NFL · 1 hour ago

Cleveland Browns 2014 Coaching Factory

Bo Marchionte

Host · Writer

2014 Cleveland Browns: Assistant Secondary/Safeties Bobby Babich
Current Role: Secondary Coach/Pass Game Coordinator

Babich was the Bills defensive coordinator between 2024-25, prior to his current job with Green Bay.

Beginning his career at Kent State in 2006 (graduate assistant), Babich didn’t reach the coaching heights of others on the Browns staff in 2014 but gradually advanced his duties.

Head Coaching Interviews
- None
2014 Cleveland Browns: Head Coach Mike Pettine
Ironically, the most fascinating football story I heard all day didn’t come inside the walls of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

It came over coffee roughly a half mile down the road after speaking with the Steelers’ new collection of assistant coaches.

Somewhere between discussing defensive versatility, evolving schemes and Pittsburgh’s reshaped staff, a friend casually mentioned the 2014 Cleveland Browns and suddenly the conversation shifted from football team to football laboratory.

The 2014 Cleveland Browns didn’t become a football dynasty.

They became something stranger.

A coaching incubator.

At first glance, that 7-9 Browns team looked forgettable. The season collapsed after a promising start. The quarterback situation spiraled. Front-office dysfunction hovered over the franchise like a permanent storm cloud.

By the end, Mike Pettine’s tenure already felt unstable. He would be fired after a 3-14 campaign the following season.

Yet hidden beneath the wreckage was one of the most absurd collections of coaching talent the modern NFL has ever accidentally assembled.

Five head coaches emerged from the staff and possibly more on the horizon.

Mike Pettine: The Connector
At the center of it all was Mike Pettine, a defensive-minded coach who came from the Rex Ryan school of organized chaos. Pettine’s Browns didn’t survive long-term, but his ability to assemble coaching talent now looks remarkable in hindsight.

He didn’t just hire assistants.

He accidentally built a future NFL pipeline of head coaches.

Head Coaching Experience

2014-15

Wins 10

Losses 22
2014 Cleveland Browns: Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan
Current Role: Head Coach, San Francisco 49ers

Before becoming one of the NFL’s defining offensive architects, Shanahan spent one season in Cleveland attempting to construct offense around instability at quarterback. Even then, coaches around the league already viewed him differently. His run-game creativity, formation stress and pre-snap manipulation stood out long before the rest of football fully caught up.

Today, Shanahan’s offense has become one of the league’s most copied systems. Motion-heavy concepts, wide-zone principles and matchup creation now dominate football partly because of his influence.

Head Coaching Experience
- 2017-Current: San Francisco
- Wins 82
- Losses 67
2014 Cleveland Browns: Wide Receivers Mike McDaniel
Current Role: Los Angels Chargers, Offensive Coordinator

Back then, McDaniel was barely known outside league circles. He was viewed as the quirky, hyper-intelligent assistant buried deep inside offensive game-planning meetings.

Now he’s one of the NFL’s most recognizable coaches.

McDaniel helped shape the modern speed-and-space attack currently terrorizing defenses in Miami. His rise from Browns receivers coach to offensive innovator perfectly reflects how much football intelligence existed inside that 2014 building.

Head Coaching Experience
- 2022-25 Miami Dolphins
- Wins 35
- Loses -33
2014 Cleveland Browns: Assistant Defensive Backs Aaron Glenn
Current Role: Head Coach, New York Jets

Few coaches have risen faster recently than Glenn.

Formerly viewed as an energetic secondary coach with leadership traits, Glenn evolved into one of the league’s most respected defensive coordinators in Detroit before landing a head coaching opportunity. Players gravitate toward him because he teaches aggressively while still connecting personally.

His defenses reflect his personality: physical, emotional and unapologetically violent. While his first season with the Jets wasn’t flattering, Glenn’s second season in New York brings much anticipation after 2026 NFL Draft yielded a lot of projected talent.

Head Coaching Experience
- 2025-Current
- Wins 3
- Losses -14
2014 Cleveland Browns: Secondary Jeff Hafley
Current Role: Head Coach Miami Dolphins

During the 2026 hiring cycle, Hafley was one of the hottest head coaching candidates on the market. His reputation has always centered around aggressive defensive teaching and secondary versatility traits now valued more than ever in today’s NFL.

Prior to last season, he was also reported to have been interviewed for the New York Jets head coaching vacancy in the 2025 offseason.

Hafley took an interesting route. After helping develop Cleveland’s secondary, he climbed through college football, eventually becoming head coach at Boston College before returning to the NFL.

Head Coaching Interviews (2026)
- Miami Dolphins
- Tennessee Titans
- Atlanta Falcons
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Arizona Cardinals
2014 Cleveland Browns: Offensive Intern Mike LaFleur
Current Role: Head Coach, Arizona Cardinals

At the time, Mike LaFleur was simply an offensive intern grinding through film and game-planning responsibilities.

Today he’s considered part of the larger Shanahan coaching tree that continues spreading throughout football.

However, it was in 2014 he got his feet wet under Mike Pettine.

His offensive concepts and quarterback work helped elevate his reputation quickly around the league.

