View Comments (6)