Offensive Line Coach Mike Bloomgren (12.19.25)
What kind of challenges has it been for you to have to deal with all the upheaval on the offensive line over the past few weeks?
“Upheaval? Well, Mary Kay (Cabot), we know that’s this league. We know that, like, injuries are part of our game, and it’s always got to be next man up. This has been the most challenging year of my coaching career, quite frankly. Has not been easy, a lot of change going on around the room. But again, these guys do step up and they keep fighting, and they overcommunicate line scrimmage for the new people, and they try to do everything to get everybody on the same page. I’m so thankful for the guys in the room and the character of the room. I love having Coach Ben Wilkerson in there, Coach Sanders Davis in there, and I don’t think I can put into words the impact that Joel Bitonio has on the room. You know, he is a player-coach. Like, he is doing so many roles, he is so good. And that room collectively grows these young players, and that’s why when a guy like Garrett (Dellinger) gets thrown in with a battlefield promotion, gets promoted to the active roster on Saturday and then comes in the game on Sunday and has a pretty good game, because this room has been growing him. And they do care so much about each other, and that’s been one of the really fun things.”
Mike, you talked in the offseason about how excited you were to get to work with Joel. Now that you’ve almost had a full season, can you describe how much maybe it’s exceeded expectations?
“Yeah, I knew the gift that it would be, but it has far exceeded that. It has been one of the joys of my coaching career and honors of my coaching career to get to work with Joel.”
You talk to him about coming back next year?
“Not yet. It’s coming.”
Mike, how have you seen Luke (Wypler) step into the starting role at center and really learn throughout the whole season to be ready for this?
“Yeah, Luke has prepared like a starter all year. He’s a guy that has also been very coach-like for a long time. You know, he had the moniker of Coach Wyp, and sometimes it was positive, sometimes it was not. But no, all jokes aside, the kid prepares like a pro, he does things the right way. And because of that, that has allowed him to step in and really lead us and get us on the same page. Because I do think, like, we have all got to see the game through one set of eyes, and it’s going to be the centers. And the things that our centers are doing right now, from protections and cans at the line of scrimmage and some of the things we’re putting on them, like, you cannot just throw any random guy in there. It’s a guy that’s got to know the game plan and own the game plan inside and out, and he’s doing a good job with that. And I think some of that is the way he prepares – I think some of it is being under Ethan Pocic. You know, Po was amazing in his preparation and his attention to detail in the game plan. You talk about the culture of the room, again, like, I don’t know if the story’s been told, but with Po on the ground, not even in the cart yet, he’s telling Wyp what to expect and what this means when this hands down, and he’s giving every tip that he’s learned from the first half of that game. And again, that’s who Po is – Po just loves the Browns, he loves his teammates and was trying to give Wyp every answer he could to the test.”
When you guys made that decision a few weeks ago to rotate Wyatt (Teller) and Teven (Jenkins) first, what did you want to see out of Teven? And then what was your message to Wyatt?
“You know, I think Kev (Stefanski) spoke to that and really done a good job kind of summing that up. For Wyatt, just like everybody, we’re always talking about what can we do to get these guys to play even better? Like, to be the best version of himself every week. And that was really the challenge to Wyatt, it’s like, ‘hey man, we know the player that you are, we want to get it out of you every play.’”
Mike, we’ve been talking to some guys and coaches this week about some of those post-snap rotations, especially on the defensive front, when they show the everybody at the line and they come back up out of it. As somebody that oversees the offensive line, what are some of the teaching points? And it’s tough – you don’t know who is gonna come, if everyone’s going to come or not. So, what are some of the teaching points that you make sure that you ‘mitigate the damage’, so to speak?
“Yeah, I think it’s a great question. And some of it, like, I certainly can’t tell you before this game, but there are some things that we’re seeing. But the biggest thing is, like, you got to know, like, those guys in the back end, they have 30 years of collective experience playing under Sean (McDermott), in Sean’s system – and they lie to you very often with their initial alignment. So again, seeing all the tips that we can pre-snap from everybody’s alignment right on down the line, those are things that got to talk to us. And they do a very good job of not just the safeties, not just the corners, but the linebackers as well, really not telling the story pre-snap.”
How vital is post-snap awareness for an offensive lineman? You might be anticipating something and then something else happens, how big and how important is it for you guys for them to have post-snap awareness to allow them to adjust on the fly?
“Absolutely critical. And that’s the nice thing about some of our combinations, our ability to see a little, see a lot, see a lot, see nothing, and making sure that their eyes are in the right place so that we can get to that secondary response. We’ve talked in here about AAA before – alignment, assignment, and adjustment. And for an offensive lineman that’s so key, is knowing what that adjustment is going to be, anticipating about what you see pre-snap, but certainly being able to react post-snap as that ball turns over in those fractional seconds of getting to our work and making sure we’re giving a path to Q (Quinshon Judkins) in the run game. Protectionally, picture’s gonna change, too. Like, we know that. And look, that’s life in the big city – we get it. But we’ve got to know where our eyes need to be so that we can do our job.”
