For us, you can tell a lot about a leader by the way they act when things are going bad. Since this is Cleveland Sports Perspective, we are talking about the guys in charge of the professional sports teams in northeast Ohio.
With the Guardians, when they aren’t playing well, president Chris Antonetti and GM Mike Chernoff, usually Antonetti, make themselves available to talk to the media and by proxy, the fans.
Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman doesn’t talk to the media very much whether the team is going good or bad.
Which brings us to the Browns. GM Andrew Berry has been very visible lately appearing on both national and local sports shows. Last year, when the Browns were struggling through a 5-12 season, he was mostly silent.
Even when he traded the team’s opening day starting quarterback, Joe Flacco, it was left to coach Kevin Stefanski to talk about the move to the press.
So, why the change? Our guess is Berry thinks he made some tremendous move in trading the best defensive player in franchise history and so he is out there front and center to answer questions about his “master stroke”.
Plus he oversaw a good draft last year and is getting kudos for his selections in April.
But this is the best time of the year for the Browns, because actual games haven’t been played yet. Berry can talk about the great plans and vision he has for the team, but the games don’t start for three months.
What is troubling though is there seems to still be a division in the ranks, and it showed itself in the way coach Todd Monken and Berry had different thoughts about Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby.
Sorsby has admitted to betting on games involving the team he was on, a no-no for most in sports. Pete Rose isn’t in the Baseball Hall of Fame because he did it
In his comments to the media, Monken wanted no part of Sorsby, and frankly, we wouldn’t want him on the team either. Berry was open to having him on the Browns, saying in essence, everyone should be forgiven for making a mistake.
While that’s true, gambling and professional sports are different.
But the rub for us is why aren’t Monken and Berry on the same page here? We would guess for many of the successful franchises in the NFL, the GM and the coach are in lock step, and maybe Monken and Berry are in most matters.
In the past, we have felt the Browns don’t put a big value on character, opted for talent above all else. How’s that working out for them?
The message from the Browns this whole off-season has been talking up Deshaun Watson who is a free agent after the season, so the only real positive result in playing him would really be a season winning at least 10 games.
If they go 7-10 with him, they don’t have a top ten draft pick in all likelihood unless they make a trade, and they haven’t found out anything about Shedeur Sanders, who they should be seeing if he has anything.
And if Sanders is a colossal failure, like many think, playing him probably gives the Browns a top five pick in the ’27 draft, which is what most of their fans want.
As for Berry, shouldn’t another bad season cost him his job? If the Browns start off, say 1-3 or 0-4, will Berry be doing interviews all over the place?
Our guess is he will let Monken explain to the fans why they are suffering through another season of mediocrity.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 