CLEVELAND - AUGUST 21: Dominique Curry #15 of the St. Louis Rams dives for yardage as he is hit by Ray Ventrone #41 of the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on August 21, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo: (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND - The Browns on Friday hired Raymond “Bubba” Ventrone as their assistant head coach/special teams coordinator.
Ventrone comes to Cleveland after spending the last five seasons in Indianapolis. “We are thrilled to add Bubba to our coaching staff,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He brings a proven track record as both a player and coach in this league. As a player, he built a reputation as a top special teamer during his 10-year career. He used that experience to make a successful transition to the sidelines, where his units have routinely performed at a high level. He has an infectious passion for the game and we are excited to have him leading our special teams unit.”
Ventrone, a Pittsburgh native, initially entered the NFL as a safety in 2005 when he signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent following his college career at Villanova. He played for the Browns from 2009-2012 mostly on special teams.
Ventrone played for three teams, including the Browns from 2009-2012, his longest tenure with any team, and appeared in 97 career games with 13 defensive tackles, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and 57 special teams stops. All 13 defensive tackles were with the Browns, as well as 31 total special teams tackles. He played a key role on both kickoff return and kickoff coverage, helping the Browns to an NFL-best average starting position of 31.4 and to a league-best defensive kickoff return average of 18.9 in 2009. He also registered a 35-yard run on a fake punt, which tied for the longest run of the season for the Browns in 2012.
As a coach with the Colts, Ventrone helped multiple special teams players land on the Associated Press All-Pro team, including Ashton Dulin (special teams player, second team in 2021), Luke Rhodes (long snapper, first team in 2021 and second team in 2020) and George Odum (special teams player, first team in 2020). Rhodes was also named to the Pro Bowl in 2021.