Rice coach Mike Bloomgren watches from the sideline during the first half of the team's First Responder Bowl NCAA college football game against Texas State on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The Cleveland Browns took a step back on offense, specifically along the line. But on Wednesday, the Browns hope they found their answer.

The Browns announced the hiring of Mike Bloomgren as the team’s new offensive line coach. He will take over for Andy Dickerson, who was fired on Sunday alongside offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.

“Mike has a wealth of knowledge and is extremely bright,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said in a press release. “In addition to his NFL experience, he has worked in a number of pro-style offenses on the college level. He has proven to be successful as a teacher and motivator, which will be vital for our offensive line room. We are excited to add Mike to our coaching staff.”

Bloomgren previously served as the head coach at Rice. He coached the Owls 2018-24, posting a record of 24-52 and getting the program to back-to-back bowl games in 2022 and 2023.

Prior to coaching at Rice, Bloomgren was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Stanford from 2011-17. He handled Cardinal coach David Shaw’s rushing attack, which featured standout running backs Christian McCaffrey and Ty Montgomery and future Pro Bowl offensive linemen David DeCastro and Andrus Peat.

He spent four seasons on the New York Jets coaching staff from 2007-10.

He broke into the NFL as an offensive quality control coach for Eric Mangini in 2007. In 2009, he was promoted to an offensive assistant when Rex Ryan took over the Jets. Ryan promoted Bloomgren one more time the following season, making him the assistant offensive coordinator.

Cleveland finished 29th in the NFL this season in rushing (1,608 yards) and allowed 66 sacks, the second most in the league.