First, non-introduction post, huzzah.
I've got mixed feelings about this. I want DeFilippo, despite how annoying it is to type his name (a ploy of his, I'm sure, to make it more difficult for keyboard-warriors to criticize him), and would still be happy if we pull him in. But there's a lot that's not being said here. Does John want to stake his tentatively positive momentum on a team with no QB and a recent history of terrible passing attacks? Is he waiting on other offers? A lot of new coaching staffs getting resolved right now, and relationships with the players in Cleveland that might inspire a charismatic Hue Jackson to try and twist him into running Hue's offense. He's been connected with Chip Kelly as well. All that being said, it's possible he's interested, and is simply holding out to see if anything more attractive comes his way.
Another point is this: where do coordinators come from? Yes, a fair amount have a history of coordinating, and get shunted around the league, or follow their circle of coaching buddies. But in a lot of cases, it's positional coaches getting the opportunity, and either succeeding or failing. The Bengals just promoted their QB coach to the position. I'm not schooled on who he is, and what his experience calling plays entails, but successful teams and unsuccessful teams alike have multiple avenues for finding a coordinator, including promoting from within, and a lot of factors go into that which are obscured from our view.
Boras didn't set the world on fire. But he did have success in a limited capacity, without the time to install his own concepts and philosophy (we hope those weren't his concepts and philosophy all season long). At the least, he seemed a competent play-caller. As the staff beneath him takes shape, it could be that the playbook receives augments from that staff, or from other influences. We always want an upgrade, but there are no sure things in the NFL, in terms of what an upgrade looks like. A lot of us were excited to see Schotty gone, but I personally think we would have had a better shot at the playoffs if we'd kept him around. Hindsight is 20/20.
In any case, until Fisher goes, I don't think it's fair or helpful to pin our hopes on an OC flipping the scheme on its head. We'll get disappointed, and irrationally upset if we have those expectations. Look at our personnel. Which of our tight-ends is going to make Barnidge-type grabs? I think that's maybe the thing holding us back the most in the punting game. I mean passing. (FF-lurker creepy-wink). What we can be is ball-dominant, smart about managing downs and field-position, and aggressive about acquiring personnel who can bring balance and threat to the offense.
I want DeFilippo. But there's also the risk he falls on his face (our players seem to have a collective trait of being slow learners). If we roll with Boras, we have perhaps a just as good (if not greater) chance at success. What will really frustrate me is if we go into the 2016 regular season with Keenum or Foles the presumed starter (with the caveat that they don't show [for Foles monumental] improvement).