Two years ago, Kurt Roper was the offensive coordinator when Duke enjoyed a historic season and took on Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Apparently, Roper liked what he saw from Manziel, who led the Aggies to a dramatic 52-48 comeback win. The 42-year old reportedly was hired by the Browns Monday as a senior offensive assistant to work with Manziel, who made headlines earlier in the day for entering treatment to improve himself.
Roper left the Blue Devils last year to be the offensive coordinator at Florida, and will be making his first jump into the realm of professional coaching. To be successful, he will have to help one of the most scrutinized players in the NFL bounce back from a disappointing rookie campaign in which he spent most of the season backing up Brian Hoyer before struggling late in the season.
Manziel only played in five games last season, going 18-of-35 for 175 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions—which came when the Bengals trounced Cleveland 30-0 in Manziel's first start Dec. 14—and nine carries for 29 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Roper has worked with players that have Manziel's talent—most notably Arian Foster when he was at Tennessee and Eli Manning when he was at Mississippi—and will look to be part of a revitalized system in Cleveland.
The Browns also hired Manziel's pre-draft mentor Kevin O'Connell to be their quarterbacks coach Monday.
Blue Devil offensive standouts Anthony Boone, Jamison Crowder and Laken Tomlinson have good chances of finding roster spots after the draft and worked with Roper during the 2013-14 campaign, so it's possible that Roper could also be joined by one of his former Duke players in his new position.
Keep up with the Blue Zone for all your Duke football and recruiting news as the Blue Devils get set to open spring practice this week.
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