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This AP article was recently posted to the Browns List. With Ty Detmer now out for the season, the Browns are searching for an accomplished backup/tutor for Tim Couch. Will it be Hoss? His chances sound as good as anyone's! Here's the article.
Hostetler would listen if Browns call By TOM WITHERS AP Sports Writer August 15, 2000 6:46 pm EST CLEVELAND (AP) - Jeff Hostetler is everything the Cleveland Browns need in a No. 2 quarterback. He's got 15 years of NFL experience, a willingness to teach Tim Couch and he won a Super Bowl - as a backup.
Hostetler, who hasn't played since 1997, turned down offers last year from St. Louis, Tennessee and San Francisco to help his 9-year-old son, Tyler, recover from a serious spinal-cord injury.
Well, Tyler has made a comeback. Now it might be his dad's turn. The Browns are searching for a second-string quarterback after Ty Detmer ruptured his Achilles' tendon on Saturday night and was lost for the season.
Cleveland needs help and Hostetler thinks he could provide some. "If they would happen to call, I would listen to them," Hostetler said Tuesday in a phone interview from his home in West Virginia. "It would have to be the right situation for me to come back."
Dwight Clark, Cleveland's director of football operations, said Hostetler has already been discussed as a candidate.
"That's the first name that came up on the plane back (from Chicago)," Clark said Tuesday. "I ran into Jeff on vacation and I know that he's definitely in great shape."
Clark and Browns coach Chris Palmer have said the team's preference is to wait until the Aug. 22 and Aug. 27 roster cuts to find a suitable backup. Palmer also would rather bring in a player who has been in a camp this summer.
"We're still going to wait," Clark said. "We have some guys in mind and we'll see who's available next week. After that, who knows, we just may have to give Jeff a call."
Palmer said he wouldn't rule out Hostetler as a possibility just because he hasn't played in a couple years.
"He's very talented," Palmer said. "It's still early in the process." Hostetler, 39, who took the New York Giants to a Super Bowl title in 1990 after Phil Simms was injured, isn't looking for a chance to start. He has seen enough of Couch to know the second-year QB has a bright future in the league.
Hostetler feels he could teach Couch, just like Detmer has. "I like him a lot," Hostetler said of Couch, who has been heavily criticized for sub-par performances in the Browns' first two exhibition games. "And I only think he's going to get better and better. He's determined and he looks like he's willing to work hard. It looks like he's already developed a thick skin."
Hostetler could be a calming influence on Couch, who relied heavily on Detmer for guidance last season.
"With a young guy, there are a lot things that should be stressed and some things that probably should be passed right over," Hostetler said. "Tim's head is probably spinning a little bit right now."
Hostetler, who has also played for the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington, said he's in great shape, if not football shape.
When asked the last time he picked up a football, Hostetler laughed. "I've thrown the ball around with my sons," he said. "I've really been enjoying them."
He had an impressive workout for San Francisco last November. 49ers general manager Bill Walsh came away saying, "he looked good. He's really a fine athlete and charismatic person."
There was no way Hostetler could play for the 49ers, though. Not when Tyler needed him more.
Hostetler's youngest son had been left partially paralyzed following an accident on an all-terrain vehicle. The prognosis wasn't good as doctors said it was doubtful Tyler would ever make a full recovery. But it wasn't long before Tyler began walking, and this summer he was back on a Little League field.
"He's a little miracle," Hostetler said. "He's not 100 percent, but he's made a lot of progress. It's really amazing."
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