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Tag Archives: Jimmy Haslam
BROWNS HAVE BECOME WHAT THE CLIPPERS WERE
Why was Browns owner Jimmy Haslam willing to trade multiple draft picks to the 49ers for head coach Jim Harbaugh who in his 3 years as San Fran’s head coach has led them to 3 straight NFC title games and 1 Super Bowl appearance? Because the lack of leadership and talent evaluation for this organization has been the common denominator in their 13 losing seasons in the 15 years since they returned to the NFL in 1999. The Browns needed a proven winner because they had become the NFL’s version of the Los Angeles Clippers and some would argue that the Browns are worse off than the Clippers were. Donald Sterling would agree with that!
So I did a comparison of when the Clippers first moved to L.A. and the 15 years that followed, and the Browns from when they returned to the NFL in 1999 through the 2013 season. Cleveland’s 15 year run from 1999-2013 is worse than that of the dismal run that the Clippers enjoyed from their inception in the “City of Angels” from 1984-1998.
During this current Browns 15 year stretch the team has had only two winning seasons, made the playoffs once and their winning percentage is (.321). In the Clippers 15 year run, they only had one winning season, but they did make the playoffs three times, while posting a (.330) winning percentage.
With those numbers, because of various punch lines on national late night talk shows, getting shredded on local radio talk shows and because the numbers don’t lie – you are what your record says you are – a laughing stock, Jimmy Haslam was willing to do anything to try and change the direction of this franchise. Yes, even trade draft picks for a head coach. You have to give him credit for trying, but unfortunately for JH3, in the end, the Browns lost again.
Browns Bettin On Pettine
After a long search by Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi in which a number of candidates pulled their name out of consideration for the job, the Browns have settled on former Bills and Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine to replace Rob Chudzinksi, who was fired after just one season by the Browns, as their new head coach.
Pettine’s only season in Buffalo last year, saw the Bills defense rank 10th overall in total defense in the NFL. The Bills defense finished 4th against the pass and 28th against the run as they played a 3-4 hybrid type defense. The Bills did rank 2nd in the NFL in both quarterback sacks (57) and interceptions (23) on defense. They were 20th in points allowed with 388.
Pettine is the son of a coach, his dad Mike Pettine Sr. won the 4A state championship four times at Central Bucks High School in Pennsylvania. He played quarterback for his dad in high school and then went on to play free safety at Virginia, graduating in 1987.
Pettine, 47, does have some head coaching experience, but that came at the high school level from 1997-2001 at North Penn High School in Pennsylvania. From there he went on to start his NFL coaching career with the Ravens from 2002-2008. He left Baltimore for New York to become Rex Ryan’s defensive coordinator from 2009-2012. During his time with the Jets they made it to back-to-back AFC Championship games.
In a head-to-head matchup with the Browns last season, Buffalo lost in Cleveland 37-24 as Brandon Weeden came off the bench for injured quarterback Brian Hoyer to throw for 197 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. Weeden however was sacked five times in the game and 14 of the Browns points were scored on a punt return by Travis Benjamin and a pick six by T.J. Ward.
Pettine takes over a team who finished with a (4-12) record in 2013 and has had six consecutive seasons of 10 or more losses. The Browns do have six players representing them in the Pro Bowl, however they still are looking for a franchise starting quarterback.
Pettine becomes the Browns 8th coach since they returned to the NFL in 1999 and the 18th overall in franchise history. Only 4 of those coaches (Paul Brown, Blanton Collier, Nick Skorich and Marty Schottenheimer) have posted a winning record for their career in the regular season with Cleveland.
MEET THE BROWNS CANDIDATES
So the two most important positions on a football team are Head Coach and Quarterback. The Browns don’t have either one right now unless, based on two games, you’re ready to give the QB job to Brian Hoyer. I for one am not. But they are in the process of trying to fill those two vacancies and here is a list of candidates for both spots. Which two guys would you like to see fill those roles for the Browns in 2014?
COACHES THEY’VE INTERVIEWED THAT ARE STILL AVAILABLE:
Dan Quinn – Seahawks Defensive Coordinator – 43 years old
Mike Munchak – Former Titans Head Coach – 53 years old
COACHES THEY WOULD LIKE TO INTERVIEW:
Adam Gase – Broncos Offensive Coordinator – 35 years old
Gus Malzahn – Auburn Head Coach – 48 years old
QUARTERBACKS AVAILABLE IN THE DRAFT:
Johnny Manziel – Texas AM – 6’1-210pds-Sph.
Teddy Bridgewater – Louisville – 6’3-196-Jr.
Blake Bortles – Central Florida – 6’4-230pds-Jr.
Derek Carr – Fresno St. – 6’3-218pds-Sr.
A.J. McCarron – Alabama – 6’4-214pds-Sr.
Zach Mettenberger – LSU – 6’5-230pds-Sr.
Aaron Murray – Georgia – 6’1-208pds-Sr.
David Fales – San Jose St. – 6’3-220pds-Sr.
Tajh Boyd – Clemson – 6’1-225pds-Sr.
Jimmy Garoppolo – Eastern Illinois – 6’3-222pds-Sr.
Ideally from people that I have talked to I believe the Browns would love to come away with the combination of Adam Gase as their head man to coach Johnny Manziel at quarterback. Those are the two names I’m hearing the most from sources around the league. But Gase has to interview for the job first, and then say YES, while “Johnny Football” has to still be there at pick number #4 in the draft or the Browns have to move up to get him. So that’s a couple of big “IF’s” and because of that Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi better have a few back up plans in case their dream scenario falls through. You know Haslam’s ideal situation is to eventually, either after this year, or next year, have Peyton Manning come in and be a major piece in the Browns front office or coaching staff.
