Harbaugh Should Be Browns’ First Choice. No Question.

A few years ago, we wrote a piece about NFL head coaches and in our opinion, there are only four or five at any one time who are difference makers.

At the time, we thought those coaches were Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin, and John Harbaugh.

Belichick has moved on to college football and Carroll is now in his 70s, and we would replace them with Sean McVey and Mike Vrabel.

What we are looking at are coaches who can win in different ways, different quarterbacks, and has shown they can adapt to the constant changes of professional football.

On Tuesday, the Ravens parted ways with John Harbaugh after 18 seasons and a 180-113 regular season record, 12 playoff appearances and a Super Bowl win in 2012. He had just three losing seasons in that period, including this past season, but none of those seasons came in succession.

He won with two different quarterbacks in Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson, and in the latter’s case, basically changed the way he ran an offense in order to suit Jackson’s skill set.

We look at Harbaugh a lot like Reid, who coached the Eagles for 14 seasons, making nine playoff appearances, including a loss in the Super Bowl. He was let go after a 4-12 season with the prevailing thought being he wore out his welcome in Philadelphia at 54-years-old.

He went to Kansas City the following season, transformed a 2-14 team into one that went 11-5 and made the playoffs. He’s won three Super Bowl in KC and actually has won more games there (149) than with the Eagles (130).

Yes, we know Harbaugh will be 64 during the early part of the 2026 season. But it appears he still has a passion for the game. We know someone who says he looks like the most beleaguered man on the planet during games, he shows his emotions on his sleeve, especially when something goes wrong for his squad.

We know the Haslams like to spend money. Heck, it took them having to guarantee a contract for them to change Deshaun Watson’s mind. So, offer Harbaugh basically a blank check to come and coach the Browns.

We believe he can be a coach who can change the culture and bring accountability and leadership to an organization that badly needs it. And if Harbaugh can work with Andrew Berry? Great. If he doesn’t want to? Find someone he can work with.

But it won’t likely happen.

We think because Berry somehow survived getting fired, he and the ownership want to continue the “collaborative” process, and that means they want someone who will work with them, that they can control, and Harbaugh might just come in have strong opinions on what needs to be done.

And frankly, we don’t know if the Browns’ hierarchy want to hear about doing things differently. That’s a big weakness in running any kind of business.

Sometimes the logical move is staring you right in the face. John Harbaugh is an excellent coach. He’s available, and the Browns are in dire need of sustained success.

At least have a conversation with him. If he doesn’t want to come here under any circumstances, that’s a different story than not being willing to change in order to get a coach of his caliber.

The Browns need a coach, and a great, proven winner is available.

Browns Win, But Decide On Half Of A Change

Kevin Stefanski’s tenure as head coach of the Cleveland Browns ends on a two-game winning streak as the Browns defeated the Bengals 20-18 on Andre Szmyt’s game winning field goal.

It was fitting that it ended that way because in the season opener against Cincinnati, Szmyt missed an extra point and a potential game winning field goal. But the rookie kicker proved a lot of people, us included, wrong, making 24 of 27 field goals for the year and looking like the Browns have solved the kicker spot heading into next season.

Besides winning the game, there should be celebration for Myles Garrett breaking the single season sack record, getting his 23rd by getting Joe Burrow behind the line late in the fourth quarter.

Garrett should also get his second Defensive Player of the Year Award in three years prior to the Super Bowl. It’s a bit of a downer though that it came with a 5-12 team.

Shedeur Sanders was very pedestrian for most of the game; the Browns’ two touchdowns were both scored by the defense, but credit should be given where it is due, he did drive the team into position for the game winning kick.

However, the offense did produce only 200 yards for the contest, illustrating again why we felt the Browns needed to move on from the head coach. His offense was stale and unimaginative.

True, the offensive line is subpar, the receiving corps isn’t good, and the Browns used rookie quarterbacks for much of the year, but it became a struggle to put 17 points on the board each week.

