Browns pass on Rams-affiliated coordinator candidates
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ass-on-rams-affiliated-coordinator-candidates
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Another offensive coordinator job went off the board Wednesday morning when the Cleveland Browns decided to go with former Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to fill their vacancy.
That news came a day after it was revealed that the Browns had showed interest in a pair of intriguing candidates with ties to the St. Louis Rams. Cleveland spoke to current Rams quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti and former Rams head coach Mike Martz about the job on Tuesday at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. In their own way, both of those conversations came as a bit of a surprise.
Cignetti has been the Rams quarterbacks coach since 2012 when Jeff Fisher came on as head coach. Cignetti has coordinator experience at the college level, doing the job at Fresno State, North Carolina, Cal, Rutgers and Pittsburgh. He has never done it at the NFL level, however.
Martz has been out of the league since after the 2011 season following stints as offensive coordinator in San Francisco, Detroit and Chicago after his departure from St. Louis. He was the Rams head coach from 2000 to 2005, compiling a 56-36 record that would probably be a welcome sight around St. Louis these days.
In the past 24 hours, the Browns (DeFilippo), Jacksonville Jaguars (Greg Olson), Oakland Raiders (Bill Musgrave), Baltimore Ravens (Marc Trestman) and New York Jets (Chan Gailey) have filled their offensive coordinator jobs. Neither Cignetti nor Martz has been tied to the open job in St. Louis to this point.
It's unlikely Martz would be an option for the Rams though it would be a lot of fun for fans and media. Cignetti is an in-house candidate who could be considered though most signs point to tight ends coach Rob Boras being the strongest possibility of those on the current staff.