From NFL.com
The Cleveland Browns hired Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski to be the 14th head coach in franchise history and he vowed Friday to bring his favorite boyhood team a winner.
The team made the announcement Thursday night, ending a search that included Oregon coach Chip Kelly and former Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt, among others.
Chudzinski received a four-year contract worth slightly more than $3 million per year, The Plain Dealer reported.
"I am excited about this opportunity," Chudzinski, 44, said Friday at a news conference in Cleveland. "I'm excited about the chance to bring back what I grew up in and the feeling that this city, this region and this area has in the Cleveland Browns.
"I was the kid in the backyard playing and pretending I was Ozzie Newsome, Brian Sipe or the greats that played for Cleveland. The tradition of this franchise is such that the people here want a winner. I would not miss the chance for the world. We're going to win here. "
Chudzinski, a Toledo, Ohio, native, spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator of the Panthers. He served as offensive coordinator of the Browns in 2007-08 and had a previous stint with Cleveland in 2004 as tight ends coach. Chudzinski also was an assistant with the San Diego Chargers in 2005-06 and 2009-10.
Chudzinski replaces Pat Shurmur, who was fired as head coach after the Browns finished 5-11 this season.
Norv Turner is expected to be named the Browns' offensive coordinator, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Turner, who was fired Dec. 31 as head coach of the San Diego Chargers, will be reunited with Chudzinski. The two worked together in San Diego during the 2009 and 2010 seasons before Chudzinski left to become the Carolina Panthers' offensive coordinator.
