BEREA Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , Ohio (AP) — Gerald McCoy’s free agency tour started with the Browns. They believe it will end with them, too.Coach Freddie Kitchens said Thursday that he’s optimistic McCoy will sign with Cleveland, which appears to be in a three-time battle with Baltimore and Carolina to land the six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle.Recently released by Tampa Bay after nine seasons in a cost-cutting move, McCoy visited the Browns last week and met with the Ravens on Wednesday. He’s reportedly scheduled a meeting with the Panthers as well.Kitchens said the team’s meeting with McCoy “went as good as it could.” The Browns even encouraged him to speak with other teams.“We want Gerald to go out and look at other places because when he makes the commitment here, we want him to be all-in because everybody that’s going to be here is gonna be all-in and that’s what we need to get to where we’re going,” Kitchens said after practice. “So we’re fine with him taking a look at everybody else, all right? Because we’ve told him who we were and if that’s who he wants, he’ll end up here and he knows the direction we’re headed.”The 31-year-old McCoy would like to join a Super Bowl contender http://www.seahawkscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-phil-haynes-jersey , and the Browns have dramatically improved their roster this offseason with the additions of wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson, edge rusher Olivier Vernon and running back Kareem Hunt.If the Browns sign McCoy, they would be just the fifth team since 1970 to have four current or former Pro Bowlers on their defensive front. McCoy joining forces with Vernon, Richardson and Myles Garrett, who had 13½ sacks last season despite facing constant double-teams, would give offenses a lot to worry about.Add in tackle Larry Ogunjobi, who has shown major potential in just two seasons Ugo Amadi Jersey , and the Browns are even more dangerous.McCoy was released on May 20 by the Buccaneers, who didn’t want to pay him $13 million next season. The Browns already have big money invested into their defensive line (Richardson got a three-year, $37 million deal with $21 million guaranteed) and they’ll have to address Garrett’s future at some point.Finances don’t seem to be a concern.“We’re trying to sign him,” Kitchens said.McCoy has 54½ sacks in 123 NFL games, but Kitchens likes his other intangibles.“He’s been in the league a long time. He’s played 10 years. He’s been to the fire. He would offer all those things,” Kitchens said. “We’re still young up front. In a lot of areas even with the guys we signed this year, we’re still young — relatively speaking. You know leadership is being able to go out and do something and let somebody see you do it, and leadership it can also be directing you off the field http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-drew-sample-jersey , on the field and everything else. There are a lot of different aspects of leadership and we’re going to try to create more than just one leader.”Kitchens said he and McCoy didn’t speak specifically about his role with the team.“He knows he’s going to be playing,” Kitchens said. “I know the more good football players you have the better you are, the better your rotation is, the better you can get after a quarterback in the two-minute drive.” CINCINNATI (AP) — Lou Anarumo was working on the New York Giants’ offseason plans when he got a call from an old friend from Miami. Zac Taylor wondered if he would be interested in discussing the job as the Cincinnati Bengals‘ defensive coordinator.A week later, he got the job, ending the Bengals’ lengthy search for someone to handle the defense.Anarumo was hired Thursday as the Bengals’ fourth defensive coordinator in the last three years, an indication of how much they have struggled with that unit. Head coach Marvin Lewis took over the role midway through last season after Teryl Austin was fired, and Lewis was let go at the end of the season.The 35-year-old Taylor became Lewis’ replacement http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/trayvon-mullen-jersey , coming over from the Los Angeles Rams, where he was quarterbacks coach. One of his most important hires — handing the defense to someone — lasted several weeks and included several candidates who were passed over or uninterested.The Bengals had to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire Taylor, which left them with the challenge of filling out their coaching staff. Other teams had already hired coaches and filled out their staffs, limiting the pool of candidates.“It was easy to hire some guys on offense because I knew them all along,” Taylor said. “But I just wanted to start that process when the game ended. It feels it’s gone on forever because we’re the last team to make these hires, but in reality, it’s taken the same amount of time you’d normally take with a new head coach.”Taylor and Anarumo became acquainted when they were assistants with the Dolphins. Anarumo was defensive backs coach for the Dolphins from 2012-17 and served as interim defensive coordinator in Miami for the final 12 games in 2015. The two of them talked often while on staff.“I always thought the world of Lou,” Taylor said. “It’s no surprise that we’re working together here.”Neither of the Bengals’ two coordinators — Anarumo or Brian Callahan on offense — has held the spot for a full season. Anarumo isn’t familiar with the Bengals’ defensive players because the Giants didn’t play Cincinnati last season.“I haven’t gotten to there yet http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/isaiah-johnson-jersey , to be quite honest,” he said.Anarumo figures he can lean on his coaching career and those who have mentored him to help him adapt to the new job.“I have some things I can go to based on experience, and I have guys I can call,” he said.