After nearly three years of struggling offensively – and not making the playoffs—while posting just one winning record under ultra-strict, disciplinarian head coach Forrest Gregg, the Browns in 1978 decided to take a softer approach to liven up their attack – and their team.
They did so by hiring a virtually unknown assistant at the time, New Orleans Saints receivers coach Sam Rutigliano, to replace Gregg, who was fired with one game left in the 1977 season.
More importantly, Rutigliano was able to jump-start the career of embattled quarterback Brian Sipe, which would pay huge dividends for the team two years later when he won the NFL MVP award and led the Browns to the AFC Central title.
The end result was an 8–8 finish in which the Browns were outscored by 22 points overall, 356 to 334, in the first year that the NFL expanded from a 14- to a 16-game regular season.
The Browns top draft choice that year, future Hall of Fame TE Ozzie Newsome, fresh off of an NCAA National Championship with Paul "Bear" Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide team, had a solid rookie season, snaring 38 passes for 589 yards and two touchdowns.