The Cleveland Browns reportedly have a new offensive coordinator, and it's a familiar face: former Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, as reported by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
The #Browns have agreed to terms with #Bengals QB coach Alex Van Pelt, source says. Cleveland takes a good one from a division rival. https://t.co/h43FlbmFDu
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 30, 2020
Van Pelt, 49, has served as Cincinnati's quarterbacks coach for each of the past two seasons. A longtime backup quarterback during his playing days, Van Pelt entered the league as an eighth-round pick out of Pitt, spending time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs before settling in with the Buffalo Bills organization, whom he would suit up for from 1994-2003.
Van Pelt quickly transitioned into a coaching career, serving as the quarterbacks coach for numerous NFL franchises, including the Bills (2008-09), Buccaneers ('10-11), Packers ('14-17) and Bengals ('18-19). His only other prior experience as an offensive coordinator came in '09 with the Bills.
Cincinnati finished the 2019 regular season averaging 323.1 yards of offense per game, the seventh-lowest mark in the league. The team scuffled mightily at the quarterback position, fluctuating between established veteran Andy Dalton and unproven youngster Ryan Finley.
Much like the Bengals, the Browns coaching staff has undergone considerable change already to this point in the off-season. Kevin Stefanski has been brought in to attempt to turn around the Cleveland organization after a disappointing 6-10 season saw Freddie Kitchens dismissed from his role after just one season.
Van Pelt and Stefanski have not yet worked alongside one another on an NFL coaching staff, but they will attempt to spark an offense led by quarterback Baker Mayfield and star wideouts Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.
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