AFC North blog
Walker ESPN.com's James Walker writes about all things AFC North in his division blog.
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The sources said Cleveland hopes to hammer out a contract with Shurmur within the next 48 hours and introduce Shurmur as coach at a news conference by Friday.
The deal should not be difficult to close, since Browns president Mike Holmgren, general manager Tom Heckert, executive vice president Bryan Wiedmeier and Shurmur all have the same agent, Bob Lamonte.
LaMonte arrived at team headquarters Thursday to negotiate a contract for Shurmur with Holmgren.
If Shurmur's deal falls through, the Browns could turn to former Panthers coach John Fox, who spent Wednesday interviewing with the Broncos. Cleveland already has interviewed Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell, but Shurmur, 45, is the candidate who has commanded the most attention.
Holmgren likes Shurmur and what he can bring to the Browns, according to the sources.
Although he lacks head coaching experience, Shurmur's background running a West Coast offense and working with young quarterbacks is appealing to Holmgren, who set out on his search determined to "find exactly the right person for the job who can eventually someday lead us to the championship. That is my only goal."
Holmgren wants to expand Cleveland's offense, which languished under Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.US News Paper
