The Browns crossed a top target off their list of head-coaching candidates Saturday and interviewed someone who fits the profile of an intellectual likely to subscribe to the organization’s strong commitment to analytics.
The Miami Dolphins hired former Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase as their new head coach Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, the Browns moved on with their search and confirmed in the afternoon they interviewed New England Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Gase, 37, was coveted by the Browns, who met with him Wednesday before they interviewed anyone else. Owner Jimmy Haslam had Gase on his radar for a couple of years. The Browns tried to interview Gase in 2014 before he removed himself from consideration to focus on a Super Bowl run with the Broncos, whose legendary quarterback and friend of Haslam, Peyton Manning, has endorsed Gase.
The Browns ultimately hired Mike Pettine two years ago. Haslam fired Pettine along with General Manager Ray Farmer last weekend as the team ended the season 3-13.
The Dolphins gave Gase control of their 53-man roster, power he wouldn’t have received with the Browns. Haslam announced last week that new executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown would have final say on the Browns’ 53-man roster.
If a report from Fox Sports comes to fruition, the Browns can eliminate another candidate with whom they have rendezvoused. According to the outlet, Dallas Cowboys secondary coach Jerome Henderson will join the Dolphins in the same role under soon-to-be new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, the defensive backs coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns interviewed Henderson for their head-coaching vacancy Friday. He coached their secondary from 2009-11.
The Browns confirmed they have interviewed candidates in the following order: Gase, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Jacksonville Jaguars assistant head coach/offensive line coach Doug Marrone, Henderson and Patricia.
The most recent interviewee might be the most intriguing of the bunch. Especially because Patricia would represent an out-of-the-box hire as a new Browns regime led by Brown and chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta aim to redefine the way NFL teams use analytics.
Patricia, 41, stands out on the Patriots’ sideline because of his bushy beard, but he’s better known behind the scenes for being a genius. The son of two teachers (his father was also a football coach), Patricia earned an aeronautical engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he played center on the offensive line.
In November, Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters Patricia is so smart he “could probably build a plane and fly it.”
He served as a graduate assistant coach at RPI, then made good money as an engineer for a couple of years in the late 1990s. At the same time, he also kept his coaching dream alive by volunteering at Syracuse University. He later worked for Amherst College, then reunited with Syracuse as a graduate assistant.
Belichick hired him in 2004 as a coaching assistant. According to a profile published Dec. 31 by the Boston Herald, Patricia convinced Belichick to abandon a pencil-and-paper method of logging game tape and computerized the Patriots’ film documentation.
Then he spent one season as an assistant offensive line coach, five guiding the linebackers and one tutoring the safeties before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2012. He’s held the title for four seasons.
The Patriots ranked ninth in total defense (339.4 yards allowed per game) — 17th against the pass (240.7) and ninth against the run (98.8) — and 10th in points allowed (19.7 per game) this season. The defense ranked 13th (344.1 yards allowed per game) in 2014, 26th (373.1) in 2013 and 25th (373.3) in 2012.
In a Boston Globe story published nearly a year ago, Patricia explained that work doesn’t give him much time to sleep. “Four hours is a good night,” he said.
“He’s relentless in trying to put us in the best possible position,” Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich told the Globe. “The hours that he puts in — unbelievable, and he’s never satisfied. He’s always trying to push me to be a better football player, and he knows how to push my buttons.”
Since Patricia joined the Patriots, they have appeared in the Super Bowl four times and won twice. They had won two Super Bowls under Belichick before Patricia’s arrival.
Should the Browns choose to hire Patricia, they would need to wait until the Patriots are done with the playoffs to strike a deal. They have a bye this weekend and will play a divisional game at home at 4:35 p.m. Jan. 16.
If the Patriots advance to the Super Bowl, the Browns could interview Patricia a second time after the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 24 and no later than Jan. 31, the Sunday preceding the Super Bowl.
Some who know Patricia believe he’s ready for the next step in his career.
“I think he’d be very well-suited to be a head coach one day,” former Patriots left tackle Matt Light told the Herald. “The coaching world in the NFL is a little bit of the good old boy world. He is definitely one of those who could break into it and probably do some pretty incredible things if he was so inclined.”
The Browns are reportedly scheduled to interview Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott on Sunday.
Other names linked to their search include Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, former Lions coach Jim Schwartz and former Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly.
Of the seven NFL teams seeking a head coach, the Dolphins became the first to fill their opening. They were scheduled to interview Patricia on Saturday but canceled because they reached a deal to secure Gase.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.