The Cleveland Browns haven't exactly been "The Greatest Show on Turf" incarnate since they were brought back into existence back in 1999.
The Browns have failed to field even a middle-tier offense this century aside from a one-year aberration in 2007 when they ranked No. 8 in the NFL in scoring, and fixing the offense was one of Mike Holmgren's top priorities when he took over as team president late in the 2009 season. Holmgren hasn't seen much improvement in the two years since, but he told WKNR-AM on Wednesday he believes newly hired offensive coordinator Brad Childress is the right guy to bring excitement back into the Browns' offense.
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"Brad's an outstanding coach," Holmgren said via The Plain Dealer.
"I've known him a long time. When I first met him, I had just arrived in Green Bay and Brad was on the staff at the University of Wisconsin with Barry Alvarez and he had been friends with (Eagles coach) Andy Reid and so we knew some people and became pretty close. So that's about 20 years ago. (We had a) connection over the years because he worked for Andy in Philadelphia and Andy and I are very close.
"I thought he did a really great job in Minnesota in an unusual set of circumstances at the end. He came close to going to the Super Bowl. He's an excellent football coach, a very bright guy, knows how to coach quarterbacks. He's a tough guy, he demands a lot and I think it was a great hire for Pat (Shurmur)."
The Browns' offense this past season ranked 30th in scoring and 29th in yards as the team endured a slew of injuries and ineffective play from quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace.
McCoy missed the final three games of the season after sustaining a concussion on a brutal hit by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, and Holmgren said the second-year quarterback no longer is feeling the effects of the hit.
"He passed all of his tests," Holmgren said. "He's feeling fine and he has no residual effects from the play."