Pat Shurmur

[SJ_Browns]

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2011/03/cleveland_browns_pat_shurmur_o.html

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- If this were a normal NFL off-season, Browns players would be getting their first introduction this week to Pat Shurmur's West Coast offense and Dick Jauron's 4-3 defense.

 

Some of them would be meeting their new head coach and defensive coordinator for the first time. After their routine lifting and stretching in the weight room, the players would attend preliminary meetings with position coaches and leave with new playbooks written in football language that is in some cases foreign to them.

 

These days mark the beginning of the new season. For a team such as the Browns, who are introducing new offensive and defensive systems under a first-time head coach with new assistants, they are the first baby steps in a new era.

 

But they are not being taken because NFL owners have locked players out in the league labor dispute.

 

Browns players who maintain full-time residence in the area may be working out in athletic clubs. Others are beginning light physical workouts with personal trainers or perhaps in facilities managed by their agents. There can be no communication between coaches or executives and players until further notice by the league.

 

In Berea, Shurmur is a head coach waiting for a team to show up. He's eager to begin the process of putting his stamp on the Browns. But that can't happen until players are allowed in.

 

"I guess I'm looking at it more as the glass as half-full than empty," Shurmur said from his office overlooking the team's barren practice fields. "I feel as though the systems we're teaching are proven. I've seen them be taught in a short amount of time. I'm not anxious about it."

 

Shurmur said all 32 teams are dealing with the same rules. But nobody can argue the Browns aren't being hurt more by the work stoppage than teams with an established coach, system and veteran quarterback. Like, say, Pittsburgh.

 

"I think it would be foolish to say that it's not different. It is different," said Browns President Mike Holmgren on Monday. "Having said that, I am very, very impressed with our staff. And whenever we start playing again and start coaching again, we will get them up to speed as quickly as anyone. I am confident of that."

 

The Browns are one of eight teams with new head coaches. Six of the eight have new offensive and defensive coordinators installing schemes new to their returning players. Some teams -- San Francisco, Tennessee, Carolina and Minnesota, to name four -- don't even know the identity of the quarterback who will open the season for them. At least Shurmur knows that Colt McCoy will be running his offense.

 

In the little time Shurmur and McCoy spent together prior to the league shutdown, Shurmur was able to convey some basics of his offense. McCoy returned home to Texas with a playbook and a smile, excited about the possibilities in the quarterback-friendly offense.

 

"You can visualize yourself doing it and I think he can," Shurmur said. "When he gets more and more schooled in our approach, I think it'll become more familiar and hopefully he'll be happier and happier about it."

 

Shurmur's pre-draft scouting of quarterbacks for the 2010 draft gave him some valuable background on McCoy.

 

"I think he has the attributes that will make him a good quarterback in any system, especially our system," Shurmur said. "First and foremost is decision-making. If you have a guy that's a bad decision-maker, he'll always break your heart. But Colt's a good decision-maker.

 

"He understands timing. What I mean by timing, he knows the urgency of getting rid of the football. He understands how a drop[back] relates to a route depth. So that's what I describe as timing.

 

"Then, I think he's very accurate, which means he knows where to put the football on a receiver, whether he's stationary or running. He knows the touch necessary. Within accuracy, you have ball placement and touch. And he's a good athlete, which makes him mobile, which will help him in the pocket or in the situations when we move him outside the pocket."

 

As for his defense, Shurmur is confident an experienced coordinator like Jauron -- with the help of a veteran senior assistant in Ray Rhodes -- will be able to install the new 4-3 system in a compressed timeframe, if needed. Shurmur intends to give Jauron and the defensive staff a lot of freedom.

 

"I think it's an extremely important part of it," Shurmur said. "I've always held Dick Jauron in high regard. I think he's a tremendous teacher and a tremendous leader. He'll get us going in the right direction there, for sure. The other guys on the staff all come in with credibility.

 

"From that standpoint, it would be foolish for me to be over there. I have some strong opinions on how I want to play the game. But to be talking about the details of that ... that's what they'll take care of."

 

Take a bow: Browns strength and conditioning coach Kent Johnston has been named to USA Football's Football and Wellness Committee, a group of 26 designed to further promote best practices for America's youth and amateur football community.

[SJ_Browns]

The Browns are one of eight teams with new head coaches. Six of the eight have new offensive and defensive coordinators installing schemes new to their returning players. Some teams -- San Francisco, Tennessee, Carolina and Minnesota, to name four -- don't even know the identity of the quarterback who will open the season for them. At least Shurmur knows that Colt McCoy will be running his offense.

