With word coming out last week that the Cleveland Browns and Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan were parting ways, it marked the latest page — not chapter, PAGE! PARAGRAPH, EVEN! — in what has become the sad reality that is the biography of the new Cleveland Browns.
The old Cleveland Browns (NFL circa 1950-1996) may have been as heartbreaking a franchise as there was in the 1980s thanks in large part to the Denver Broncos, but there was always stability.
There was always a familiar figure on the sidelines in Cleveland. From that team’s inception in 1946 with head coach Paul Brown to 1995 under Bill Belichick, only three Browns coaches had tenures of one year or less: Bud Carson (1989-1990), Dick Modzelewski (1977), and Jim Shofner (1990). The most noteworthy men patrolling the Browns sidelines — aside from Paul Brown, of course, — were Marty Schottenheimer from ‘84-’88 and Belichick from ‘91 to ‘95.
Behind center, there was a rock at quarterback. Otto Graham started at QB for nine seasons from 1946-1955. Brian Sipe did it for nine years as well from 1974 to 1983 before Bernie Kosar took over in 1985 after Paul McDonald. Even Vinny Testaverde was a solid stone at QB for two years in the 90s.
The turn of the century brought the NFL the “new” Cleveland Browns. The event was billed as the return of a great franchise to a city that should have never lost them in the first place. Now, 16 years later, this organization is not just a shell of its former self, but the shell of the former Cleveland Browns that don’t want to associate with this team. It’s ugly.
Opposites attract, but this new breed of “Dawg Pound” won’t want to. Five coaches since 1999 — Chris Palmer, Terry Robiskie, Eric Mangini, Pat Shurmur, and Rob Chudzinski — have lasted only one year. Twenty-two (no, really … twenty-two) different guys have started at quarterback for the Browns. Ken Dorsey started at quarterback for the Browns. Ken. Dorsey. Think about that. If you’re reading this column, YOU’RE probably better than Ken Dorsey.
Anyone will tell you that it’s hard to set roots in anything if there’s always change. That seems to be the problem in Cleveland. There is always turnover. Every year, either head coaches are getting fired. Coordinators are getting fired. Quarterbacks continue to change. Combine that with a failed draft pick or two (i.e. Tim Couch, Courtney Brown, Brandon Weeden), and you get a torturous situation for your fan base.
It’s honestly hard to figure out who to put this on. Can you put it on the principal owner? Maybe. Before this new situation between Jimmy Haslam and Kyle Shanahan, Randy Lerner wasn’t exactly winning Super Bowls. Lerner was a hands-off owner from most Browns reports, and Haslam seems to be taking the “Jerry Jones approach”. (Which, if true, needs to be nipped in the butt right away.)
In his first draft as owner of the Browns, there was hope he would be keeping his mitts off the draft. Everyone thought that was the case, but Haslam was the principal voice in the drafting of Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel according to a leak from a Browns quarterback coach. If you look back at that draft now and based on his performance, was Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater the better option? Maybe.
Haslam fired Chudzinksi after one year — which was two years after Chudzinski took rookie Cam Newton and made the Carolina Panthers a top-10 offense. Could he have made any real progress with Brian Hoyer as quarterback? Maybe, but he was never given the chance to enact any real stability.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com wrote a column about the friction between the guys on the Browns sidelines and the ones in the front office in the wake of Shanahan’s leaving. She says that GM Ray Farmer is willing to “give Manziel another shot” but that many in the organization don’t think Johnny Football has what it takes to succeed.
In the same column, she quotes head coach Mike Pettine when talking about the quarterback situation as the coach called the Browns QB situation “muddy at best”. Is Farmer really calling the shot on this one, or is he merely getting pressure from Haslam in a Dan Snyder/Robert Griffin III-type situation?
You don’t need much to see that Manziel is in no way ready to take over. All you need are eyeballs. He looked very shaky in his starts while Cleveland was in the middle of a playoff race. Manziel was thought of to be the one bringing a new dimension to the team, but that never happened. At that point, there was no going back to Brian Hoyer, and that may not even be an option next season. If you’re Brian Hoyer, would you WANT to come back to that? The Browns have been forever in limbo.
The owner wants the other quarterback to lead the team — even if he is in no mental capacity to do so. There are quality teams with five-star organizational street cred where you can go. Honestly, Brian. Just go to the St. Louis Rams. If they don’t draft a quarterback, you’re one Sam Bradford injury away from a starting job. Just wait about two to three weeks. It’s GOING to happen.
Is it possible that Jimmy Haslam is as much of a meddling owner as Dan Snyder in Washington or Jerry Jones in Dallas? That’s a nightmare that Browns fans may have to force themselves into living. In both Snyder and Jones’s cases, their teams have not fared well over the last decade. The Washington Professional Football Team is in shambles after trading multiple picks to the Rams for Robert Griffin III. While the Cowboys haven’t been nearly as dreadful, this year’s playoff win over the Lions was only their second since 1997.
Haslam fired two of the more respected front office guys in the league in former CEO Joe Banner and former general manager Mike Lombardi before this season even started. The new general manager, Ray Farmer, then proceeded to draft Oklahoma State’s Justin Gilbert (with Odell Beckham, Jr. still on the board and a need at WR) and then drafted (or was ordered to draft) Manziel with the 22nd pick despite having a quarterback in Brian Hoyer who — while not overly spectacular and flashy — can get the job done.
The Browns limped their way OUT of a playoff race this past season, and they go into 2015 with even more questions this time around. If Manziel is the guy, how do we build an offense around him? Who do we hire to coordinate our offense and transition to the “Manziel Era”? A more pressing issue is what to do about wide receiver Josh Gordon. There is a possibility Gordon may not be back with the team next year either via trade or him just saying, “I quit dis’ bitch!”
Whatever the Browns plan to do for the 2015-2016 season, they better start getting on the ball, now. Hire an offensive coordinator who has the intuitive knowledge to build an offense around Manziel. Mend the relationship between you and your all-pro wide receiver.
Last and most importantly, commit to a plan, and do it for more than one year. The era of confusion and uncertainty has to end in Cleveland before it really becomes too late.
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