A bit of a surprise coaching firing this morning in the NFL, and it involves a former Pitt star.
According to Josina Anderson from CBS Sports, former Panther quarterback Alex Van Pelt has been fired as the offensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns. Anderson also reports that running backs coach Stump Mitchell and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney were also let go.
Van Pelt was part of Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski’s original staff in 2020. Keep in mind, although Van Pelt’s title was offensive coordinator, Stefanski called the offensive plays in Cleveland. Prior to being hired in Cleveland, Van Pelt was quarterbacks coach for both the Bengals and Packers.
Van Pelt was quarterback for the Pitt Panthers from 1989 through 1992 and when he graduated, Van Pelt held school passing records previously set by Hall of Famer Dan Marino. His single-season mark of 3,163 passing yards in 1992 was broken in 2003 by Rod Rutherford.
Following his collegiate career, Van Pelt was drafted in the 8th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers and after being cut, he went on to play for the Kansas Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. In his eleven-year career, Van Pelt made 11 starts, appeared in 31 games and threw 16 career touchdowns.
He spent the past four seasons since 2020 as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Browns. He also worked as quarterbacks coach for the Cincinnati Bengals (2018-19) and the Green Bay Packers (2014-17) with Aaron Rodgers under center. He also worked for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and (2010-11) and for the Buffalo Bills (2006-09) in a variety of roles.
AVP needs to be brought in as associate head coach right now. He’ll make a perfect succession plan for PN.