Why Andrew Berry stays is a complete mystery here. Yes, we know about this past draft class, but when rookies don’t contribute, the mantra is always you have to wait a few years to truly judge a class. Why doesn’t it apply when they have productive rookie seasons.

We agree that Carson Schwesinger will be the Defensive Rookie of the Year and looks like he will be successful for a long time. And Mason Graham is a solid player. But let’s see how the other player’s progress.

And this still sticks with us, the two biggest areas of need for the Browns are the two spots Berry has had trouble finding talent: wide receiver and offensive line. Why does ownership think suddenly he will be able judge these spots accurately?

What the Browns need is a GM and head coach who feel the same about the way the game should be played, and also value leadership and character. We don’t think those latter traits are valued by Andrew Berry.

Maybe if you are already a winning team you can gamble on guys who have checkered pasts, but when you are trying to develop a winning culture, it starts with guys who can be leaders and play for the love of the game.

That’s another reason we like Schwesinger, who gutted out the Pittsburgh game when he could have easily went to the locker room. It was a meaningless game for Cleveland, but he played it right to the end.

So, a new coaching search begins. The ownership can talk about all kinds of things, but until they realize this, we fear the Browns will continue to flounder:

“The wise man knows what he doesn’t know”

The Winds Of Change Should Blow Through Berea This Week

Today, the Cleveland Browns close out another losing season against the Cincinnati Bengals, but the game will be anti-climactic compared to the 48 hours after the game.

Will the Browns move on from coach Kevin Stefanski or GM Andrew Berry or both? That’s the bigger story.

We have already offered the opinion both should go. It’s been six years and an accumulative record of 44-56 coming into the season finale. There have been two playoff appearances and one post-season win.

There has also been a 7-26 mark over the last two seasons.

If you compare this duo to everyone else who has run the franchise since 1999, they have a pretty good resume. Unfortunately, that isn’t how they should be graded. It’s the rest of the league the Browns have to compete with, not their mediocre past.

And yes, both have had success. Again, two playoff appearances. Two NFL Coach of the Year awards for Stefanski. We aren’t debating that he’s a solid football coach, and the players have respect for him. They continue to play hard. Probably because he has their back. He doesn’t call out players in the media, and they appreciate that.

But where is the coach who came out against Dallas in his first year and had Jarvis Landry passing to Odell Beckham? It seems that he has overcorrected last season’s turnover issue by basically eliminating any high-risk plays. Yes, we know he has rookies playing quarterback, more on that later.

As a result, the Browns have scored the second fewest points in the NFL over the past two seasons, ahead of only the Las Vegas Raiders. Scoring 20 points in game is a chore for this group. And as we point out after most games, looking around the league, it’s not that difficult.

We aren’t doubting Stefanski can go somewhere else, do a self-audit, and change some of the things that have put him in this situation.

As for Berry, yes, the 2025 draft class was excellent. Carson Schwesinger should be the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Harold Fannin looks like a very good player. Mason Graham is a foundation piece, and Quinshon Judkins appears to be a bell cow back.

And maybe, just maybe, Shedeur Sanders can be an NFL starting quarterback.

But one solid draft in six seasons doesn’t cut it. The Browns have a horrible offensive line situation and a bad wide receiver room.

That’s mainly because Berry has done a bad job identifying talent at those positions. He seemed obsessed with Jerry Jeudy for several years and eventually traded for him. That’s a whiff.

And despite a good draft, he mangled the QB position in the past 12 months. Drafting two rookies didn’t make sense. He traded for Kenny Pickett, a former first round pick, but he was injured in camp and traded away.

He signed Joe Flacco as a free agent and the Browns started him in the first four games, and when he was benched in favor of Dillon Gabriel, Berry traded him to a division rival (the division was still up for grabs, mind you) without the head coach seeming to know about it.

So, there was no experienced QB available to guide the rookies.

And don’t forget, the Browns had Tyler Huntley on the roster each of the last two seasons and let him go. Huntley won a big game for the Ravens last week.

Also, don’t forget that Berry is the GM of record on the whole Deshaun Watson debacle.

