The Norman Transcript

National Sports

January 12, 2013

Browns go with Panther playcaller

CLEVELAND — Rob Chudzinski’s roots run 44 years deep with the Browns.

As a kid, he buckled on his orange helmet and ran around his backyard in Toledo, Ohio, pretending he was Ozzie Newsome. He sat outside in the snow and watched Cleveland games on TV through the window to make it feel like he was in the Dawg Pound.

On Friday, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came true for Chudzinski, who was introduced as the Browns’ sixth fulltime coach since 1999.

After interviewing several high-profile candidates, including Oregon coach Chip Kelly, former Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt and other top coordinators, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner picked Chudzinski, who spent the past two years as Carolina’s offensive coordinator.

Eagles will interview Gruden: The Philadelphia Eagles will interview Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden on Monday.

The team already has interviewed seven candidates since firing Andy Reid on Dec. 31, and has permission to speak to two other coordinators.

Gruden, the younger brother of Jon Gruden, just finished his second season in Cincinnati. He previously served as an offensive assistant on his brother’s staff in Tampa Bay from 2002-08.

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