In his two years with the Browns, O'Neil was viewed as
Mike Pettine's buddy who was suddenly given a title promotion as "defensive coordinator." In 2014, the Browns' secondary was stout, but the run defense was among the worst in football. What little success the Browns had was attributed to Pettine anyway, who was a defensive coach. This year, Pettine stepped away from the defense, allowing O'Neil a chance to grow into his role. Instead, pretty much every facet of the defense was terrible.
The run defense was gashed most of the year. The secondary was as bad as I've seen since 1999, and that includes CB
Joe Haden when he was in the lineup. None of the team's rookies had breakout seasons, and players like
Paul Kruger and
Barkevious Mingo were utilized in roles that didn't seem to play to their strengths. The stunning lack of development of the team's young players also stood out as a negative on O'Neil's resume. I thought he'd be lucky to walk into a job as a position coach again, but to lock up a
defensive coordinator position again? Preposterous. To me, it seems like
Chip Kelly is hiring another castoff from the Browns who isn't prominent, and therefore can't overshadow him: