Bruce Arians MIGHT be a Good Choice to Lead the Browns
Hey, Cleveland.
When Cleveland Browns’ head coach candidate, Bruce Arians, stated he would only come out of retirement for the job as Browns head coach, many around Browns’ Town were impressed.
It is a bold statement that speaks well of someone interested in leading our team. It seemed to give Arians an emotional edge with Browns fans who are all too familiar with being the much-maligned ‘mistake by the lake.’ Arians claims that he would keep Gregg Williams as the defensive coordinator and allow Freddie Kitchens to steer the offense, which added an element of safety and comfort to the notion of Arians taking the helm.
The imagined scene was quite charming, Arians, Williams and Kitchens, arms linked, skipping off to playoff paradise. The charm wore off when a few days ago, Ian Rapoport tweeted, about a text from Bruce Arians saying the still retired coach would be willing to listen to an offer from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Admittedly, this has little real impact on the head coaching job here in Cleveland. However, for some who were on the fence about Arians, the news that he recanted his devotion to only leading the Cleveland Browns does wipe away some sparkle surrounding the coach.
Arians does have some solid winning history as a head coach (9-3 as the Indianapolis Colts interim in 2012 and 49-30-1 during five seasons leading the Arizona Cardinals). Let’s not forget the fun fact that Arians was calling plays for Cleveland in 2002 when the Browns made the playoffs.
Personally, the jury is still out; I think Arians could be a good pick for the job. However, I still emphatically believe the Browns need to maintain as much continuity as possible heading into 2019 and what could be a legit playoff run. My best case with Arians at the helm depends on Williams being content to step back into his role as defensive coordinator and kitchens remaining the play caller for the offense.
Time will tell, Browns fans, time will tell.
Image Credit: espn.go.com
