Getty QB Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins talks with quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell.
The Cleveland Browns are in the market for a new offensive coordinator, and there are a handful of high quality names on the team’s radar.
Jacob Roach of USA Today’s Browns Wire compiled a list of six candidates on Thursday, January 18, which included quarterbacks coach/pass game coordinator Darrell Bevell of the Miami Dolphins. He has a long history of offensive experience in the NFL, including several years working alongside Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
“Bevell worked with Stefanski when he was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings from 2006-2010,” Roach wrote. “Bevell has been the offensive coordinator with multiple teams since 2006, as well as being the interim head coach of two teams after the head coaches were let go during the season. He has been with Mike McDaniel for the last two years in Miami, helping make that offense one of the league’s most explosive.”
Darrell Bevell Has Wealth of OC Experience in NFL, Helped Dolphins to League’s Top Offense in 2023
GettyFormer interim head coach Darrell Bevell of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
After five years in Minnesota, his first stint as an NFL offensive coordinator, Bevell took the same position with the Seattle Seahawks. He remained with that franchise for seven seasons and ultimately landed with the Detroit Lions.
Bevell served as OC with the Lions for two years, taking over as head coach on an interim basis in 2020 after the team fired Matt Patricia. He spent the next year with the Jacksonville Jaguars, first as OC and then as head coach later that year on an interim basis after the franchise parted ways with Urban Meyer.
Bevell joined McDaniel in Miami two years back and the duo immediately turned the offense into one of the best in the league. The Dolphins finished as the NFL’s top-rated offense last season, averaging 401.3 yards per game, according to The Football Database. The team also finished second in points scored at 29.2 per game.
Browns Need Offensive Coordinator Who Can Unlock QB Deshaun Watson
GettyQuarterback Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.
The primary job for Bevell, or whoever becomes the next offensive coordinator in Cleveland, will be to unlock quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Watson was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Houston Texans. However, he sat out the 2021 campaign and missed the first 11 contests of 2022 due to a suspension from the NFL. He has started just 12 games since joining the Browns on the largest fully-guaranteed contract in league history of $230 million over five years.
Watson played well in spots last season, though he suffered from a lingering shoulder injury that ultimately required surgery. Quarterback Joe Flacco eventually stepped in and led the Browns to the playoffs, though he will be a free agent in March and his status with the franchise is uncertain moving forward.
Cleveland has handcuffed itself to Watson for at least the next two or three seasons, unless the team wants to take a massive dead money hit to cut him. As such, the top priority for the Browns is to get back to the playoffs in 2024 with a competent, if not excellent, Watson under center.
Whomever the next offensive coordinator is will need to play a huge role in that, and Bevell has a track record to indicate he may be able to get the job done.