"So this is what rejection feels like." — No Chip Kelly, and a plea for Bruce Arians

Looks like Chip Kelly's talents will be
staying in Oregon or heading to Philly.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

After Friday night's news that Chip Kelly was "very close" to becoming the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns came down, I got a post ready for when his hiring was officially announced.

Of course, the best laid plans are the ones that go awry, right?

Well, I'd bet that's probably what the Browns decision makers are thinking at this point.

As I'm sure you all know by now, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner are moving on from their pursuit of Oregon's Kelly. Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer cites "league sources" saying the Browns weren't sure if Kelly was 100% into the idea of leaving Oregon to coach in Cleveland, and that is the primary reason Haslam and Banner are moving on in their search. They want the coach they hire to be "all in" for coaching the Browns.

Okay, I do realize that this could be some kind of smoke screen from the Browns so that they look a little less foolish when they later say, "We wanted this guy all along," but at the same time you can't say that Kelly's process had nothing to do with it. In a lot of ways, the guy seems like the little boy who cried "wolf." You can't be surprised if he ends up going back to Oregon. And if he does, then he obviously was not 100% into the idea of coaching the Browns.

Don't get me wrong—I'm not saying that to validate the smoke screen. But whether it was Kelly or the Browns backing away, the fact is that it just wasn't going to work.

And now the Browns are left to "reboot" their coaching search...whatever that means.

One of the issues is that nobody knows who in the world the Browns might want to interview next. We know—not from the Browns themselves, mind you—that Haslam and Banner have interviewed former Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Wisenhunt, and Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton. But Doug Marrone was supposedly the next guy up for the Browns, and he agreed to coach the Buffalo Bills this morning.

If you're keeping the speculative score, that means the Browns have been shafted by their first (Nick Saban), second (Kelly), and third (Marrone) choices. You could probably throw Bill O'Brien into that mix somewhere as well, since the Browns did interview him before he decided to remain at Penn State.

Four coaches, four swings and misses.

Obviously, at some point in the next few weeks, the Browns are going to hire a coach. And I sincerely hope that this "reboot" begins and ends with one man—Bruce Arians.

Sure, there are other names out there like Wisenhunt and Lovie Smith, but I just really feel Arians is the perfect fit. He was Butch Davis' offensive coordinator the only time the Browns made it to the playoffs since 1999—meaning he coached (my favorite "modern era" Brown) Kelly Holcomb to that (incredible) 429 yard, three-touchdown performance against the Steelers. And he also coached Andrew Luck to a rookie record for passing yards this season. That's in addition to him taking over for Chuck Pagano after he was diagnosed with cancer, meaning he does, in fact, have some type of head coaching experience.

Furthermore, after Davis fired him, Arians spent the next eight seasons with the Steelers, meaning he knows the division. In the AFC North—almost always one of the toughest divisions in the NFL—that kind of knowledge is invaluable. Who knows, maybe Arians' offense could be exactly what Brandon Weeden needs to be effective?

So hopefully Arians' bout with the flu that landed him in the hospital instead of on the sideline for the Colts' playoff game in Baltimore is not serious so that the Browns can set up an interview with him as soon as possible. Mike Carins of WEWS tweeted that Arians really did want the job in Cleveland, and now that it's up for grabs again, this job should fall right into his lap.

The Cleveland Browns: Never a dull moment.

~MAS