"Alex is always looking for any advantage he can get and he felt this was an ideal opportunity to exchange ideas with his American counterparts at the Browns," Aston Villa CEO Paul Faulkner said.
Villa has a two-week break in its schedule, and McLeish is heading to Cleveland to share ideas about player evaluation and development, scouting and physical training with Shurmur and his staff. He is expected to stay for two or three days.
McLeish's first season in charge of Aston Villa has proven to be difficult. His club sits 15th in the league after 25 games. Villa fans have not warmed to McLeish this season, and there were vocal protests against him following Sunday's loss against Manchester City at Villa Park.
Shurmur lead the Browns to a 4-12 finish in his first season as an NFL head coach. The Browns were the third-lowest scoring of the 32 NFL teams in 2011. But their defense allowed the fifth-fewest points.
Villa could loan prolific striker Darren Bent to the Browns to help cure their scoring woes. Cleveland could send Villa its first-round pick (fourth overall) in the upcoming NFL draft to help calm its agitated fans.
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