NFL coaching news & rumors: Browns hire Mike Pettine, end coaching carousel

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Fox and the Broncos will begin negotiations on a new contract after the Super Bowl, reports NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. According to Rapoport, the two sides are “confident” they will get a deal done and a Broncos source said “he’s perfect for us.”

Contract negotiations have been expected for some time, with rumors dating back to mid-December.

UPDATE 1:29 p.m. ET: Albert Breer of NFL Media reports that the Baltimore Ravens will announce the hiring of Gary Kubiak as their next offensive coordinator at 3 p.m. ET on Monday.

UPDATE 2:15 p.m. ET: ESPN’s Adam Schefter says former Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison will join Kubiak in Baltimore as the Ravens’ quarterbacks coach.

O’Neil has spent 2013 coaching the Bills’ linebackers under Mike Pettine, who was Buffalo’s defensive coordinator before being announced as the new head coach of the Browns last week. It was widely speculated after Pettine’s hiring that O’Neil could follow him over to Cleveland to serve as his defensive coordinator. Since O’Neil is still under contract with the Bills, the Browns had to wait for them to approve an interview.

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Early on in the search, McDaniels was reported to be highly coveted by owner Jimmy Haslam, but withdrew his name shortly after a 7½-hour interview with the team in early January. Apparently Cleveland executives weren’t satisfied with his initial refusal and rekindled their pursuit late in the process.

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Who’s out: Mark Dominik

Who’s in: Jason Licht

Cameron denied interest in the position when reached by NOLA.com.

“I don’t plan on going anywhere soon. I don’t want to uproot my family right now.”

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Browns owner Jimmy Haslam characterized his new head coach as having “a blue-collar work ethic,” adding that he believes Pettine “will be a perfect fit for out team and its fans.”

A quietly confident Pettine explained that he isn’t comfortable with the media, despite being in the spotlight with his father as a former coach and experiencing Hard Knocks while in Baltimore. “The sooner I can get off this stage and out of this suit, working on improving this team, the better,” Pettine said. He was quick to avoid comparison to Rex Ryan, ensuring the Cleveland media knew he wouldn’t be one for incendiary sound bytes, “Any of you expecting me to be like Rex Ryan will be mistaken. We were the opposite, personality wise. For many ways we were the perfect complement.”

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• Stephen White: The Seahawks and the value of hustle | Denver’s lessons

New York finished first in scoring and total defense during Pettine’s first season. The Jets ranked in the top 10 in total defense every season during his four years there, but dropped off in scoring defense. He left New York following the 2012 season, reportedly to get out from under Ryan’s shadow. Ryan is known as one of the better defensive coaches in the NFL, and going to Buffalo allowed Pettine to prove he could run a top defense on his own.

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Ian Rapoport of NFL Media is reporting that the two sides are currently trying to decide on the coordinators that Pettine will bring on.

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But wait! There’s more!

Ian Rapoport reported that Browns officials were in Florida on Wednesday morning interviewing a third candidate, reportedly former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano, per Scott Roussel of Football Scoop and Alex Marvez of Fox Sports.

His first priority will be rebuilding a defense that ranked 27th in the league in 2013, and Falcons’ blog The Falcoholic thinks he’s up to the challenge.

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Outside of McDaniels, Koetter would be the only current NFL coordinator to be interviewed by the Browns with previous head coaching experience. Koetter served as the head coach at Boise State from 1998-2000 and Arizona State from 2001-06. He won two Big West Conference titles with Boise State and had a 66-44 record as a head coach at the college level. He was also 4-2 in bowl games.

Under Koetter’s play-calling, the Falcons ranked eighth and 14th in 2012 and 2013, respectively. This season, the Falcons encountered an endless list of injuries on offense and defense, which makes Koetter’s unit’s ranking all that more impressive.

Brady and Belichick’s success over the last decade illustrates one of the NFL’s core truths: given a great coach and quarterback, any team can succeed. Six franchises have welcomed a new head coach since the end of the regular season (and one more is still searching), and each man’s first order of business will be solidifying a franchise quarterback to pair with.

Below are the seven teams that will have new coaches in 2014 and a breakdown of each one’s current quarterback situation.

The Cleveland Browns might have hit another snag in their head coaching search. Sources tell the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase is thinking about staying with his current team, rather than take the Browns job.

Gase has been the presumed front-runner for the Browns, who want to interview him once the Broncos are out of the playoffs. However, some in the league believe that Gase needs more coaching experience -- he’s only 35 years old and is in his first year as a coordinator. He would also be competing with other candidates for the job.

Horton is considered one of the top defensive minds in the league. He’s best known for his 3-4 defense, but is expected to run more of a hybrid system in Tennessee. During his two years in Arizona, the Cardinals fielded one of the best defenses in football. The Browns were less successful in his one year there, but they ranked ninth in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed.

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Haslett was originally hired in 2010 by Mike Shanahan, who was fired by the Redskins after a drama-filled 3-13 season.

While the decision has been rumored since Gruden was hired, the move is somewhat surprising given Washington’s defensive struggles under Haslett. They finished second to last in scoring defense in 2013, surrendering an average of 29.9 points per contest. They were in the bottom half of total yards allowed, passing yards and running yards.

“They can kind of portray you any way they want to,” Zimmer said. “On the field I’m going to be a fiery guy when I want to ... but I’m an honest guy.”

He added, “I’m going to be passionate on the field because that’s who I am.”

With Bisaccia as special teams coordinator, the Cowboys finished fourth in average kick return and fifth in punt return. Widely regarded as one of the top special teams coordinators in football, he could rapidly improve a Cleveland team that ranked 15th on special teams in 2013. However, it’s unconventional to see a head coach come from special teams coaching.

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Vital is the most experienced of the candidates and reportedly made a strong impression on new head coach Lovie Smith. Jason Licht, Marc Ross and Lake Dawson have also interviewed for the position.

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The Vikings need help on offense and defense, and the hope may be that Zimmer’s tough personality can permeate both sides of the ball. He certainly had a positive impact on his players as a defensive coordinator. Players seemed to adhere themselves to his brand of tough love. It’s a good sign that Adam “Pacman” Jones was among those wishing Zimmer luck after being hired away. When Jones signed with the Bengals in 2010, Zimmer’s brashness showed:

Zimmer also owns a strong reputation as a tactician. He ostensibly operates a base 4-3 defense, but he has shown looks as varied as the 3-3-5. The only consistent thread season-to-season has been the results. The Bengals finished 27th in the NFL in total defense in 2007, the year before Zimmer arrived. The next season they jumped to 12th, then went on to finish in the top 10 in four of the next five seasons.

1. Dennis Rodman’s North Korean star turn is not going to produce any kind of diplomatic breakthrough in a tense part of the world. Surprise. But if you look past what it is on the surface from the Western point of view -- another example of a ex-celebrity using a reality TV stunt to extend a career -- it’s a throwback to the Cold War days when petty tyrants would wrap themselves in kitsch and gaudy parades to assure people about progress in face of gulags and food rations.

Chud really laid it on thick, huh? All that excitement was for naught. Haslam and his “group of people” deposed Chudzinski hours after the last game of the season. In hindsight, his Combine presser looks like another cherished North Korean tradition: the forced confession.

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