Yet another college football coach with a high-ranking position is leaving college to take a job in the NFL. This time, it’s the Cleveland Browns who are prying an offensive coordinator out of the college ranks.
According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, UConn offensive coordinator Nick Charlton is leaving the program to join the team as an offensive assistant and run-game specialist. The Huskies went 3-9 in 2023 after winning six games the year before and making their first bowl game since 2015.
“Sources: UConn offensive coordinator Nick Charlton is leaving for the Cleveland Browns, where he will be the offensive assistant/run-game specialist. He’s the former head coach at Maine (2019-21), where he was the youngest head coach in Division I,” Thamel wrote.
Charlton is only 35 years old and previously served as head coach at Maine from 2019 to 2021, going 14-13 in three seasons and serving as one of the youngest FBS coaches at the time.
Charlton has over a decade of coaching experience, nearly all in the New England area, first as a graduate assistant at Boston College and then four years at Maine as an assistant before becoming their head coach.
But he hasn’t yet crossed over into the NFL until now. With the league engaging in a youth movement among coaches, Charlton has a golden opportunity to prove himself at the highest level and potentially work his way up the ladder at a pretty young age.
Who will Jim Mora find to replace Charlton as his offensive coordinator now?