Maurice Carthon

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Maurice Carthon (born April 24, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois) was the offensive coordinator for the NFL's Cleveland Browns. Before joining the Browns, he was an offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys. He was also the running backs coach on the 1996 New England Patriots team, defeated by the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXI. Maurice is also the father of Indianapolis Colts running back Ran Carthon. Carthon resigned on October 24th, 2006 after the Browns started the season 1-5.

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[edit] High school

Carthon attended Osceola High School in Osceola, Arkansas and was a letterman in football and basketball. In football, he was a two-time All-Conference honoree. In basketball, he was named the state's Most Valuable Player as a senior.

[edit] College

Carthon attended Arkansas State University and was a star in football. In football, he was a two-time All-Southland Conference selection, and as a senior, he was the team's captain and led the team in rushing yards.

[edit] Pro Football Career

Carthon started his pro football career with the USFL's New Jersey Generals, primarily as a blocking back for Hershel Walker.

Carthon wore the number 44 in his career as a fullback with the New York Giants. He was considered a bruising back with superb blocking skills. Carthon was a very durable player, as he missed only one game out of 76 when he was with the Giants.

Carthon won two championship rings with the Giants in Super Bowl XXI and Super Bowl XXV. His best season was in 1986, when he finished as the team's second leading rusher with 260 yards, while also helping diminuitive halfback Joe Morris rush for a franchise record 1,516 yards.

Carthon retired after the 1992 season with 950 career rushing yards, 90 receptions for 745 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

[edit] "Mo's Gotta Go"

In October 2006, a grassroots effort was started to relieve offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon of his playcalling duties. A website www.firemauricecarthon.com was created to express the fans displeasure.

The site claims, "While we understand that the team is currently in the midst of a rebuilding phase, here at FireMauriceCarthon.com, we feel that incompetence on our team’s coaching staff is unacceptable. The fans of this organization expect and deserve to watch an exciting NFL offense that understands the importance of effective situational play-calling; Mr. Carthon has failed here". The site goes on to request either the firing or demotion of Carthon from his play calling duties with the Browns organization.

The site also started a petition which was to be sent to the Browns organization. T-shirts with the mottos: "Mo's Gotta Go", "Stop the BrownOut", and "Fire Maurice Carthon" were made available for purchase.

Maurice Carthon resigned as Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator on October 24, 2006 after Cleveland managed only seven points against the Denver Broncos. Under Carthon, the Browns had managed a league-low 232 points in 2005 and had only scored 88 points through six games in 2006. Carthon was the third offensive coordinator to be fired during the 2006 season.

Preceded by
Terry Robiskie
Cleveland Browns Offensive Coordinators
2005-2006
Succeeded by
Jeff Davidson