The Cleveland Browns are set to hire Kevin O’Connell as the team’s quarterbacks coach. The operative word here is “set.”
O’Connell—known as a quarterback guru of sorts—has yet to be officially named to that position on the Browns coaching staff.
And there’s a solid reason for this.
O’Connell is working with 2015 NFL draft prospect and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota in San Diego in the lead up to the scouting combine in Indianapolis next week.
NFL rules limit the amount and type of interaction teams can have with NFL draft prospects heading into the annual event. By waiting to hire O’Connell, the Browns are obviously attempting to use a loophole in the league’s rules to acquire an advantage over other teams when it comes to scouting the Oregon product.
Whether this will end up morphing into “Textgate” or anything of that magnitude remains to be seen, but Cleveland’s actions here are not going unnoticed.
Cleveland boasts the 12th and 19th picks in the upcoming draft. While Mariota will likely be long gone before either of those selections, the team possesses the capability of trading up for the prized quarterback prospect
Photo: USA Today