The Haslam family has proven they can have some stability in the front office after going through head coaches and GMs like people change underwear. That’s good. Now go out, hire a football man first and foremost, and let that man hire a new coach.

Or vice versa.

Looking At Local Teams Heading Into ’26

Happy New Year to everyone and here’s hoping we will all be a little nicer to each other.

As we start 2026, we wonder what the sports year will hold for northeast Ohio with the three professional sports teams.

Looking at the Cavaliers, certainly there is some concern because last year’s regular season was so good with a 64-18 record, but a disappointing second round loss to Indiana in

the playoffs.

This year has been filled with injuries to key players, but still, something is different. It is true that Kenny Atkinson is doing some experimenting, but it can also be true the league has changed since Koby Altman put his team together with the emphasis being on Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.

The NBA has gotten more long and more athletic and those teams seem to bother this group. With the Cavs over the second apron in terms of payroll, it will take a lot of creativity on Altman’s part to tweak the roster.

To the president of basketball operation’s credit, he did find a gem last year in Jaylon Tyson, who is averaging 13.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game playing the wing. If Atkinson hasn’t realized it yet, he is one of the Cavs’ best players.

The Cavaliers will probably make the playoffs this year barring injuries, but how much they can advance will depend on what tweaks Altman can make before the trade deadline.

The Cleveland Guardians have won back-to-back AL Central Division titles, but the latest came despite one of the worst offenses in the game. With spring training about six weeks away, the front office hasn’t addressed this problem, but we do think a move is coming.

The front office has talked about not wanting to block the development of some young prospects, but they need to have a “Plan B” in case those players don’t pan out.

What they should be doing is going into the season planning for Chase DeLauter and/or George Valera to have significant roles in 2026, but getting a couple of right-handed bats, proven hitters, to be improve the offense. And if the young players are as advertised, it will make for a group that can finish in the top half of the AL in runs scored.

And we wouldn’t mind getting another starting pitcher to add some depth.

One more wish. Increase the payroll to a level where they are on par with other smaller market teams like Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Cincinnati.

That shouldn’t be an issue.

That brings us to the Browns. So much of what will happen in ’26 depends on what happens after Sunday’s game in Cincinnati. They could (and should) be looking at a new GM and new coach, but based on what has been reported, we don’t think that will occur.

To think an NFL team, bring back a duo that has gone either 7-27 or 8-26 over the last two seasons seems ludicrous. Especially in their fifth and sixth years in charge.

And then you have the cloud of Deshaun Watson, who the Browns keep talking about to the media, hovering over the franchise. This is a team that has made three playoff appearances in the last 26 years and won just one post-season game.

Of course, keeping Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski would fall in line with the lack of accountability the Browns have had recently. And we are looking at you Bubba Ventrone.

On the other hand, we are thankful to witness the greatness of Jose Ramirez and Myles Garrett, two surefire Hall of Fame players, who play for our local teams. It would be nice for them to play for a title someday.

2026 will mark ten years since the Cavaliers won the NBA title. That’s not the 52 years we endured from 1964 to 2016, but when we started being aware of sports in 1965, it was just a year removed from the Browns’ title in ’64.

Ten years is long enough.

Another Sunday, Another Browns Loss

Sometimes you watch the Cleveland Browns play, and it seems like the movie “Groundhog Day”, where every game seems to be the same. This one was a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

Last Sunday’s game was kind of a microcosm of the recent tenure of Kevin Stefanski, at least on the offensive side, and to us, it seemed like a difference in coaching results.

The Browns got off to a great start on the first drive, moving the ball 65 yards for a touchdown. Unfortunately, those yards on the opening possession accounted for 22% (they gained 294 yards for the game) of the offensive output.

On the other side, the Bills spent the entire first half shredding the Browns’ defense taking a 20-10 lead at the half. However, Jim Schwartz did some different things and held the visitors to just three points in the second half.

To be fair, Schwartz has more talent at his disposal than Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

We thought we were going to get a holiday miracle with the special teams, but on the last play of the half, a bad snap thwarted a makable field goal attempt that could have made it a one score game going into the second half.

