New coach’s top task likely involves new QB
The Browns will CLEVELAND — likely draft a quarterback such as Josh Rosen or Sam Darnold No. 1 overall, and now he’ll have a new position coach guiding him.
Hue Jackson has hired Ken Zampese, the former Bengals offensive coordinator, to coach Browns QBs, marking his third quarterbacks coach in as many years.
Pep Hamilton served in that capacity in 2016 and David Lee in 2017.
Zampese will be charged with bringing along the new quarterback of the future, as well as a veteran such an AJ McCarron, Sam Bradford or Alex Smith that the Browns hope to acquire in the offseason. The Browns are also likely to continue to develop 2017 second-round pick DeShone Kizer, who went 0-15 as a starter last season and finished at the bottom of the league in most of the important statistical categories such as rating (58.0), touchdowns (9) and completion percentage (53.6 percent).
Zampese, who was fired by Marvin Lewis as Bengals OC two games into the 2017, joins former Giants wide receivers coach Adam Henry, who was hired Thursday to coach the same position here.
Henry coached tight ends for Jackson in 2011 when he was head coach of the Raiders. Former Browns receivers coach Al Saunders will transition to an advisory role for Jackson.
Jackson is in the process of interviewing offensive coordinators, and has talked to Texans QBs coach Sean Ryan and others for that job.
Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor has also left to join the Bears.
Lewis admitted in September that firing Zampese was hard, because he had been on Lewis’ staff since his first season there with the Bengals in 2003. The Bengals failed to score a TD in their first two games.
“He busted his tail here,” Lewis told reporters in September. “He’s been with me since I started . ... He’s a fine football coach, and he’ll get another opportunity to knock it out of the park. This just didn’t work.”
Browns hire WRs coach
Jackson has called upon an old Raiders friend to coach his wide receivers.
He hired former Giants receivers coach Adam Henry, who served as Jackson’s tight ends coach when he was head coach of the Raiders in 2011.
Henry was free to interview with other teams after Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was fired last month. NFL Network reported that Henry signed a three-year deal.
Henry, 45, replaces Al Saunders, who will transition to an advisory role for Jackson.
Browns receivers caught only five touchdown passes last season, but Corey Coleman and Josh Gordon didn’t start playing until late in the season.
Henry is part of a staff overhaul being conducted by Jackson, who’s interviewing offensive coordinators, including Texans quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan, who came to town on Wednesday. He’s also talked to former Bengals assistant Ken Zampese about a possible assistant position, and he let special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who had been with the Browns since 2011, move on to the Bears.
Henry spent the past two seasons with one of the best receivers in the game in Odell Beckham Jr., who broke his ankle in 2017 and was limited to four games.
But in 2016, Beckham led the Giants in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdown and was selected to his third Pro Bowl. He finished third in the NFL with 101 catches and 1,367 receiving yards, second-highest of his career, and third-highest in Giants history.
Beckham also finished fifth in the NFL with 10 TD catches.
2016 second-round pick Sterling Shepard finished second on the team as a rookie with 65 catches for 683 yards and eight touchdowns. Shepard’s 65 receptions were second among NFL rookies to the Saints’ Michael Thomas.