Todd Haley to install his own offense, call plays

The Browns on Jan. 24 finally announced hiring Haley as offensive coordinator.

Hue Jackson, with one victory in his first two seasons as head coach, is turning over not only redesigning the offense but also calling plays to Todd Haley.

The Browns on Jan. 24 finally announced hiring Haley as offensive coordinator, Amos Jones as special teams coordinator and Freddie Kitchens as running backs coach/associate head coach.

“As I reflected after the season and contemplated adding an offensive coordinator to the staff, my first thought was obviously improvement,” Jackson said in a statement. “If I was going to turn over the play calling duties to someone else, it had to be to someone that was experienced and had a long history of success in this league.

“We were going to be patient about it because there is always a lot of movement in the early part of the offseason. When Todd became available, I jumped at the opportunity to meet with him. Once we sat down and talked, it became quickly evident that Todd would be a great fit.”

Haley was offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2012 to 2017. His contract was

not renewed. He was head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009 through 13 games of 2011 and offensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals for two years before his time in Kansas City.

“This is a great opportunity,” Haley said in a statement. “The Browns have a great history, great fans and deserve to have some fun and experience some winning. I want to help be part of that process. There is obviously a lot of work to do in

order to get there, but I’ve always been excited about facing a challenge.

“Hue and I share a lot of similar beliefs on how to be successful on offense. We have to score points, protect the ball, protect the quarterback and develop players. It’s not too complicated, but at the same time, it is a great challenge. We are really looking forward to getting to work on it.”

Haley will not just be picking up Jackson’s playbook, designing game plans from it and then using that to call plays on Sundays. Minus quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio

Brown, the offense the Browns use could look similar to what the Steelers used for six years.

“We’re going to be installing a lot of new concepts and elements to our offense,” Jackson said. “It’s important to have coaches on your staff that will know and understand the new system. Freddie has a history with Todd and that will make the process of installing the new elements of the offense much more efficient.

“Obviously, we have a lot of work to do this offseason. I’m excited about the additions we’ve made to our coaching staff, and I’m especially

excited to work with Todd to put together a productive Cleveland Browns offensive system that will get us winning quickly.”

Kitchens replaces Kirby Wilson, who was fired at the end of 2017. He spent the last 11 seasons with the Cardinals, which means he was there when Haley was offensive coordinator with Arizona. At that time, Kitchens was coaching the Cardinals tight ends (2007-12). He coached the quarterbacks from 2013 to 2016 and the running backs in 2017.

Jones replaces Chris Tabor, who coached the Browns’ special teams from 2011 to 2017.