FYI, the Rams, a playoff team, fired their special teams’ coach after a loss on Thursday night. But Bubba Ventrone…

And by the way, what was Stefanski doing before the field goal. A face mask penalty gave Cleveland the ball on the Bills’ 30 with six seconds left. We thought the right move was just to kick, but they tried to run a play. The result was Shedeur Sanders taking the snap and throwing the ball out of bounds.

So why even do it?

The offense did have more diversity especially in the ground game, mixing in just jet sweeps, double reverses and quarterback scrambles to cobble together 160 yards, the most in a game this season.

With Quinshon Judkins getting hurt during the game, Raheem Sanders got an opportunity and gained 42 yards on 11 attempts, leading us to think why he’s been inactive for most of the season. The Browns could’ve used a better compliment to Judkins all season long, and even after Jerome Ford was put on IR, the team signed Travyeon Williams instead of giving Sanders a shot.

The Browns had a chance to win the game when they got the ball back with 5:02 left, and had a 4th and 2, but a Buffalo pass rusher basically threw T Cam Robinson aside and sacked Sanders.

We bring this up to remind everyone that Andrew Berry traded draft picks for both Robinson and KT Levenson, two of the worst tackles in the league. Oh, and he didn’t draft an offensive lineman in this past draft.

Somehow, Myles Garrett recorded a half sack, leaving him a sack shy of breaking the NFL record for one season. He needs one on Sunday at home against the Steelers, one, to do it at home, and also to eliminate any asterisk of having it done in a 17-game season.

Guess that’s the best reason to interrupt your holiday season to watch the Browns.

Browns Appear Disinterested In Latest Debacle

Let’s start with the good stuff about the Browns lopsided 31-3 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Mainly because that will be quick.

The great Myles Garrett had 1.5 sacks to bring his season total to 21.5, one short of the all-time record for a single season, currently held by Michael Strahan and T. J. Watt. With the next two games at home, Garrett is set up to break the record in front of the home crowd, which frankly will be the highlight of this miserable season.

And Andre Szmyt kicked a 50-yard field goal in the cold, windy conditions. We know we wanted him to be cut after missing what would have been the game winning kick in the opener vs. Cincinnati, but he has been solid, making 18 for 21 overall and hitting four of five over 50 yards.

He’s looks like a keeper.

Now, for the rest of the mess.

The game started with a 52-yard kickoff return by Devin Duvernay. The special teams have reached comical status at this point. They are dreadful, but sure, Bubba Ventrone is a solid coach.

Apparently, QB Shedeur Sanders had the wrong wristband with the play sheet when the game started, which resulted in him being very confused by the plays being sent in. Probably because they weren’t on the sheet.

At halftime, the score was 14-0 in favor of the Bears and our thought at the time was it might have been the most uncompetitive 14-0 game ever. The Browns were never in this one.

After the Titans’ game (reminder Tennessee has won two games this season), many pundits wanted to give credit to coach Kevin Stefanski for the progress made by Sanders this season. And we agree he has made progress. He seems to be better in each game.

However, the loss to the Bears should remind everyone why the franchise should do a full cleaning of the front office and coaching staff (except for Jim Schwartz) after the season. This is a team devoid of so many things: talent, leadership, character, etc.

And that last comment should tell you that GM Andrew Berry has to go as well.

One other mark against Berry should be WR Jerry Jeudy, who did the seemingly impossible task of turning a touchdown into an interception when he let Sanders’ pass go through his hands, bounce off his chest and into the hands of DB Jaylon Jackson.

Sanders didn’t have a good day, completing 18 of 35 for 177 yards and had two other interceptions which were his fault. However, we would still like to see how he can play in a halfway decent offensive system.

We agree with Daryl Johnston, the analyst for the game that the QB has tunnel vision at times for fellow rookie Harold Fannin, who did catch seven passes for 48 yards. Our guess is he doesn’t have a lot of trust for anyone else out there.

