Kitchens Keeps Lindley, Brings In Priefer
- Sticking in the AFC North, Browns new head coach Freddie Kitchens cleaned house after getting the job. Once person he didn’t let go, however, was Ryan Lindley, who will serve as his quarterbacks coach next season, AZCardinals.com’s Mike Jurecki tweets. Lindley, who played in the NFL from 2012-15 as a quarterback, served as the Browns running backs coach in 2018.
- Also with the Browns, the team added former Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer as its special teams coordinator, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero [Twitter link]. Priefer filled the same role in Minnesota from 2011-18, but declined to re-sign with the team after his contract expired after this past season. Priefer was born in Cleveland and coached two seasons at nearby Youngstown State in the 1990s.
Browns Working To Hire Steve Wilks As DC
New Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens appears prepared to make the first major hire to his coaching staff. The team is working on a deal to hire former Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks as the team’s defensive coordinator, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweets. 
Just earlier today, it was reported Wilks, who served one season as Arizona’s head coach, was expected to interview for the position. He apparently won over the new Browns head coach, and the two sides are working to finalize an agreement.
Wilks, 49, went 3-13 in his one season with the Cardinals before he was fired late last week. Despite the poor record, the coach had the support of the players, including Larry Fitzgerald, who advocated for his return. Before going to Arizona, Wilks served as Carolina’s defensive coordinator and assistant head coach in 2017, helping the team rank No. 7 in yards allowed (317.1) and tied for 10th in points surrendered (20.4).
The Browns will not have to adjust to a new defensive scheme, as Wilks employs the same 4-3 unit that Cleveland has used for the last two seasons.
Browns To Interview Steve Wilks, Interested In Steve Spagnuolo
The Browns are interviewing former Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks for their open defensive coordinator position on Friday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Cleveland also has interest in former Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo and could meet with him in the near future, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Cleveland is searching for a new defensive play-caller after new head coach Freddie Kitchens dismissed Gregg Williams earlier this week. Given that he’s handling the offense, Kitchens would likely give his new DC great autonomy. As a former head coach, Wilks would be ready for that responsibility, and despite his lack of success in the desert, his 2017 Panthers defense played extremely well, ranking seventh in DVOA.
Wilks is unlikely to reunite with Carolina, tweets Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com. There’d been some thought that Wilks would head back to the Panthers after his sole season with Arizona, but that won’t be happening. Carolina is retaining DC Eric Washington, while head coach Ron Rivera will call the team’s defensive plays.
Spagnuolo, meanwhile, didn’t coach in 2018, but is highly respected around the NFL for his work as the Giants’ DC. The 59-year-old also comes with head coaching experience, as he led the Rams from 2009-11.
Cardinals, Browns Interested In Chuck Pagano
Both the Cardinals and Browns are interested in hiring former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano as defensive coordinator, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Pagano may indeed be the favorite for the Arizona job, per Somers.
Pagano, 58, didn’t coach last season after being fired by Indianapolis, but he’s generated plenty of interest during the 2019 hiring cycle. He interviewed for both the Packers and Broncos head coaching positions, and has since been mentioned as candidate to take over as the Jets’ defensive coordinator under new head coach Adam Gase. Just today, Pagano interviewed for a defensive backs coach position with the Panthers.
The Cardinals are looking for a veteran defensive coordinator to pair with rookie head coach Kliff Kingsbury, and Pagano — who’s been coaching the NFL for nearly two decades — would certainly fit that bill. He also runs a 3-4 defense, the same scheme which Arizona prefers to deploy. Thus far, the only other candidate that’s been linked to the Cardinals’ DC gig is longtime NFL coach Dom Capers.
Like Arizona, Cleveland also hired a first-time head coach. Freddie Kitchens was a positional coach to open the 2018 season and had never ever served as a coordinator until midway through last year, so he could use an experienced defensive play-caller at his side. After installing Kitchens as their head coach, the Browns parted ways with former interim head coach/DC Gregg Williams and a number of defensive assistants. Cleveland is set to interview former Broncos’ head coach Vance Joseph for their defensive coordinator position on Friday.
Browns To Interview Vance Joseph For DC
The Browns will interview former Broncos head coach Vance Joseph for their vacant defensive coordinator position on Friday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
[RELATED: Browns To Interview Jim Bob Cooter For OC]
Joseph wasn’t successful during his run in Denver (11-21 record), but he was viewed as a desirable defensive coordinator during his time with the Dolphins in 2016. He’s generated plenty of DC interest thus far in 2019: Joseph interviewed for the Cardinals’ coordinator job on Thursday, and is reportedly in contention for the same role under Adam Gase in New York.
Joseph is also technically still in contention for the Bengals’ head coaching position. He’s familiar with Cincinnati management after spending two years in town as the club’s defensive backs coach, but if he were the Bengals’ choice for head coach, the announcement likely would have already been made. Joseph isn’t under contract with any team after being fired by Denver, so there’s nothing stopping the Bengals from hiring Joseph immediately.
Cleveland and new head coach Freddie Kitchens are seeking to find a replacement for former defensive coordinator/interim head coach Gregg Williams, who was dismissed following Kitchens’ ascension on Wednesday.
Browns To Interview Jim Bob Cooter
Former Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter is slated to interview for the Browns’ offensive coordinator job, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Cooter’s contract was not renewed by Detroit at the end of the season, making him a free agent. 