 

In the little time Shurmur and McCoy spent together prior to the league shutdown, Shurmur was able to convey some basics of his offense. McCoy returned home to Texas with a playbook and a smile, excited about the possibilities in the quarterback-friendly offense.

 

"You can visualize yourself doing it and I think he can," Shurmur said. "When he gets more and more schooled in our approach, I think it'll become more familiar and hopefully he'll be happier and happier about it."

 

Shurmur's pre-draft scouting of quarterbacks for the 2010 draft gave him some valuable background on McCoy.

 

"I think he has the attributes that will make him a good quarterback in any system, especially our system," Shurmur said. "First and foremost is decision-making. If you have a guy that's a bad decision-maker, he'll always break your heart. But Colt's a good decision-maker.

 

"He understands timing. What I mean by timing, he knows the urgency of getting rid of the football. He understands how a drop[back] relates to a route depth. So that's what I describe as timing.

 

"Then, I think he's very accurate, which means he knows where to put the football on a receiver, whether he's stationary or running. He knows the touch necessary. Within accuracy, you have ball placement and touch. And he's a good athlete, which makes him mobile, which will help him in the pocket or in the situations when we move him outside the pocket."

 

it really helps that the browns named their qb already and colt has had numerous conversations with the hc, oc and got his playbook. it will definitely help make things less difficult while dealing with a lockout. atleast when the lockout is over, they'll be able to get right into things. depending on how long the lockout will be it might not be that easy, but with experienced guys in the fo, hopefully they'll be able to handle the pressure.

[slimdawg]

If mccoy already has his playbook I really hope he and some of the other players at the skill positions take the initiative to get together and make themselves more comfortable with one another. It would at least be some kinda start.

[Nw220]

If mccoy already has his playbook I really hope he and some of the other players at the skill positions take the initiative to get together and make themselves more comfortable with one another. It would at least be some kinda start.

 

Excatly how i feel, i know that Josh Freeman for TB is having private workouts with his players and i dont see why Colt couldnt do the same...You have the playbook now get your teammates and go over the plays together and run them to perfection thats what a great team does...

 

Also isnt it nice for a change to know who the QB will be for once, no QB controvrsy

[slimdawg]

At least till they draft Cam Newton

[nickers]

At least till they draft Cam Newton

 

 

I dont think Cam Newton has the IQ to run a WCO,,,I doubt it

[SJ_Browns]

Also isnt it nice for a change to know who the QB will be for once, no QB controvrsy

 

it's very nice.

[SJ_Browns]

At least till they draft Cam Newton

 

[Harry Buffalo]

I can't believe how much people are blowing this out of proportion. Just because they are looking at someone doesn't mean that they are going to draft them. Any team with a top 10 pick would be stupid to not look at the top QB's.

[SJ_Browns]

I can't believe how much people are blowing this out of proportion. Just because they are looking at someone doesn't mean that they are going to draft them. Any team with a top 10 pick would be stupid to not look at the top QB's.

 

thankyou! as holmgren said, they're doing their due diilligence. why would any intelligent team only look at the players they're actually interested in and let the rest of the nfl know who they're targetting? plus, it couldn't hurt to see what a guy like cam can do.

[peterbell]

For Shumer to say it won't affect the team..If they aren't back till late August..Come on now its a HUGE impact..but then Holmgren and Shumer will have a built in excuse for 4 and 12

 

Putting in an entire new offense and defense in a couple weeks..seriously

[Harry Buffalo]

Would you rather have him say that we're screwed. I sure as hell don't.

[Gafreleets]

For Shumer to say it won't affect the team..If they aren't back till late August..Come on now its a HUGE impact..but then Holmgren and Shumer will have a built in excuse for 4 and 12

 

Putting in an entire new offense and defense in a couple weeks..seriously

 

 

 

hey, no fair......i already called the 4-12 record for this year and the pre-made excuse!

 

 

 

Would you rather have him say that we're screwed. I sure as hell don't.

 

 

 

no, but why lie? say it's going to be a large task to tackle, but him and his staff are going to do their best and expect nothing less of the players.

 

 

not...."yeah, we'll be totally fine, nothing to worry about. hell, why do we even have offseason workouts? we can install a playbook in the dressing room before week 1!!!".

[SJ_Browns]

Would you rather have him say that we're screwed. I sure as hell don't.

 

agreed and when shurmur said he's seen teams get things installed in a short amount of time, i'm sure he didn't mean in a couple of weeks or some ridiculously short amount of time. people, their comprehension skills and the need to be negative. it never ceases to amaze me.