That said, the two long passes to Isaiah Bond, one for 47 yards and the other for 42 yards, were beautiful throws.

And we are on record that if you can’t get newly named Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, who we think is the best QB in the draft, then draft an offensive lineman and a wide receiver with the two first round picks and run it back with Sanders next season.

We also thought it was funny the telecast talked about the Bears’ commitment to improve the offensive line last off-season. The Browns, of course, said we’re good.

It’s a disaster.

Three more games in this torturing season remain. Hopefully, Browns’ fans will get to see Garrett break a record.

Time For Browns To Clean Up This Mess

When Paul DePodesta was with the Browns, it could be said that no one knew what the chain of command within the organization was. The team itself talked about the famous “collaborative effort”, which we guess was put in place so no one would have to take the blame directly.

With DePodesta now running a baseball team, a job he is certainly more suited for, this is as good as time as any to make changes in Berea. Get rid of the collaborative process, get rid of GM Andrew Berry, and get rid of the head coach and push a gigantic reset button for the franchise.

Yes, under this regime the Browns made the playoffs twice, but overall, since Stefanski has been the head coach and Berry the GM, the Browns have gone 43-53, which isn’t great, but the past two years have seen a 6-23 mark.

We joke about analytics being best used as a way to justify a bad decision, and the Haslam family can point to the two playoff seasons as the reason to keep Stefanski, and Berry’s 2025 draft as the reason to keep him as GM.

Except, outside of Hue Jackson, who gets to keep an NFL head coaching position winning six games over two seasons, or better yet losing 10 or more contests in half of the seasons they coach?

And as for Berry, yes,this draft has yielded some building blocks for the future, but what about the five previous drafts, which brought the Browns just one Pro Bowl player in Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

We know the team didn’t have first round picks in three of those seasons, but what was the reason for that? Since it was a team decision, the GM was part of it no?

As for the coach, he’s came here as an offensive mind and his team struggles to score 20 points on weekly basis, something NFL teams, even bad ones, do all the time.

We don’t want the ownership involved in football operations; that’s for sure. One of our favorite sayings is “the wise man knows what he doesn’t know”. So, the Haslams need to hire a football professional and let him run football operations.

Let that guy hire a coach and a GM that can work together and develop a clear vision for what the franchise is going to be. Since the Browns play in the AFC North, we would like to see a physical team that can run the football.

Right now, the franchise has that on one side of the ball. The defense built over the years (you can’t really credit Berry since the two best players, Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, were here when he arrived) and run by Jim Schwartz is championship quality.

We get the whole “passing league” stuff but look at teams that run the ball well this season. The top five in rushing yards are the Lions, Cowboys, Colts, Patriots, and Seahawks. All of those teams, except maybe Dallas, will be in the post-season.

When the Browns had Nick Chubb and an offensive line coach by Bill Callahan, they were one of those teams. But the Watson trade was made and the front office ignored helping the line and we presume they thought Chubb was never going to get old.

In other words, they lost their identity on offense.

The Browns need to clean house this off-season and come up with a new direction and make one person responsible for keeping the franchise on course.

Standing pat after six seasons with only one playoff win shouldn’t even be a thought

Special Teams Just One Problem For The Browns

A few weeks ago, after another loss, there was a discussion about accountability and as an organization, do the Cleveland Browns have it? We are sure that talk will be raised again after a 26-8 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday.

The Browns are now 3-9 this season and since they made the playoffs in 2023, they have lost 23 of their last 29 contests.

The special teams have been a problem all season and have cost the Browns football games. There was a missed field goal in the opener. A blocked punt in week two against Baltimore. Two kick returns for touchdowns in a loss to the Jets. And then more problems against the Niners.

A 66-yard punt return set up the first San Francisco touchdown. There were two fumbled punts by Gage Larvadain, the latter, which was recovered by the 49ers, setting up a short field for the last TD for the winners.

And perhaps the worst gaffe was Malachi Corley fielding a kickoff that was clearly headed out of bounds on the 6-yard-line right on the sideline. Instead of getting the ball on the 40, it was a self-imposed 34-yard penalty in reality.