Head Coaching Interviews (2026)
- Arizona Cardinals
- Las Vegas Raiders
2014 Cleveland Browns: Special Teams Coordinator Chris Tabor
Current Role: Miami Dolphins, Special Teams Coordinator

Tabor began coaching Benton High School in St. Joseph, Missouri back in 1993.

Four years later he was in Missouri as a graduate assistant with the Tigers.

It didn't take long for Tabor continued his climb up the coaching ranks to the NFL in Chicago with the Bears between 2008-10.

Pettine retained Tabor who was on staff in Cleveland in 2011 to 2017.

In 2023, he replaced Carolina head coach Frank Reich as the interim coach for the Panthers.

Head Coaching Experience (Interim)
- 2023: Six games
- Wins 1
- Losses 5
2014 Cleveland Browns: Defensive Line Coach Anthony Weaver
Current Role: Defensive Coordinator, Baltimore Ravens

Weaver quietly became one of the most respected defensive minds in football after years developing defensive fronts around the league. Coaches consistently rave about his leadership, communication and ability to adapt schemes weekly.

Head Coaching Interviews (2026)
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Baltimore Ravens
- Buffalo Bills
- Pittsburgh Steelers
2014 Cleveland Browns: Tight Ends Brian Angelichio
Current Role: Offensive Coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers

Long before landing in Pittsburgh as offensive coordinator, Brian Angelichio was part of Pettine’s Cleveland operation coaching tight ends.

Angelichio’s career path reflects how respected he became internally around the league. Coaches consistently valued his ability to maximize tight end usage and adapt systems around personnel strengths.

Now he inherits a Steelers offense loaded with tight end talent. Many expect Steelers Pat Freiermuth to have a breakout season in 2026.

Head Coaching Interviews
- None
2014 Cleveland Browns: Assistant Linebackers Coach, Brian Fleury
Current Role: Offensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks

He replaces Klint Kubiak the Raiders new head coach in Las Vegas as the defending champion Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator.

Fleury was another lesser-known but intriguing name embedded inside Mike Pettine’s 2014 Cleveland Browns coaching staff, serving as an assistant linebacker’s coach during that season.

His only pro football experience was in 2013 in Buffalo serving as the Bills quality control coach. Playing quarterback at both Maryland and Towson, he went undrafted in 2003 and found himself back at Maryland as an intern and graduate assistant.

Head Coaching Interviews
- None
2014 Cleveland Browns: Quarterback Coach Dowell Loggains
Current Role: Head Coach, Appalachian State University

Loggains spent time with five NFL teams spending time as a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator.

His last NFL season was in 2020 before he began his climb up the college ranks. Arriving at Arkansas as their tight ends coach in 2021, he spent another season with the Razorbacks.

Another two years spent in South Carolina as the QB/OC, before taking over at App State in 2025.

Head Coaching Experience (Collegiate Only)
- 2025-Current: App State
- Wins 5
- Losses 8
- Bowls 0-1
2014 Cleveland Browns: Assistant Secondary/Safeties Bobby Babich
Current Role: Secondary Coach/Pass Game Coordinator

Babich was the Bills defensive coordinator between 2024-25, prior to his current job with Green Bay.

Beginning his career at Kent State in 2006 (graduate assistant), Babich didn’t reach the coaching heights of others on the Browns staff in 2014 but gradually advanced his duties.

Head Coaching Interviews
- None
2014 Cleveland Browns: Head Coach Mike Pettine
Ironically, the most fascinating football story I heard all day didn’t come inside the walls of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

It came over coffee roughly a half mile down the road after speaking with the Steelers’ new collection of assistant coaches.

Somewhere between discussing defensive versatility, evolving schemes and Pittsburgh’s reshaped staff, a friend casually mentioned the 2014 Cleveland Browns and suddenly the conversation shifted from football team to football laboratory.

The 2014 Cleveland Browns didn’t become a football dynasty.

They became something stranger.

A coaching incubator.

At first glance, that 7-9 Browns team looked forgettable. The season collapsed after a promising start. The quarterback situation spiraled. Front-office dysfunction hovered over the franchise like a permanent storm cloud.

By the end, Mike Pettine’s tenure already felt unstable. He would be fired after a 3-14 campaign the following season.

Yet hidden beneath the wreckage was one of the most absurd collections of coaching talent the modern NFL has ever accidentally assembled.

Five head coaches emerged from the staff and possibly more on the horizon.

Mike Pettine: The Connector
At the center of it all was Mike Pettine, a defensive-minded coach who came from the Rex Ryan school of organized chaos. Pettine’s Browns didn’t survive long-term, but his ability to assemble coaching talent now looks remarkable in hindsight.

He didn’t just hire assistants.

He accidentally built a future NFL pipeline of head coaches.

Head Coaching Experience

2014-15

Wins 10

Losses 22

undefined Game Odds

May 28 1:10 PM

SpreadMoneyTotal

LAA

+1.5

+110

O 8.5

DET

-1.5

-130

U 8.5

May 28 2:10 PM

SpreadMoneyTotal

MIN

+1.5

+128

O 7.5

CWS

-1.5

-152

U 7.5

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