The Cleveland Browns are updating their 2024 roster through trades and free agency this week, and they have also decided to upgrade their coaching staff.
Cleveland Browns Hire Nick Charlton
According to Pete Thamel from ESPN, the Cleveland Browns are set to hire Nick Charlton, the offensive coordinator from UConn. Charlton will be the Browns’ offensive assistant/run game specialist.
Sources: UConn offensive coordinator Nick Charlton is leaving for the Cleveland Browns, where he will be the offensive assistant/run-game specialist. He’s the former head coach at Maine (2019-21), where he was the youngest head coach in Division I.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) March 13, 2024
Thamel also stated that Charlton was the head coach at Maine from 2019 to 2021, where he was the youngest coach in Division One football.
Browns Made A Lot Of Coaching Moves This Offseason
The Browns went through a series of coaching moves this offseason, moving on from quarterback/offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, running back coach Stump Mitchell, and tight end coach T.C. McCartney.
Cleveland hired former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey to the same role, running backs coach Duce Staley, and Alabama’s former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees as tight end coach.
Deshaun Watson Has To Figure It Out
The Browns are trying to change the offensive game plan after quarterback Deshaun Watson hasn’t looked great in two years in the current offense.
Watson was suspended for 11 games in 2022 and only started six games in 2023 due to a shoulder injury, so he had a limited amount of time to play, but when he was in there, he didn’t look the best. It didn’t help that veteran quarterback Joe Flacco came in late into the season without playing a game and flourished in the offense that Watson was struggling with.
If Watson and the Browns don’t figure it out this season, it will not be pretty in Cleveland heading into 2025, so the organization is doing everything it can to make sure Watson is in the perfect offense this year.
Watson was traded for three first-round picks and a bunch of other picks and was given 230 million dollars guaranteed, so if he doesn’t work out, the Browns will be set back a handful of years.