Browns Keep Bringing Up Watson. They Are Fooling Themselves

For the most part, no professional sports team should make decisions about who is on team based on the fans. There is an old saying that if you cater to the ticket holders, you will soon be sitting with them.

Over the past six months, there seem to be a lot of stories out of Berea about Deshaun Watson, who since he arrived in Cleveland via one of the worst trades in NFL history, has been more unavailable than able to play.

Near the end of last season, we heard about how he was able to practice, and at least one scribe asked if he would be activated before the end of the regular season. He was not.

Now, since Todd Monken has been hired as the new coach, it was reported that he is “intrigued” with the idea of Watson being the starter when the 2026 season begins this fall.

If you are a Browns’ fan and we are, you want the Browns to win, to be the franchise they were when we grew up in the late 1960’s when they were perennially in the mix for the NFL Championship.

That said, it can also be true that most fans are done with Watson. They don’t care if he never plays another down with the team and many think the Browns should do what Denver did with Russell Wilson, just release him, take the massive cap hit and be done with it.

And although part of the reason is the legal issues Watson had after leaving Houston, but it is also what Watson represents–failure. He is a reminder that the Browns gave up three first round picks and put themselves in salary cap hell with the trade.

As for whether or not Watson can still be the guy who threw for a league leading 4823 yards in his last year with the Texans, let us remind everyone that is happening in 2020. That’s six years ago!

Among the other top ten passers in yardage in that season were Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Philip Rivers. They are all retired.

In the 85 regular season games played by the Texans (’21 when Watson was still there) and Browns, the quarterback has been available for 19 due to a variety of injuries, a suspension, and that he sat out his last season with Houston.

His passer rating from ’20 and before was 104.5, among the best in the NFL. Since, the rating drops to 80.7.

He had 19 games of 300 yards or more passing with the Texans. None with the Browns. He had 15 contests where he threw for three or more touchdowns before the trade. None since. His completion percentage prior to 2021 was 67.2%. Touchdown to interception ratio in Houston was 104:36, with the Browns 19:12.

His average yards per attempt has dropped from 8.3 to 6.0.

And perhaps the most telling numbers? He was 25 years old in 2020 and when the ’26 season begins, he will be 31.

We understand guys are still playing effective quarterback in the NFL into their late 30’s. Matthew Stafford was the league MVP this past year at 37. Aaron Rodgers took Pittsburgh to the playoffs at 42. But neither of them had a five-year span where they were ineffective and then came back to be very good again.

Add into the mix that 2026 is Watson’s last year on his contract so if he plays and recaptures his pre-Cleveland form, he will not likely be resigning with the Browns.

We aren’t a salary cap guru, but the best thing to do for the franchise and the fan base is to forget Watson is still on the roster and work out something with him.

The Browns need to move forward and not have a reminder of a terrible mistake hanging around.

Monkin Is Here, Now Comes The QB Obsession

Now that the Cleveland Browns have hired a head coach in Todd Monkin, the next obsession for the fans of the team is quarterback. Of course, many have tied the hiring of Monkin into an endorsement of Shedeur Sanders, who started the last seven games for the Browns last year.

The rookie’s statistics were not great. A 56.6% completion percentage. His touchdown to interception ratio was 7 to 10.

On the other hand, when he played, the Browns did score 20 or more points in four of his starts and managed to go 3-4, which isn’t great, but remember, Cleveland did go 5-12 last season.

So, the maniacs out there have concluded that Monken got the job because he thinks Sanders can be the starting QB in 2026, and the proof (in those eyes) is the Ravens, Monken’s last employer wanted to draft him last season. Something alluded to in the video released by the Browns on the coach’s first day in town.

We did see a lot of good things from Sanders, but we are not in the camp that thinks he is the next Dan Marino either. In terms of passer rating, his fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel ranks better and his QBR is also better.

However, the eye test says Sanders was the much better player. You know, “lies, damn lies, and statistics”.

Still, the Browns should readjust their quarterback room going into 2026.

Yes, we know the team and Monken continue to mention Deshaun Watson in the plans, and to that we say, he could return to his old form in the same way we can buy a lottery ticket and perhaps we will win the Mega Millions jackpot. It’s been six years since he was a very good player.

It could happen, it’s just not likely.

And for the umpteenth time, we think the Browns should reach some kind of agreement with Watson where he gets his money and stays home. The people who think Sanders would be a huge distraction is he isn’t the starter, what do they think Watson is or would be?

