Why the Browns felt comfortable hiring Mike Bloomgren to reshape the offensive line

Deep dive into the experienced coach's background and mesh with the Browns perceived system change.

(Photo - Getty)

Apologies for the delay here, everyone. I like to thoroughly research these hires and go deep below the surface to discover the appeal the Browns have in a hire and what makes them the coach they are when arriving in Cleveland. I spent the last 24 hours researching the fascinating career of Mike Bloomgren and came away with a pretty simple understanding.

If the Browns goal is to get back to running the football as the foundation for their entire offensive process, they took a step in the right direction yesterday by hiring Bloomgren as their offensive line coach.

While the move carries some surprise, when you peel back the reasoning and appeal for the coach, it makes sense. For those throwing criticism looking at his absence from the NFL since 2010 or his collegiate head coaching record, stepping back and looking at the big picture is necessary.

This is as important a hire for the Browns as any they have made over the last few years and with the hire comes a clear motivation. The group needed to change how they attacked running the ball and maximizing their talent. Bloomgren has the skill-set to be able to help in both phases of the role.

First, let’s hit on some background. Bloomgren cut his coaching teeth at Florida State as an undergrad assistant finishing his degree. He played tight end at the lower collegiate level but spent him formative college years learning under Bobby Bowden.

He parlayed that experience into some small college offensive coordinator roles alongside coaching offensive line and that helped him work on developing comprehensive gameplans as a young coach — an invaluable experience for the long-term. Working through all eleven positions and how to teach scheme and formulate comprehensive plans for play-calling is impactful at that age.

He caught his big break in 2007 when he was lucky enough to land an interview with the New York Jets and drove all the way to New York to make it happen. Following a 12 hour interview he returned home and a few days later was offered the role of “offensive quality control” for $45,000 on Eric Mangini’s staff but no insurance came with it. Having just started a family he needed that insurance so he turned down the offer. The Jets called back a few hours later and offered insurance so he joined the NFL at the young age of 29.

He worked on staffs in New York from 2007 to 2010 that included Brian Daboll, Dan Quinn, Anthony Lynn, and Bill Callahan. Bloomgren developed a close rapport with Callahan and survived the coaching change to Rex Ryan, alongside Callahan to work into the assistant offensive coordinator role. Those years with Callahan helped shape his offensive line coaching and knowledge.

(Photo - Getty)

Then in 2011 David Shaw landed the Stanford head coaching job as Jim Harbaugh left for San Francisco and that led to an offer to become the Cardinal run game coordinator and offensive line coach. The foundation was in place and Stanford was ready to win right away with Andrew Luck and company. Bloomgren’s work there, eventually becoming the full offensive coordinator in 2013, was integral to Shaw’s success during the 2010’s which saw Stanford stay as competitive and consistent as any program in the country.

During that time he fielded plenty of NFL calls to coach offensive line for a franchise and the offers usually came with a lucrative number attached to it. But he had a desire to chase a head coaching opportunity and was patient inside the physical and tough program he helped build with Shaw.

Then in 2018, Rice University offered him a role he couldn’t turn down. He said it was the right time and right place so he took the role. Close connections to the program noted that Bloomgren’s departure led to Stanford’s downturn in success that started in 2018 through the end of Shaw’s tenure in 2022. They lost their core identity in the trenches and couldn’t recover it.

While Bloomgren’s tenure at Rice was just 24-52 he helped them to back-to-back Bowl seasons in 2022 and 2023 for the first time in over a decade at the school. If you know anything about Rice and their academic standards, it remains a tough school to consistently recruit and compete for championships.

Two of his offensive tackles transferred into the Power-4 programs in the last month. One of which you will see start for Ohio State next fall. There is no doubt he can develop talent up front.

The experience of getting a shot at a head coaching role was something Bloomgren always wanted and he gave it his best shot. It appears from his testimony that he is ready to return to just coaching ball and getting in the trenches. It is what he knows best.

Schematically Bloomgren is quite diverse in his run game approach. He has had years of experience in wide zone offenses at the NFL level working with Callahan and then also in the type of gap schemes the create diverse looks and point-of-attack advantages.

His Rice teams of late were big zone blocking teams. They would use lateral run game from the shotgun paired at times with RPO or option reads but they were able to work laterally at a high level for the types of players they had.

Let’s have a look at some tape.