Pat Shurmur Named Browns Coach

The Cleveland Browns named Pat Shumur as their new coach Thursday. Shurmur, 45, replaces the fired Eric Mangini and inherits a Cleveland team that finished 5-11 in 2010, good for third place in the AFC North.

Shurmur spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Rams, this year helping St. Louis orchestrate one of the NFL's biggest turnarounds behind rookie QB Sam Bradford. Prior to St. Louis, Shurmur was quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia (1999-2008). He also spent time as an assistant coach at Michigan State and Stanford.

"I am extremely excited about having Pat Shurmur as the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns," Browns president Mike Holmgren said in a statement. "Pat is a bright, young man who grew up in football and around the coaching profession. I came away from our interview very impressed with him as a person, his extensive knowledge of the game and his track record of success as an assistant coach in this league. Most importantly, I feel as though he possesses the necessary qualities which make him the right man to lead our football team."

The Browns showed signs of life in Holmgren's first season as team president, winning four out of six games during a mid-season stretch to nearly offset a 1-5 start. But Cleveland lost its last four, including a 41-9 Week 17 blowout at Pittsburgh.

Shurmur's biggest task will be furthering the development of Colt McCoy, who struggled at times during his rookie season. In addition to mentoring Bradford, Shurmur also had a major hand in Donovan McNabb's success in Philadelphia.

"It's an honor and a privilege to join an organization with such a rich history and tradition as the Cleveland Browns," Shurmur said in a statement. "I have the utmost respect for coach Holmgren and Tom Heckert, and I am impressed with the direction in which they have this franchise going. ...

"I am looking forward to this challenge and can't wait to get started in helping to build the Browns back to one of the elite teams in the NFL."

Cleveland has not been to the playoffs since the 2002 season, and the Browns have had just one winning season in that stretch -- a 10-6 mark in 2008.