*Gus Malzahn could be the wild card if the Browns could entice him to leave Auburn for the NFL.
Are you on board with landing Adam Gase and Johnny Manziel to take the Browns into the future? If not, what’s the “Dynamic Duo” you’d like to see the Browns front office get?
Respond here in the comments section, or tweet you thoughts to me @TheKennyRoda on Twitter.
UNSTABLE BROWNS NOT A PREMIUM DESTINATION
A friend and media source of mine said something to me this morning that sums up the Browns head coaching search in a nutshell. He said, “If you’re looking for stability for you and your family, then don’t take the Cleveland Browns head coaching job.” He’s so right.
Think about it. Rob Chudzinski got one year to prove what he could do as a first time ever NFL head coach. That’s not normal in the NFL. In that one year he dealt with a front office that traded his starting running back after two games, selected only five players in the draft because of trades for next year, still had roughly $20 million dollars under the cap to spend on free agents, the owner was, and still is being investigated by the FBI and the IRS and the team openly admitted that they were focusing on the 2014 season. How many first year coaches would perform well in that situation?
I’m not saying Chud was blameless. He made some bad in game decisions and other mistakes I’m sure, but how is he supposed to grasp what it takes to be a head coach if he doesn’t get the chance to learn from his mistakes. And you as a front office had to expect there would be some growing pains when you hired him and gushed about his potential, even though he had never been a head coach at any level before.
Jimmy Haslam came from an organization that’s had three head coaches since 1969. That stability is why the Pittsburgh Steelers are considered one of the model franchises in the NFL. The Browns, if someone takes the job, will have hired their seventh different head coach in the last sixteen years. It will be their third head coach in a little over a year. Couple that lack of stability, with a front office who’s “Q” rating isn’t very high in NFL circles (Mike Lombardi’s score is lower than Joe Banner’s) and you can see why over the last twelve months a lot of big name coaches talked to the Browns, but none of them took the job.
It’s looking again like the Browns will have to settle for their head coach. Settle for their third or fourth choice. Settle for a guy who is so eager to get a head coaching job he’ll even take the Browns gig. Or settle for a guy who’s looking to prove that his failure the first time around as an NFL head coach was not a true representation of what he is capable of doing or that he has learned from his mistakes. Either way once again, the Browns aren’t going to get the guy they really wanted no matter what they tell you later.
This all started in 1999 when their first choice Brian Billick told them no and went to Baltimore and won a Super Bowl. Last year they really wanted Chip Kelly and he too said no and went to Philadelphia and led them to the playoffs. Now solid candidates like Bill O’Brien and Lovie Smith have already taken other NFL jobs. Josh McDaniels, told the Browns no and according to Albert Breer from the NFL Network, the primary reason McDaniels returned to Foxboro was “Creating stability for his family. He has 4 young kids and he knows his job is secure there.” Vanderbilt’s James Franklin, a reported Browns candidate, looks like he’ll take the Penn State job over the one here in Cleveland. Smart move on all their parts.
Here’s hoping the guy that ends up taking the Browns head coaching job isn’t looking for stability, but instead he’s just looking for a chance to prove himself. If so, he better do it in a hurry, because based on past history here in Cleveland you don’t get much time to show what you can do.
IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF…….
If I were in charge of the Cleveland Browns I would inquire with every former NFL coach who’s won a Super Bowl, every hot NFL coordinator and every top college coach and ask what would it take for them to come and coach the Cleveland Browns. Money is obviously no object, as Jimmy Haslam is paying Rob Chudzinski over $10 million dollars not to coach.
(courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com)
So yes I would reach out to Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick and Tony Dungy just to hear them tell me they’re not interested.
I would then call all the so-called hot coordinators like Dan Quinn the defensive coordinator of the Seahawks(he’s already interviewed with the Browns), Josh McDaniels the offensive coordinator of the Patriots(the Browns have already talked to him as well), Ken Wisenhunt the offensive coordinator of the Chargers and Adam Gase the Broncos offensive coordinator.
After I talked with all of them, I would then get in touch with the top college guys like Bob Stoops at Oklahoma, Jim Tressel, Gus Malzahn from Auburn, James Franklin from Vanderbilt, Nick Saban at Alabama, Urban Meyer at Ohio State and whoever else is considered a top coach. I would leave no stone unturned if I were Haslam, Banner and Lombardi, you can’t afford to. Your franchise is a joke right now. You admittedly screwed up last year by hiring Chud, so you better go out and find the savior to coach this team and turn it around in a hurry.
Then I would find the top three guys who have an interest in the job and see what it would take for them to quit their current job and come to Cleveland. Whoever showed the most interest and had the best resume of the bunch, I would offer him the job and get him on the next plane to Cleveland to start helping turn this franchise around.
This is the most important off season in Browns history as you’re trying to find the right coach; you have 10 high draft picks and a boatload of money to spend in free agency to better your talent. You better get all three phases right or the Browns will continue to be at the bottom of the AFC North, fan apathy will start to set in and you will continue to be the punch line for all NFL football jokes and yes Jimmy Haslam, whether you want to believe it or not, just “THE SAME OLD BROWNS”!