Browns, Baker, OBJ: It Just Didn’t Fit

The knee-jerk reaction to the events that occurred this week with the Cleveland Browns is to declare the age old saying “same ol’ Browns”. That’s not entirely fair.

The old Browns, the ones led by Hue Jackson, Joe Banner, etc. seemed different. The head coach and the GM usually seemed like they were on different pages and many times one sabotaged the other.

This current group, with Paul DePodesta, GM Andrew Berry, and coach Kevin Stefanski, seem to be on the same page. They come to decisions together, they don’t seem to be running to owner Jimmy Haslam to point out a mistake made by one of the others in order to gain more power within the organization.

We don’t know what brought the situation with Odell Beckham Jr. to a head, but in our viewpoint, the front office dealt with it swiftly and decisively.

Our opinion was the video put out by Beckham’s dad, released a day before the trading deadline, was a move to force the front office to trade the wide receiver. Perhaps Beckham, if frustration, went to Stefanski and requested a quarterback change, and was told there would not be one.

But when Berry couldn’t reach a deal that made sense for the Browns, Stefanski, Berry, and DePodesta decided it was time to cut ties with the wide out. The reason Beckham was told to stay away from practice on Wednesday and Thursday was the negotiations were taking place with his agent to release him or put him on waivers.

Whatever, the situation was didn’t work out in Cleveland. First, OBJ has the reputation and carries himself like an elite pass catcher, but the fact is he hasn’t been one since 2016, when he caught 101 passes for 1367 yards with the Giants.

The following season, the injuries started, ironically in a pre-season game against the Browns, when a hit by Briean Boddy-Calhoun caused a sprained ankle. Beckham and the Giants claimed it was a dirty hit, but in our view at the time, it looked perfectly legal.

OBJ missed most of the 2017 season, playing just four games, and the following year, his numbers dropped to 77 catches for 1052 yards, and was traded to the Browns following that season.

He played through a core injury in ’19, but barely had 1000 yards receiving (1035), catching 74 passes. Last year, it was the torn ACL, and this year a shoulder injury.

There is no evidence he was a bad guy in the locker room, but did he have the same priority as the other players? As former Steelers’ coach Bill Cowher said yesterday, would OBJ rather catch eight passes in a Browns’ loss than catch one pass in a Cleveland victory?

We have been on teams with players like that, and it makes one roll their eyes.

You also have to think about the fact (and it isn’t anecdotal, the numbers are real) that Baker Mayfield has better numbers with Beckham not on the field than with him on the field. Now, we don’t have empirical evidence as to why that’s true, but if Baker has a good game today, it will be brought up again.

In football, sometimes a player isn’t a good fit in a particular offense.

History gives us a similar situation, ironically involving the same teams. After the Browns traded Paul Warfield to get Mike Phipps prior to the 1970 draft, feeling they needed to replace Warfield, Cleveland traded for Giants’ WR Homer Jones, who made two Pro Bowls, and averaged over 20 yards per catch with New York.

Jones had those gaudy numbers in part, because he found open spots while Fran Tarkenton, a scrambler, ran away from pressure. With the Browns, and a regular drop back passer in Bill Nelsen, Jones caught just 10 passes for 141 yards and a single touchdown.

He was out of the league the next season.

Sometimes, it just doesn’t fit. That seems to sum up Odell Beckham Jr.’s time with the Browns.

What Fans Really Want From Owners.

What is the role a professional sports team owner? It seems in Cleveland we talk about the ownership of the Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers a lot, and our thought is what do fans want from the owners?

We believe most fans want the owners to stay out of the day to day operations of the team. Hire a good front office staff and get the heck out of the way.

That’s the strength of the Indians. The Dolan family have had two men in charge since they purchased the team–Mark Shapiro and Chris Antonetti.

Really, since Richard Jacobs bought the team in 1986, there has been stability at the top, starting with Hank Peters, on to John Hart, to Shapiro and Antonetti. That’s 34 years where the head of baseball operations has come from within.

Now, some will debate whether or not that is a good thing or not, but there seems to be a continuous plan on the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

However, there is the matter of payroll for the players, the folks fans pay to see on a regular basis.

Really, this doesn’t come into focus unless the team is in contention mode.

