4:51pm: The Browns have officially hired DeFilippo, the team announced this afternoon in a press release.
1:14pm: DeFilippo’s deal with the Browns will be for three years, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com, who hears that coaches and execs around the league view the hire as a “home run” for the Browns (Twitter links).
9:55am: The Browns have made a decision on their new offensive coordinator, according to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports, who reports (via Twitter) that the team is hiring former Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to fill the position. According to Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com (via Twitter), DeFilippo could be formally introduced by the team by the end of the week.
Since parting ways with previous offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, the Browns have conducted an extensive search that saw the team linked to current and former coaches like Marc Trestman, Jim Hostler, Brian Angelichio, Anthony Lynn, Frank Cignetti, Tom Clements, and Mike Martz, among others. Reports within the last 24 hours indicated that Cleveland would no longer be interviewing Al Saunders and Marty Mornhinweg, as had been expected, which was a sign that a decision was close.
While DeFilippo was never identified as the frontrunner, he also interviewed for the job a year ago when the team chose Shanahan, and had an “outstanding” interview at that point, per head coach Mike Pettine (Twitter link via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal).
Improbably, DeFilippo is the second offensive coach from the 2014 Raiders to be hired as an offensive coordinator today — former Oakland offensive coordinator Greg Olson landed the same job in Jacksonville. As I pointed out when discussing Olson’s hiring, the Raiders’ offense wasn’t overly effective in recent years, finishing 30th overall in DVOA in 2014.
Still, Olson and DeFilippo were working with a first-year quarterback in David Carr, and didn’t have a ton of playmakers at their disposal. Now, both coaches will get the opportunity to work with other top 2014 draftees, as Olson is paired with Blake Bortles in Jacksonville while DeFilippo will join Johnny Manziel in Cleveland.