But if we were the new coach, we would not want to cast the lot of our first season in the hands of Sanders alone. We would want to bring in a veteran to compete for the job. Perhaps it is free agent Malik Willis, a prize on the market, or maybe someone like a Geno Smith, who can go out and give the Browns decent production at the position if Sanders doesn’t show well in camp.

And we would also look to draft someone, not with one of the two first round picks (get offensive linemen and/or wide receivers), but maybe on day three. Remember, Monken was the offensive coordinator at Georgia when Carson Beck was there.

One other comment about QBs. These pundits who keep writing about Arch Manning, please do not give the Browns another excuse to be terrible next year, which is likely the only way to be in a position to draft him.

The organization has to be out of the mentality that the only way to solve the QB issue is to get the first pick in the NFL Draft. Of the top five passers in the NFL, only Joe Burrow was obtained that way.

Yes, you probably have to be in the top dozen picks or so, but you don’t have to be first. The Browns need to start winning games and make progress toward being a playoff team on at least a semi-regular basis.

Going 4-13 or 5-12 every year and making that your expectation? That’s not helping your new coach or the GM.

Should Browns Look Within If Schwartz Is Out?

Apparently, all the rumors about the Browns telling coaching candidates they wanted Jim Schwartz to stay on as defensive coordinator were a bunch of baloney.

Or the Browns did tell the interviewees they would like to keep the veteran coach on staff, but they didn’t let Schwartz in on the plan.

According to reports, Schwartz was angered that he didn’t get the job, left the facility and told the staff goodbye. At 59, he probably thought this was his best shot to get a second chance at being a head coach, but the Browns seemed to prefer an offensive head man.

We thought Schwartz would be a good hire as the head coach, and pairing him with a younger offensive coordinator would have been a solid plan, but the front office had to know this was a possible consequence to naming Todd Monken as the head coach.

Of course, we have seen the print and broadcast media saying the Browns should work things out with the man who guided a very good defense in his three years here, because he’s under contract, but do you really want someone who is disgruntled around your football team?

That would be another odd circumstance in the story of this franchise.

Now, here’s the part the Browns need to learn from past mistakes.

When Bill Callahan left the Browns to go to Tennessee to coach with his son before the 2024 season, Cleveland went out and hired Andy Dickerson to coach the offensive line. By the middle of the season, he wasn’t really involved with that job with assistant line coach Roy Istvan and consultant Mike Vrabel handling the duties.

We always wondered why they didn’t hire Scott Peters, Callahan’s assistant, who went on to New England and is currently the Bengals’ O-Line coach. The thought was continuing the scheme and work habits put in place by one of the best coaches for that position in the business.

So, for us, the logical person to take over the defense would be linebackers’ coach Jason Tarver. We always hear the people involved with the team raving about his ability, and he has defensive coordinator experience with the Raiders from 2014-16.

You would think Tarver has learned a lot from his time with Schwartz and he has been with mainstays like Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, being on the Browns’ staff since 2020.

And he could continue the scheme that Schwartz has put in place.

We get that this would have to be signed off with Monken, who may have someone else in mind to run the defense.

And not to diminish Schwartz’ contribution over the last three seasons, there are probably several defensive minds who given Garrett, Ward, Carson Schwesinger, Mason Graham, Tavin Campbell, etc.

There is a lot of talent on the Cleveland defense.

For the Browns, much like Callahan, let Schwartz move on and be happy coaching at his next stop. As we said before, it would not be fair to Monken to have someone who was forced to be there on his staff.

Jim Schwartz is one of the best defensive coordinators in the business, but he is hardly the only good one out there. The players are in place and why not try a little continuity instead of a totally new system that might take half a season to figure out?

After A Weird Process, Browns Go With Monken

The Cleveland Browns finally came to a conclusion on their head coaching search, hiring Todd Monken for the job.

Our reaction to the hire will be reserved until Monken actually coaches a game because despite what everyone will read over the next five months until training camp starts, no one really knows what kind of job he will do.

Monken, who will be 60 a week from today, has been an offensive coordinator in the pros with Tampa from 2016-18, with the Browns in 2019, and with the Ravens for the past three years with the three years in between spent at Georgia.

He ran a passing offense with the Buccaneers and a running offense with the Ravens, so he seems like someone who can adapt, which is always a good trait.

He’s only been a head coach at the college level, three years at Southern Mississippi where he took over an 0-12 team and led them to a 9-5 record in his third year.

However, the month long process is something we have to take issue with because it points to the reason as to why this organization has been stuck in the mire for the last 14 years, since Jimmy Haslam bought the team.

