Cleveland Browns Land Surprising Offensive Line Coach

Just days after firing offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, the Browns found his replacement from the college ranks in former Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren

Dec 17, 2022; Mobile, AL, USA; Rice Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren watches a replay on the video board during the Lending Tree Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert McDuffie-Imagn Images / Robert McDuffie-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Browns wasted no time finding a replacement for their offensive line vacancy.

Just three days after parting ways with Andy Dickerson, the team looked to the college ranks to fill the void, officially naming former Rice Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren to the job.

“Mike has a wealth of knowledge and is extremely bright,” said head coach Kevin Stefanski via the team's release. “In addition to his NFL experience, he has worked in a number of pro-style offenses on the college level. He has proven to be successful as a teacher and motivator, which will be vital for our offensive line room. We are excited to add Mike to our coaching staff.”

We've named Mike Bloomgren as our new offensive line coach.

Welcome to Cleveland, Mike!

📰 » https://t.co/ahmUWRi906 pic.twitter.com/iEcWZ9LoSe

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 8, 2025

Bloomgren spent the last seven seasons as the head coach at Rice, but does have plenty of relevant NFL experience. The 47-year-old broke into the NFL in 2007 as an offensive quality control coach for the New York Jets. Two years later he was elevated to an offensive assistant, and then to an assistant offensive coordinator in 2010. Interestingly, he worked for the final three season under former Browns offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who was an assistant coach and o-line coach with New York.

After his time in the NFL, Bloomgren went back to college, spending seven years at Stanford where he initially served as an o-line coach for two seasons, before transitioning to offensive coordinator from 2013-17. Under his tutelage, Stanford recorded one of their most successful stretches in program history, winning eight or more games in each of his seasons and reaching the Pac-12 Football Championship four times.

The Cardinal won three conference titles with Bloomgren on the staff. He also helped develop 12 NFL Draft selections and 11 All-America selections at Stanford, including first round picks in G Joshua Garnett, who won the 2015 Outland Trophy, and Christian McCaffrey, who set the NCAA all-purpose yardage records and is considered one of the best backs in the NFL.

“I am excited about joining this organization,” said Bloomgren. “From the Haslams to the alignment with Andrew and Kevin, I think it’s an exciting time to be here. The commitment that they all have to making this place great, and making another playoff run, is everything I want to be a part of. I think as a coach, we exist for the players and that’s always going to be the case. I also think it’s our job to give them clear direction of how to do things. I know there’s a Hall of Fame player here in Joel Bitonio. I think there are some really good pieces, and we have to see exactly how they can fit and see exactly how this offense gets formed, but I am excited about the potential with that group.”

In total, Bloomgren brings in 26 years of coaching experience that he'll now bring to Cleveland. The Browns are still looking to hire an offensive coordinator after firing Ken Dorsey over the weekend as well.