Cooter’s work with Matthew Stafford during the 2017 season should be a strong selling point for him, but he’ll have to answer for the Lions’ disappointing 2018 season. But, in theory, Cooter could be the creative and energetic offensive coordinator that Baker Mayfield needs to thrive.
Of course, Cooter can’t expect total freedom if he signs on in Cleveland. By all accounts, new head coach Freddie Kitchens is intent on continuing to call the plays.
The Lions promoted Cooter to offensive coordinator midway through the 2015 season, and the young coach helped elevate Stafford’s game. This topped out when Detroit finished as the NFL’s No. 7 scoring offense in 2017, doing so without much of a running game. But this season, Stafford’s numbers regressed, down by more than 600 passing yards and going from 7.9 yards per attempt in 207 to 6.8 this season, as did the Lions’ offense in a 6-10 season.
Coaching Rumors: Jets, Gase, Cardinals, Lions
The Jets likely preferred Baylor’s Matt Rhule to Adam Gase, but as previously reported, things fell apart when Rhule refused to allow the Jets to pick his staff for him. The Jets especially wanted to choose his offensive coordinator and Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears the Jets floated Todd Monken to him as an option.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- The Cardinals asked, but were denied, permission to interview 49ers run game coordinator Mike McDaniel for their offensive coordinator position, Matt Barrows of The Athletic tweets. McDaniel is tight with head coach Kyle Shanahan and the team was not prepared to lose him, especially to a divisional rival.
- “It appears” that Steve Sarkisian and Nathaniel Hackett are in the mix for the Lions‘ offensive coordinator vacancy, Alex Marvez of SiriusXM tweets. The Lions have been looking for a new OC ever since Jan. 1 when they announced that Jim Bob Cooter‘s contract would not be renewed.
- Sarkisian has also spoken with the Cardinals about their OC job, Marvez tweets. Sarkisian has been on the market since Dec. 31 when he was fired by Atlanta.
- Both the Cardinals and Browns have sought permission to interview Jets running backs coach Stump Mitchell, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The position(s) he’ll be discussing with those teams are unclear, however.
Latest On Browns, Freddie Kitchens
The Browns’ chain of command has been muddled in the past, but the team’s new structure appears to be pretty straight forward. New head coach Freddie Kitchens will report directly to GM John Dorsey and not to owner Jimmy Haslam, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). 
Meanwhile, Kitchens will “retool [the] staff,” Robinson says, so he’ll likely have the freedom to choose the coaches that he wants. That includes the offensive side of the staff, which is Kitchens’ specialty.
Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski had support to be the head coaching hire, Robinson hears, but the consensus was ultimately Kitchens. Multiple executives were in the room hashing things out, but the hire ultimately was made by Haslam and Dorsey.
The Browns did not ask Baker Mayfield for his suggestion, but they did listen to his thoughts on Kitchens, Robinson writes. Naturally, Mayfield was a big proponent of Kitchens, who helped get the offense back on track in the second half of the season.
Browns, Jaguars Talk With Todd Monken
Former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken will interview with the Browns for their vacant OC job this weekend, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Monken also spoke with the Jaguars about their OC vacancy, so it appears that he is only focused on those jobs at the moment.
Monken was in the running for the Packers’ and Jets’ openings, but those positions have since been filled by Matt LaFleur and Adam Gase, respectively. He also interviewed for the Bengals’ job, which is still vacant, but his move to talk OC jobs with the Jags and Browns is probably an indication that he won’t be getting the gig in Cincy.
For what it’s worth, Rapoport hears that Monken impressed in his head coaching interviews with the Jets, so he should be positioned as a strong candidate for these OC openings. The Browns job may be especially appealing to Monken and other offensive specialists, though they’ll have to weigh the fact that new head coach Freddie Kitchens will probably hold the keys on play calling.
Browns To Part Ways With Several Coaches
Although the Browns kept a key part of their 2018 late-season setup in place, promoting Freddie Kitchens to head coach, they are going to be looking for a largely new staff.
In addition to letting interim HC Gregg Williams go, the Browns are ending the Cleveland tenures of several coaches, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Among them are quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese, special teams coordinator Amos Jones, offensive line coach Bob Wylie, tight ends coach Greg Seamon and special teams assistant Josh Cribbs. The Browns, as could be expected, will ax linebackers coach (and late-season play-caller) Blake Williams, Cabot notes.
Expected to stay are wideouts coach Adam Henry and DBs coach DeWayne Walker, Cabot adds, with running backs coach Ryan Lindley — a Cardinals quarterback during Kitchens’ time as Arizona’s QBs coach — could remain as well.
This Browns team lost fewer games than the franchise had since its 2007 season, but the Kitchens regime will involve many new faces at the Berea, Ohio, facility. This should not be incredibly surprising, considering these assistants arrived during Hue Jackson‘s tenure.
Jones finished his first season as ST coordinator, while Zampese took the QBs job last year as well. He’d previously served as the Bengals’ OC before being fired early in the 2017 season. Seamon served on all three Jackson staffs, finishing his tenure under Gregg Williams. Wylie, of Hard Knocks fame, came to Cleveland in 2017 after a CFL stint. Known obviously for his special teams brilliance in Cleveland, Cribbs broke into coaching this season.
Also let go: assistant DBs coach Jerod Kruse, offensive assistant Bob Saunders, assistant offensive line coach Mark Hutson and quality control coaches Brian Braswell and Eric Sanders.