“A camel is a horse designed by committee” – Alec Issigonis
“If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it” – Charles Kettering
“If you see a snake, just kill it, don’t appoint a committee on snakes” – Ross Perot
“A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours” – Milton Berle

There are hundreds of quotes criticizing committees out there, yet that’s how the Browns continue to look for head coaches.

They started out with nine candidates, whittled it down to six. Two of the half-dozen dropped out, one because they took another head coaching job, leaving four to undergo second interviews.

That field was narrowed to three.

This seems like a process where either too many people are involved or the person/people making the decision are afraid to make a mistake. That’s because it’s a committee making the decision.

We haven’t hired an NFL head coach, but we have hired people and the process the Browns went through seems incredibly unwieldy. First, if we had a pool of nine candidates, we would probably narrow it down to three or four right off the bat.

Of course, that’s just one person doing the review. If you have three, four, or even five people involved, each of those people are going to have their own favorites.

Then after the second talk, you would have two candidates and then pass the decision over to the ultimate decision maker, in this case, ownership.

It points out once again that what the Browns really need is a head of football operations, who then hires a GM and a coach and they all work together, having one vision for how to build a winning team.

Instead, we have another cliche: “too many cooks spoil the broth”.

With the current set up, we fear the only way the Browns will succeed is by luck.

On the other hand, Monken is a veteran coach, and we agree the Browns need that. They need to win and we believe they couldn’t afford to go through a learning curve with a younger first-time head coach.

Was he a compromise between the owner who wanted Jim Schwartz and the GM who wanted Nate Scheelhaase? Maybe. But that’s not going to matter to Monken, who is getting the biggest opportunity of his career and will want to make the most of it.

Browns’ Coaching Search Engenders Many Questions

Let’s just say our trust level in the Browns’ front office picking the right person to be the team’s next head coach is low. This is based on their decision making over the last ten years.

While we did think they made a good move in basically going to a full rebuild following a 3-13 season in 2015, the decisions made after that, such as changing the course two years in and then the whole Deshaun Watson situation, makes us doubtful in this group.

To be fair, the group has changed a bit. Paul DePodesta left the organization to run the Colorado Rockies, leaving the Haslam family, which we would guess includes son-in-law JW Johnson and GM Andrew Berry to make the choice.

One thing that bothers us is the second interview group. It seems like the Browns talked to about ten candidates and narrowed it down to six or seven, which seems too many. We have hired people and let’s say we see ten resumes we like, after talking to each of them, a usual number to reduce the field to would be three or four.

And no, we haven’t interviewed for a head coach of an NFL team.

Our fear is that each of the people involved have their own favorite(s), and that’s why there are so many candidates still in the second round of talks. That’s the “collaborative process” that is apparently still going to continue.

And no, that’s not really the right way to run things.

The Browns like to hire smart people and that on face value is a good thing. However, if you have three smart people in a room and they all have different ideas on how to get something done, nothing will get accomplished.

What you need is to put together people who are on the same page in completing a task and that way, the problem will be solved.

The best front offices are made up of a coach and GM who are on the same page in terms of how to win and how to build a roster. Also, having a GM that is a great talent evaluator helps as well.

In that model, the GM and scouting staff can identify the type of player the coaching staff wants/needs and they find those players.

Does anyone think Berry can identify a good quarterback, good offensive linemen, and good wide receivers? Maybe he can, but the other people involved in decision making overruled him.

One other thought…does anyone believe that the Browns, out of all the teams in the NFL can identify the next wunderkind new coach?

That’s why we are skeptical of the growing groundswell for Jaguars’ offensive coordinator Grant Udinski and Rams’ passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase. Both would be huge risks as head coaches. Maybe they would be the next Sean McVey? Or maybe they’d be Shane Steichen?

The point is the Browns need someone who can teach them how to win, how to be a football team that competes for playoff spots. That sounds like Sean McDermott, who should be a top candidate.

We just have little confidence they are interested in a coach like that.

What Are Browns Trying To Accomplish With New Coaching Hire?

Tell me really. How much confidence do you have that the Browns won’t screw up this coaching search?

There is an old saying that when you decide to fire someone, a good organization has a plan as to who is going to succeed them. For example, New England knew when they let Jerod Mayo go, that they had a very good chance of hiring Mike Vrabel, a former Patriot player who had a very good coaching resume.

Does anyone think the Browns had a plan?

Of course, we advocated for Cleveland to do what it could to get John Harbaugh, knowing the best asset the Browns had was money. We also felt the next logical person to get the job is defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and we still feel that way.