No one really complains that the Browns have had plenty of salary cap space over the past ten years because they’ve been quite frankly, terrible.

We heard a local radio personality complain the Haslams are reluctant to spend money, pointing out the significant dollars under the cap, but we feel most people think it would be worse if they were up against the threshold and they continually finished 5-11 or 6-10.

The Cavaliers are trying to get out of the luxury tax in the NBA and no one is raising a stink about this. Why? The Cavs are rebuilding. It’s a non-issue.

Look at the situation the Pittsburgh Pirates are currently in. Their payroll will be around $50 million this season, but there is no uproar because the team is firmly in rebuilding mode. If this was the situation the Indians were in, the same would be true in northeast Ohio.

Fans want teams to spend when the time is right. Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers went above and beyond when LeBron James was here in terms on exceeding the salary cap in an effort to win a title. That’s why the ticket buying public support him.

And we have no doubt Jimmy and Dee Haslam will spend if and when the Browns are a playoff team to try and get the team to its first Super Bowl. Unfortunately, it’s been 30 years since the Cleveland football team has been in that situation.

That’s the frustration fans have with the Indians. They are most definitely in contention, making three post-season appearances in the last four seasons. Yet, for whatever reason, they are reducing the amount of money to be spent on players.

And we do understand the lack of a salary cap in baseball, which you wouldn’t think plays into the Indians’ situation, but it does because big market teams can conceivably spend hugely.

Fans want owners to want to win, particularly in a market where there has been one professional sports title in the last 56 years.

All of the other things are nice, but championships are what really matters to the fans. It would be nice if all of the owners of professional sports teams understood this.

Why Do People Keep Moving The Bar For Browns?

Based on recent history, the Cleveland Browns don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt on anything they do.

It’s been 12 seasons (2007) since the team finished over the .500 mark. Out of those dozen years, 10 of them have resulted in 10 or more losses, with only the 7-9 campaign in 2014, and 2018’s 7-8-1 mark being exceptions.

So, we can understand the feeling that no matter what the Browns do, it’s the wrong decision.

However, that shouldn’t be a reason to look at the new organization set up as bad either. While we get the cynicism, let’s all take a deep breath.

It seems most of the football fans in Cleveland got enamored with the prospect of Josh McDaniels being the head coach with one of his friends from New England becoming the general manager.

There were a ton of people who thought this was a done deal, and be the cure-all for what has been ailing the Browns for the past 20 years.

When that didn’t happen, anything Jimmy Haslam and Paul DePodesta did was going to be a failure. Again, we understand that those two are reaping what they sowed, but it isn’t fair to the people they did hire, coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry.

All the criticism is in the name of the feared word: ANALYTICS!!!

Forget that Berry was a scout for six years while working for the Indianapolis Colts and then was vice president of personnel for the Browns from 2016 to 2018. People act like he was some accountant crunching the cost of concessions at First Energy Stadium and the Browns put him in charge.

What the Browns really want is a group of people who can work together. DePodesta liked Stefanski during the interviews for the head coaching position a year ago, so apparently they get along.

Berry was still with the Browns when those interviews were going on last year, and it has been reported that the new GM and the new coach shared common ideas.

There shouldn’t be any butting heads among this trio, and when was the last time we heard about that in Berea.

Also, let’s also get rid of the notion that John Dorsey didn’t make any bad draft choices or questionable personnel decisions.

While he hit on Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, and Nick Chubb in 2018, he also picked Chad Thomas in round three, and Antonio Callaway in the 4th. And picking Austin Corbett with the 33rd overall selection was a big whiff.

Meanwhile, while Berry was here, Cleveland selected Larry Ogunjobi and Joe Schobert, while Emmanuel Ogbah (5.5 sacks with KC this season) and Carl Nassib (6 sacks with Tampa in ’19) are productive football players jettisoned by Dorsey.

And don’t forget WR Rashard Higgins was in the 2016 class as well.

The fear here is what happens if or when something doesn’t go as planned. For example, a 7-9 or worse season in 2020. Then what happens?

Hopefully, the ownership can control themselves from getting rid of this group and starting over again. Right now, that has to be a concern until proven otherwise.

