This weekend and the next few coming up are some of my favorite of the year because of the NFL Playoffs. Of course, there has only been one year that I remember that the Browns have been there, but it's still fun to watch the elite teams go head to head and see who comes out on top in each conference for a Super Bowl birth.
Of course, here in Cleveland we're still searching for out next head coach so that hopefully we can compete in these playoff weeks for years to come.
Today, Browns President, Mike Holmgren, and general manager, Tom Heckert, were scheduled to fly down to Atlanta to meet with current Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey, so let's take (ugh) a look at his credentials.
I actually didn't know this before researching him for this piece, but Mularkey is a former tight end who spent six seasons with the Vikings, from 1983-1988, and then the following three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers to finish off his career. He wasn't really an impact receiver, never catching more than 20 passes, except for two seasons late in his career, but I do believe NFL playing experience if definitely helpful when it comes to relating to players.
In terms of coaching experience, Mularkey is, not surprisingly, a tight ends coach by trade. He started out as the tight ends coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in '94 and '95, went to Pittsburgh in '96 and worked under Bill Cowher until 2003, first as the tight ends coach and then got promoted to offensive coordinator in 2001. He was hired as the Buffalo Bills head coach in 2004, and did a really nice job in his first season, leading the team to a 9-7 record - the last time the Bills had a winning record. The 2005 campaign didn't go nearly as well, as the Bills slipped to a 5-11 record. Mularkey resigned his position following that season because of differences he had with the front office. I guess it was a good idea for him to get out of he big B when he did.
Mularkey spent the next couple of years in Miami, but that was back before Bill Parcells came and made them better, so it's really not even worth mentioning. He was hired as the Falcons offensive coordinator before the 2008 season, and since then he has helped guide Matt Ryan to becoming one of the premiere quarterbacks in the NFL.
This past season, Atlanta was in the middle of the pack in yards at 16th in the league - 15th in passing, and 12th in running. That being said, they were 5th in the league in total points scored, which means to me that they were both opportunistic and the defense created a lot of turnovers. But I think the real testament to how well Mularkey has done in Atlanta is the improvement of Matt Ryan in
all three of his NFL seasons. In his rookie season, Ryan threw for 3440 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, the next season it was 2916 yards, 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions (in 14 games), and this season it was 3705 yards, 28 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Those sound like a good endorsement of Mularkey to me.
However, Mularkey does not come from the Bill Walsh/Mike Holmgren school of coaching, making it that much more unlikely that he'll be the next head coach of the Browns. He does seem to be interested in the position, though, as he canceled his interview with the Broncos to "focus on playoff preparation" but he kept his interview with the Browns. But after hearing how well Pat Shurmur's interview with Holmgren and Heckert went yesterday, I'd find it hard to believe that they would go outside of the tree in which they feel most comfortable.
Enjoy the playoff games this weekend, Browns fans. I know I will.
~MAS
p.s. A shout out must go to Adrienne who was kind enough to let me use her MacBook to write this post while it was still relevant.
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