Many people in the local media are saying the Browns’ job isn’t as bad as it is viewed nationally, and there is some merit to that. On ESPN Radio’s “Unsportsmanlike”, they viewed the job as the third best among the available openings, behind the Giants and Ravens.

Why do people nationally think the Cleveland head coaching position is toxic? First, it comes from history. While Kevin Stefanski did have six seasons at the helm, prior to that it was musical chairs, with a change seemingly every two years.

That gave the Haslam family a reputation as meddlers. And the thought has occurred here that this search might be more about having control over the head coach and less about winning football games.

The reason is that many of the names being bandied about are very young coaches. Now, we understand some of them may be being brought in to talk about an offensive coordinator post, but if the Browns hire one of these wunderkinds, don’t you think that gives the front office an opportunity to pick some assistants?

It seems at times that it is a classic case of “yes, we want to win, but we want to do it our way”. They have an idea of what they want the organization to look like, but based on that track record, it hasn’t worked. Yet they seem unwilling to make any changes. They are in love with the collaborative effort.

What the Browns need most is a change in culture, leadership, and accountability. That’s a big reason we wanted them to get serious about Harbaugh. He would change the culture. And it’s also why Andrew Berry should have been let go as well.

The job might have been more desirable if the new coach had a chance to bring in his own GM, one that knew how to pick offensive linemen and bigger wide receivers.

Who is the leader in the Browns’ locker room? It might just be rookie Carson Schwesinger, who gutted it out in the penultimate contest against the Steelers.

They need someone who is going to come in and not worry about a “rebuilding plan” and how are they going to get a franchise quarterback. They need someone who is all about winning.

That’s why right now, the best pairing would be to hire Schwartz and pair him with one of the bright offensive minds they have interviewed. Schwartz can pick one of his defensive assistants to handle the coordinator post.

Could it work out for the Browns? Of course. People win the lottery every day too.

Has the ownership looked in the mirror and asked if they need to get a “Lord of Football”? Let’s just say the odds are slim.

Keeping Schwartz In One Way Or Another Should Be A Goal For Browns

It’s coaching search time for the Cleveland Browns and we have already said the best choice for the team would be to get John Harbaugh, although we have our doubts whether or not the Haslams and Andrew Berry will be able to get it done.

The Browns have already interviewed both of their coordinators, Tommy Rees and Jim Schwartz. Schwartz is an interesting candidate in that he, of course, has previous head coaching experience with the Lions from 2009-2013, going 29-51 in his tenure there with one playoff appearance.

It has been reported that the Browns would like to retain Schwartz as the defensive coordinator, if at all possible, to work with whomever is selected as the new head man.

And that makes total sense.

Look, we know there are a lot of coaches who will want to come in and have “their guys” in place. Many of them also want the same thing in players, so they gut the current roster and sometimes that is merited, but at times they are also getting rid of good players whose only problem is they were picked by the previous regime.

We understand that on the coaching side of things. Coaches obviously have connections with other guys who have done that job, and heck, if you are running any kind of organization, you want to work with people who have a similar philosophy.

But Jim Schwartz should be a different story. He is one of the best at what he does in running a defense. The Browns have ranked in the top five in yards allowed in two of his three seasons as the DC, and if he is willing to stay with the franchise in that capacity, it shouldn’t be a negative for a younger, offensive minded coach if they are offered the job.

If the Browns hired a guy with a defensive background, we could understand there could be a clash in philosophies with Schwartz. That brings us to our next point.

We wouldn’t be opposed to giving Schwartz the head coaching job and bringing aboard a new offensive mind. Yes, that would likely mean a revolving door for the OC job, because if the new coordinator has a lot of success here, meaning the Browns suddenly become an offensive juggernaut, that guy is going to be on the short list during the next coaching cycle.

We mentioned Schwartz’ record with the Lions, but we wouldn’t hold that against him. First, it has been more than 10 years since he was last a head coach, and we believe many coaches learn more about the job the longer they do it. We are sure over this time period he had time to reflect on what we would do differently if he got another opportunity.

Right now, we think it is important for the Browns to choose someone who has done the job before. Hiring a head coach and hoping he will grow into the job and have some growing pains isn’t the best plan. And we’ve all seen the “hire the hot coordinator” theory in action and sometimes, those guys show they are not suited to being the head man.

So, while Harbaugh should be the #1 choice, we don’t have a huge issue with Mike McDaniel getting the gig, with the assumption Schwartz stays as DC, or hiring Schwartz with a young offensive coordinator.

Whether the ownership and Andrew Berry think that way is another matter.

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.