When you’re talking about Joel and mentioning that you will talk to him about coming back next year. How high a level is he playing at this year in his 12th season or whatever it is?
“Yeah, I wouldn’t trade him for anybody – that’s the bottom line. Not just how I’ve talked about feeling about him in the meeting room and what he does for the Browns, but his play on Sundays has been awesome. And I don’t know, like, I don’t know what qualifies you for a Pro-Bowl, we’ve talked about all these things, like, but if he’s not it, they’re not seeing what we’re seeing. Like, he does so much for the Browns. The other thing, like, that goes without being talked about much, you guys are at practice, you see, like, day’s he’s practicing and day’s he’s not, and his ability, because of his experience, to just jump in there on Sundays and do his job when he couldn’t walk on a Tuesday is crazy. Like, I’m just blown away by him every week, the way that he fights for the Browns and his teammates. So much respect for Joel Bitonio.”
I think that Ethan was helping with sliding the protections when he was in there for the first few games of Shedeur (Sanders). And with him not in there, what have you guys done with the sliding protection responsibility?
“So, Wyp’s still doing a ton of things for us. Wyp’s seeing a lot of it and really driving the ship. That’s what we put on the center position now and he’s doing a great job with it.”
Cam’s (Robinson) come in there at that left tackle spot, and he’s been one of the guys that, like Joel, has become a stable piece relatively. How have you seen him adjust and solidify himself over there?
“What qualifies a stable piece in 2025? Play two games in a row?”
Pretty much.
“Okay. Yeah no, Cam has been absolutely phenomenal as well. You know, you trade for somebody in the middle of the year and you hear rumors about who somebody is. Cam Robinson is freaking awesome. He is a football player; he does everything the right way. Like, he’s been a joy to work with, and I’m certainly glad that he’s been a stable piece.”
When you talk openly and saying how it’s been the most challenging year of your career, right? But then you’re raving about these guys. So, is it strictly the fact that you don’t know who’s going to be out there for you that has made this so challenging?
“Yeah, I think that, I think different quarterbacks make it challenging when they have different cadences and different ways of doing things. Like, there’s been a lot of adjustment for a room. I think as coaches and as offensive linemen, like, we’re creatures of habit, we’d love for everything to stay constant. That’s not the life that we live, we get it, but we can still want. And I was so fortunate, like, I had years at Stanford – I think I had, like, three years in a row where I started the same five guys and never had anybody miss a play. And so, I was a better coach then, you know? And look, we’ve had guys thrown in that have entered the building that are taking reps with the ones the day they get here in the last couple weeks, and that’s not the continuity you want. You want those five guys getting every rep together in practice because they’re so meaningful. Like, practice is everything, and then you hope that it transfers to the game the right way. So, I guess that’s what I mean, is there’s just been so much change and it’s been difficult, it’s not how anybody wants it to be. We know it’s a reality, but it’s not what you want. And it’s been challenging because we’ve gotten different people ready to play, we’ve had to make some of those adjustments that I talked about with who’s under center, and those things are just challenging. And we all want success, like it’s a win business. We’re in it to win and you just want your room to perform at such a high level that it helps elevate the team to do so.”
You talked about center position helping some of those calls for Shedeur, where to slide and things like that. I know that’s like a learning process for any young quarterback especially and I’ve talked to Joel about that a little bit. How do those conversations go during the week, where like he’s talking with the O-line, getting on the same page as them, obviously without giving any too detailed away. But what are those conversations? How have you seen him also pick up some things as he started more and more?
“Yeah, I’ve seen him ask better questions every week, and trying to understand exactly how we’re handling things and wanting to be involved in those conversations. Like today, we just completed a walk through and he was like…just going back to yesterday, ‘who is handling that element?’ And like those are great questions. Quarterbacks want to know where they’re protected, that’s not too much to ask. But him being completely in tune to it is something that’s going to continue to allow him to take steps. And so, I do think that he’s doing a nice job. I think the communication between the line, but also like just knowing like Tommy (Rees) and Mus (Bill Musgrave) and what they do with him and how they’re growing this young quarterback has been cool to see.”
What are some of the things that that you’ve worked on with KT (Leveston) and where have you seen the improvement, especially as he gotten back-to-back starts at right tackle?
“Yeah, I think KT’s had some great growth there. You know, we think back early in the season and where some of the silent count was really getting him and he wasn’t able to really do his job, he wasn’t able to set square and land his punch, and now he’s doing those things better. Like he is a strong young man and has great power when he gets his hands on you in protection, and he can move you in the run game. And we just gotta allow him to continue to do what he does best – play in and play out and then continue to grow on the things that he’s not as proficient at and he’s working at it.”
Do you feel like that right tackle is maybe the perfect platform for him? I know he’s moved around, even played at guard. Do you think right tackle is the right spot for him?
“You know, I think that’s a great question for the offseason because I do think he has position flex, but right now as long as he keeps growing at right tackle, I’m going to be pleased.”
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