[rich4eagle]

I dont think Cam Newton has the IQ to run a WCO,,,I doubt it

 

 

heck he may be VInce Young 2.................he made a miracle play that won a game and did it again four times after the same way........DUH

[SJ_Browns]

http://www.ohio.com/sports/browns/118267939.html

 

BEREA: When Pat Shurmur was named the Browns' head coach Jan. 13, he didn't know he would become the offensive coordinator, too.

 

During his introductory news conference the day after he was hired, Shurmur revealed that he would call the offense's plays. Still, the Browns intended to employ an offensive coordinator who could game plan and serve as Shurmur's right-hand man.

 

That arrangement, however, never came to fruition.

 

The Browns talked to Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave about replacing Brian Daboll, who's now with the Miami Dolphins, as their offensive coordinator, Shurmur said. But McCoy chose to keep the same role with the Denver Broncos, and Musgrave decided to leave his post as the Atlanta Falcons' quarterbacks coach and accept a job as the Minnesota Vikings' offensive coordinator.

 

''They were in the mix, and then they decided to be elsewhere,'' Shurmur said Friday during an interview in his office at the Browns' headquarters. ''It doesn't bother me. It's the business of hiring a staff.''

 

Now Shurmur, 45, is committed to juggling the duties of an offensive coordinator and a first-time head coach. He has sensed concern from outsiders, though he remains confident.

 

''I don't think it's gonna be a problem,'' said Shurmur, whose resume includes gigs as the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams. ''I think I have a staff of coaches that are extremely talented, and as you prepare for a game, it's the staff that does the preparation. You decide what plays you're gonna call, and then you spend the time to decide how you're gonna call them. But the preparation of what plays we're gonna run is done on a staff basis.

 

''In terms of the game management, every team has structures of how they handle it. Again, I've seen it work. I saw it work for all those years in Philly, where [coach] Andy Reid called the plays for most of those years, and, most recently, [offensive coordinator] Marty [Mornhinweg] has called them. But there was always interaction between the two, so it's not uncommon.''

 

In Shurmur's first season with the Rams, he called the plays from the sideline. In his second and final season in St. Louis, he worked from a booth in the press box.

 

''Why the switch?'' Shurmur said. ''There's just obviously a couple ways to do it. I think there's advantages to both. I feel like I can see things as well from the field as the booth. It's a different view, but you can see things. Obviously, you're hands on with the players. Interaction with the quarterback [improves]. You don't have to get on the phone with them. Being down on the field, you're in the flow of the game.''

 

Shurmur said he's ''very comfortable'' with the idea of filling dual roles. He's also at peace with calling plays from the sideline again.

 

But when Shurmur, or anyone else in the NFL, will return to the field is a mystery. The league's labor dispute has created unique obstacles early in his tenure with the Browns.

 

''It's out of my control, so I look at it as a challenge to get our organization up and running on the field with whatever time is available,'' said Shurmur, whose staff will install the West Coast offense and the 4-3 defense once the locked-out players are allowed to report to offseason programs. . . . ''I'm very confident because of the [coaches] we have here. With the time that we're given to get a team up and running, we'll do so.''

 

Of course, some measures already have been taken. On Monday, Browns President Mike Holmgren said quarterback Colt McCoy received Shurmur's playbook before the lockout took effect last week and communication was cut off between players and coaches.

 

''In my conversations with [McCoy], just getting to know him, I feel like he's got what it takes to be a fine player,'' Shurmur said. ''I'm confident that he'll learn what he has to do, and he'll be able to help the other players.''

 

Brownies

 

The Browns are set to hold a private workout with South Carolina defensive back Chris Culliver, league sources told NationalFootballPost.com. . . . Holmgren said it's ''absolutely'' a realistic possibility that the Browns could bring back Jake Delhomme to join McCoy and Seneca Wallace as the quarterbacks on the roster.

[Gafreleets]

http://www.ohio.com/sports/browns/118267939.html

 

BEREA: When Pat Shurmur was named the Browns' head coach Jan. 13, he didn't know he would become the offensive coordinator, too.

 

During his introductory news conference the day after he was hired, Shurmur revealed that he would call the offense's plays. Still, the Browns intended to employ an offensive coordinator who could game plan and serve as Shurmur's right-hand man.

 

That arrangement, however, never came to fruition.

 

 

 

 

 

this has epic fail written all over it.

 

 

1st time HC.

 

coming into a organization that's rebuilding (again).

 

not able to install completely new O or D schemes because of the lockout with either the vets or rookies.

 

and now is going to try and juggle OC duties with his HC duties?

 

*three stooges music begins playing in the background*

 

nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.

[nickers]

heck he may be VInce Young 2.................he made a miracle play that won a game and did it again four times after the same way........DUH

 

 

Hes gonna be a HUGEEEE bust Rich,Mark it down.