So, it’s not just one bad game by the special teams, it’s been an issue all season, and even last year as well. Bubba Ventrone might be a solid football coach, and clearly what he is teaching his players isn’t getting through or he is unwilling to change personnel on his units. Either way, he shouldn’t be coaching for the Browns this weekend.

It’s easy to talk about firing coaches, but it’s difficult, after all, these are people. That’s why we don’t generally make knee-jerk reactions to take that action. But a change needs to be made.

Shedeur Sanders played okay, completing 16 of 25 passes for 149 yards and did not have a turnover on a challenging day to throw. The 49ers QB, Brock Purdy threw for only 168 yards, so guessing the wind was a factor.

On the other hand, the Browns only scored eight points. The fact is simply this. The Browns have only scored more than 17 points, a very reasonable number for any NFL team to put on the scoreboard, just three times this season. They only accomplished this four times last year, meaning in the last 29 contests, they’ve put up more than 17 just seven times.

Just this past week of games, 20 teams accomplished this. It’s just not that difficult.

The New York Jets aren’t a good team, right? They put up more than 17 points in seven games this year! Tennessee is 1-11 and they’ve scored more than 17 five times. The 2-11 Giants? Nine times.

We get the offense has weaknesses. The tackle situation is just a mess. They have one solid running back. The best pass catchers are tight ends. But you should be able to put together something to score 20 points.

We think Stefanski has overcorrected. Last year, the Browns turned the ball over way too much, so this year, he’s coaching to not turn it over. And that in turn means not taking any risks. And as Bruce Arians used to say, “no risk it, no biscuit”.

The reason the Browns don’t score more than 17 points is they are coached not to score more than 17 points. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And Andrew Berry shares the blame because while he has stacked the defense, he’s ignored the offense. You can’t be strong on just one side of the football and expect to win consistently.

Will there be a coaching change after the season? With this organization, who can be sure. But running it back with this staff and front office next season seems to be a poor choice.

And wasting two years of an elite defense just adds salt to the wound.

Browns Issue Isn’t QB. It’s Everything Else On Offense (Pretty Much)

In the end, the Cleveland Browns showed their fans something in the 23-16 loss to Baltimore on Sunday that dropped the team’s record to 2-8 on the season.

That 2-8 coupled with last season’s 3-14 mark means Kevin Stefanski’s (and Andrew Berry too) team is now 5-22 over the last 27 games. No question that is not acceptable for any franchise.

But we digress. What Sunday’s game showed is even though the Browns have two first round picks in next April’s NFL Draft, they should stay away from their stated goal of getting their “franchise quarterback”.

They simply aren’t ready for that.

The Browns simply don’t have nearly enough on the offensive side of the football for any quarterback to succeed. The line is a sieve. The tackle position was already one of the worst in the NFL, and then both starters, Cam Robinson and the oft-injured Jack Conklin, went out, meaning KT Levenston and Teven Jenkins (bet you forgot he was on the team) wound up playing outside.

They are weak at the wide receiver position. Jerry Jeudy is okay, but he’s not a go to guy. Cedric Tillman has size, something in short supply with the Browns, and really who else?

They have two solid tight ends in veteran David Njoju and rookie Harold Fannin, but because the line is so poor, the former is being used primarily as a blocker, despite showing he can be a weapon in the passing game.

Fannin has been fine but needs to cut down on the number of drops.

Another rookie, Quinshon Judkins has been good, but there is no compliment to him really, and on the 4th and 6 play at the end of the game, he wasn’t on the field. Why? Who knows. He’s probably the best offensive player on the team, so why should he be on the field on the most important play of the game?

And now for the current QB situation. First, the offense really mustered up only six points, as the Browns had a defensive touchdown from Devin Bush and were set up on the 5-yard-line after a fumbled punt.

The passing attack was non-existent as the Browns had just 81 yards through the air. Dillon Gabriel was passable in the first half, completing seven of ten for 68 yards, but couldn’t put the ball in the end zone. And 26 of his yards came on one throw to Tillman, so his other six completions netted just 42 yards.