Or what happens if someone outside the organization tells the Haslams something and they believe this is a better way to reach the playoffs. That’s another thing that has been a problem in the past.

Let this group do their job and stop pining for something or someone fans thought was going to be the fix to the problems of the Cleveland Browns. That’s not fear to DePodesta, Stefanski, and Berry.

Browns Biggest Problem? Lack Of One Vision.

Well, another year and another coaching change for the Cleveland Browns. Actually, the 2019 season had one less replacement than 2018, so if you are looking for a silver lining, we guess that is it.

Freddie Kitchens is out after one year, the second Cleveland coach to have that short of a tenure within the past ten years (Rob Chudzinski) and if you count Gregg Williams, the organization has given three coaches 16 games or less in the recent past.

And, of course, there are rumors that the firings may not be done in Berea, and perhaps GM John Dorsey’s job is in jeopardy.

People wonder why the Browns can’t win? It’s because of the wash, rinse, repeat cycle that is endless for the team, and in particular, Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

The owners apparently can’t stop listening to anyone and everyone, and the organizational structure, which right now has Dorsey and analytics guru Paul DePodesta both reporting to the Haslams, causes problems, time and again.

Those who don’t learn from the past and doomed to repeat it.

Remember that Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson both reported to the owners, and when the losing started after Brown gutted the roster (which Jackson knew was happening), the coach used his influence to get Brown out of town.

Then, Dorsey used the same process to get Jackson fired, even though both reported directly to the Haslams.

Dorsey hired Kitchens and the coach reported to the GM, but it has been reported that DePodesta didn’t want Jackson or Kitchens, instead wanting to hire Sean McDermott (now with Buffalo instead of Jackson) and then Minnesota offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski (not Kitchens).

It appears DePodesta has whispered to the Haslams that he was right on both counts and should have more of a say in the hiring of the new man.

Of course, if the new coach struggles, then Dorsey will be talking to them saying DePodesta doesn’t know anything, and we will start the process again.

The Browns need a director of football operations badly. They need one voice talking to the ownership about the team, so the political “football” (no pun intended) ends. It is obvious the Haslams cannot handle opposing viewpoints from people who talk directly to them.

They are like the kid who is trying to be popular in school, trying to be everyone’s friend.

Our two cents would be that Dorsey stays as the GM, as he’s brought a lot of talent into the organization, with the understanding that he starts taking character of the players into account.

Hopefully, he has learned from the past year, players who have talent but a questionable work ethics will no longer be tolerated.

The next coach should come from a collaborative effort using both men, so they both have a stake in the success or failure in the new head man. That would also mean they would work together to help bring in players.

That’s what the Browns need most, a front office team all pulling in the right direction. Until the ownership realizes that, the football team will be stuck in mediocrity.

If they can’t, then this will all be repeated in 2021, or heaven forbid, at the end of the 2020 season.

Those who don’t learn from the past, are destined to repeat it.

Browns’ Coaching Search Another Trust In Dorsey Thing

Think about this, Browns’ fans. This year’s edition of the Cleveland Browns almost doubled the win total of the last three seasons…combined!

The 2016 and 2017 seasons were such a nightmare that it is easy to forget the team won three games in Mike Pettine’s last season as head coach. That’s how a team goes from four wins in three seasons to seven in 2018.

It also means no top five draft pick, and with last year’s choice of Baker Mayfield with the first overall selection, it also means, nobody is putting the top college quarterbacks entering the draft under scrutiny.

Heck, the Browns won’t even pick until #17 overall, so fans can leisurely tune in to the draft, they won’t have to turn it on right at the beginning if they so choose.

That no longer matters.

Instead, everyone’s obsession has turned to the coaching search. Who will be leading the Cleveland Browns in 2019.

Will it be Gregg Williams, who did an outstanding job (5-3) after taking over for Hue Jackson. How about Freddie Kitchens who made the Mayfield led offense one of the NFL’s best in the second half of the year?

Whoever it is, we will trust John Dorsey, assuming that the GM is making the choice without any outside interference or influence from owner Jimmy Haslam.

We have heard several national writers say the ultimate decision will be made by Haslam, which frightens us, because by now, we would have thought the owner would realize what he doesn’t know.

