The 2023 Cleveland Browns fared better than most people expected.
That’s why it’s not much of a surprise to see that one of their top assistants could land a new job pretty soon.
Shortly after being fired by the Browns, OC Alex Van Pelt became an intriguing candidate for several teams.
Now, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that he’s going to interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator gig (via Ian Rapoport on Twitter).
Former #Browns OC Alex Van Pelt is heading to Tampa to interview for the vacant #Bucs OC job today, source said. He’s also still in play in Las Vegas for #Raiders OC.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 29, 2024
The team lost Dave Canales to the Carolina Panthers’ head coaching job.
Van Pelt had been with the Browns for four years, serving as offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.
He helped the team make the playoffs despite having four different starting quarterbacks, which is perhaps the most notable work he’s done since he entered the league.
Even so, that wasn’t enough for the team to keep him around, and they decided to go through a bit of a coaching overhaul after their heartbreaking loss to C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans in the wild-card round.
He could now be reunited with Baker Mayfield, with whom he worked briefly in Berea.
Notably, Van Pelt will compete with former Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator Jake Peetz, and Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for the job, and he’s also reportedly in the mix to be the Las Vegas Raiders’ top offensive assistant.
As for the Browns, they’ve already replaced him with Ken Dorsey, who was fired in the middle of the 2023 season by the Buffalo Bills and replaced by Joe Brady.
NEXT: Stats Show Browns Made Positive Defensive Move Last Offseason
