After the end of the regular season, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said he “could not be more pleased with the job” that head coach Hue Jackson and the rest of the coaching staff did during the 2016 season.
There appears to be at least one exception to that, however. Alex Marvez of Sporting News reports that the team is going to make a change at defensive coordinator. That would mean the departure of Ray Horton, who was hired for a second tour of duty in Cleveland after Jackson was named head coach.
Marvez reports that the Browns offered the job to Gregg Williams, whose future with the Rams is in limbo after the dismissal of Jeff Fisher during the season. He reports that they have also contacted Wade Phillips, who is a free agent with his Broncos contract expired and the team looking for a new coach.
The Browns were 30th in points allowed and 31st in yards allowed this season, which wasn’t a particular surprise given how much they gutted the roster last offseason. It doesn’t seem that they feel Horton’s the right guy to move the defense forward from that low starting point.