This is what you call one helluva promotion.
Tuesday, the Cleveland Browns announced that they have hired Ryan Lindley as the NFL team’s running backs coach. Lindley replaces Freddie Kitchens, who was promoted to offensive coordinator by interim head coach Gregg Williams after Todd Haley, along with head coach Hue Jackson, was fired after less than a season on the job.
What makes Lindley’s hiring most intriguing is from where he came -- or, more specifically, from which job he came.
The 29-year-old Lindley spent the past two seasons as a graduate assistant at his alma mater San Diego State. That marked Lindley’s first coaching job at any level of football following a six-year professional playing career (2012-17) that included stops with five NFL teams plus one in the CFL.
Lindley, one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Aztecs history, played for the Arizona Cardinals in 2012-13, where his position coach was Kitchens. Kitchens, incidentally, played quarterback at Alabama and was an assistant for two years at Mississippi State (2004-05) before moving on to the NFL and spending the past 13 seasons at that level.
