Berea, Ohio ? Colt McCoy picked up his cellphone, dialed Brett Favre’s number and hoped one of his idols might help him out.

The Browns quarterback got Favre’s assistance — and more than he could have dreamed.

“He said, ‘Yeah, come down tonight,” McCoy said recalled Favre saying. “That didn’t happen.”

But before he knew it, McCoy was on a plane flying to Mississippi to meet with Favre, who picked him up at the airport and then spent several days schooling Cleveland’s young quarterback on the intricacies of the West Coast offense.

“He’s an outstanding guy, and I learned a lot, ” McCoy said, “so I was thankful for him being open to me even coming down there. It’s the first time we had met. It was a lot of fun.”

Because McCoy wasn’t permitted to have any contact during the lockout with first-year Browns coach Pat Shurmur or any of his assistants, he was looking for help with the West Coast. McCoy was able to get a copy of Shurmur’s playbook during one-day break in the labor strife. But without anyone to explain it to him, McCoy needed help.

The Xs and Os, the arrows, the terminology. It was like a foreign language to McCoy.

Enter Favre, who knows the West Coast as well as anyone.

Favre first learned the system in Green Bay under Browns president Mike Holmgren, who coached the Packers from 1992-98. McCoy that figured if Favre was available, it would be a waste not to ask the master.

“I was at home and I’ve always liked watching Brett play and some of the stuff (plays) we had from Green Bay was him and it just occurred to me, why not call and see what he’s doing?” McCoy said. “I had no idea, I just took a shot. And we ended up getting together and spending a couple of days. It was fun.”