Gabriel left at halftime due to a possible concussion (maybe not RPOs with a smaller QB), so we got to see Shedeur Sanders’ NFL debut which was less than auspicious.

The fifth-round pick completed his first two throws, then went 2 for his next 14 and showed his bad habit of retreating in the pocket and taking huge losses when sacked.

Will he look any better with increased practice time? We may find out this week.

Defensively, what more can you say about Myles Garrett, who had four more sacks and appears headed to his second Defensive Player of the Year Award. We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: He’s the best defensive player in the history of the Browns.

And although Berry’s drafts should be criticized and scrutinized, he found a gem in LB Carson Schwesinger, who was all over the field, and gained his second interception. He’s probably the Defensive Rookie of the Year and should be considered for All-Pro honors.

Those two make these games worth watching, and Garrett’s chase for the season record for sacks will continue to make it compelling. He has 15 with seven games to play and the record is 22.5. He is simply incredible.

It’s on to Las Vegas. Can the Browns win? Sure, the Raiders aren’t very good. But the Browns haven’t won on the road since week two of last season. So, we might see a 0-0 tie.

Actually, that might be fun!

Berry Should Share At Least Equal Blame For Browns’ Mess

A few weeks ago, we said it was time for the Cleveland Browns to consider a coaching change. We were pushed over the edge watching an inept offense week after week.

The 17 point threshold is apparently difficult to get past, at least in Cleveland.

However, that doesn’t mean GM Andrew Berry should be off the hook (Paul DePodesta too, but that’s a different conversation). Yes, we know the 2025 draft class looks very good, and yes, we know Berry didn’t have a first round pick for the three prior seasons.

We write that last sentence knowing he was at least part of the decision to trade those picks in the Deshaun Watson trade, so he can’t be excused for not having the choices.

Shouldn’t Berry be part of the group who decides what kind of team the Cleveland Browns will be? A couple of years ago, we would have said they wanted to be a physical squad, running the ball with Nick Chubb and using a play-action passing game.

Defensively, they want to play man-to-man coverage and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback.

So, let’s look at the offense, since that is the huge problem right now.

The offensive line is a major problem, and Berry chose to draft two running backs and two quarterbacks and no linemen last draft. In 2024, he drafted Zak Zinter on the third round, and Zinter has not been active for any game this year.

He did draft two in ’23, Dawand Jones in the 4th round and Luke Wypler in the 6th, and drafted only one, Dawson Deaton in the 7th round in ’22. The year prior it was James Hudson on the 4th.

Jones is often injured and Wypler looks like he has a future. That’s all the GM has to show for the last five drafts.

His misses at the wide receiver position are also well documented. He coveted Jerry Jeudy for several years and then gave him a big contract during his first season with the Browns, by far the best of career.

Here are his draft picks: Anthony Schwartz (3rd round-2021), David Bell (3rd-’22), Michael Woods (5th-’22), Cedric Tillman (3rd-’23), Jamari Thrash (5th-’24). The last two of this group show promise, but there are no standouts to this point.

He signed Isaiah Bond as a free agent, and it seemed like the organization was patting itself on the back for that move, but Bond has shown little so far, and seems to have been handed a starting gig after Tillman was injured.

He also never drafted an heir apparent to Chubb as the running back was getting into his late twenties. A good general manager has to keep his roster prepared.

Berry has famously drafted only one Pro Bowler as well, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, in the drafts he has presided over. He has found good value on the undrafted free agent market, S Ronnie Hickman and LB Mohamoud Diabate stand out, but that doesn’t outweigh not getting impact players in the draft.

In short, what can Berry hang his hat on? He has strengthened the defense for sure, it’s one of the league’s best, but you can’t just have one strong unit in the NFL and win. Not to mention the team’s best player, Myles Garrett, was not selected by the current GM.

Does one solid draft mean Andrew Berry’s done a solid job. We say no. He is equally responsible for the failure of the Cleveland Browns.