He’s too impressionable. He seems to hear the “hot” name out there, and want to go with them rather than the right man for the job.

The momentum built in the second half of the season cannot and should not be ignored. We believe John Dorsey understands that.

He don’t think he will be interested in a candidate who will come in and want to put his “system” in place, especially if it would entail have to swap out some of the players the Browns have on the roster.

After all, Dorsey helped accumulate the talent the Browns currently have and we think he believes in them, otherwise he would have went in a different direction.

That’s not to say the roster is where the GM wants it. He knows they need an upgrade in several areas, and with another good draft and using more salary cap space, he can accomplish that.

He wants a partner in the process, not someone who is going to fight him, something that has happened in Berea over the years when the coach and general manager are not on the same page.

Dorsey was disappointed the Browns didn’t make the playoffs this season, coming off two years with one total victory, so we doubt he wants to take a step back while a new coach put his “stamp” on the franchise. We feel he wants someone who can take the talent already on the roster and blend in the players added in the off-season, and hit the ground running next season.

So, whether it’s Mike McCarthy, Josh McDaniels, or even a college coach like Matt Campbell, we feel Dorsey has earned the right to have the trust of the fans.

He has the best intentions for the Cleveland Browns.

Browns In A Meaningful December

It is December, and the Cleveland Browns are still in a playoff race.

That seemed impossible after a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped the Browns record to 2-5-1, and raised the Steelers mark to 4-2-1. When Pittsburgh won the next three to jump to 7-2-1, it made the prospect even more remote.

But Jimmy Haslam and GM John Dorsey let Hue Jackson go after that game, and since, the Browns are 3-2, while the Steelers have dropped three straight, and have games the next two weeks with New England and New Orleans.

It’s still a tremendous long shot, but for the first time since 2014, the Browns are playing meaningful football in December.

Whether or not it will continue beyond this weekend will depend on what the Browns do this weekend against Denver, a very difficult place to play.

The Broncos are just 3-3 at home this season, but their losses are to the Chiefs (11-2), the Rams (11-2), and the Texans (9-4). A win there by Cleveland would be very impressive indeed.

It would also set the team up very nicely for a week 17 game with meaning. There is no doubt the Browns will be favored at home the weekend before Christmas against Cincinnati.

And wins in the next two contests would put Gregg Williams’ team at 7-7-1 heading into the season finale, on the road against Baltimore.

For a team that came into the season with one win in the last two years, that’s very exciting.

Again, it’s a long shot. The Browns could very well lose in Colorado this weekend, and drop the season finale and end up at 6-9-1, which again would be a tremendous accomplishment given the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The reason for the hope is not just Baker Mayfield, although he is the chief one. But Cleveland has exciting players all over the field.

It’s fun to watch Nick Chubb run the ball, to see Myles Garrett go after the quarterback, and to see the toughness of Jarvis Landry and Demarious Randall.

Sundays are fun again. And that’s a breath of fresh air.

But back to Mayfield. After the Panthers marched right down the field on the game’s opening drive, there were no worries at all. That’s what having a quarterback does for you.

When the Browns have poor down and distance situation now, we don’t dread it, instead we wonder if Mayfield can make a play to keep the drive going.

We have a QB who can throw the long pass, can beat the blitz by hitting the hot receivers, and can put the touch on the ball to get it over a linebacker and into the hands of his teammates.

When was the last time we had a signal caller that gave fans that kind of confidence?

This isn’t to say we are elevating Mayfield to top ten quarterback in the league status, he’s started just ten games in the NFL. We’ve seen other young quarterbacks (Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston for example) come into the league and have people proclaiming them as the league’s next best things.

However, we have to say, that there aren’t many young QBs we would take over Mayfield. Perhaps just Patrick Mahomes and Carson Wentz.

Again, we may think differently next year. But, the future of Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns look very bright. Maybe even pre-expansion team bright.

Jackson’s Dismissal Was Inevitable

Whether or not the news came yesterday, or next week, following the Chiefs game, it was inevitable. Hue Jackson was going to lose his job by the end of the 2018 season.

Really, it was only the ridiculous organizational set up the Browns have, where multiple people report directly to owner Jimmy Haslam, that allowed Jackson to have started this season at all, because we doubt GM John Dorsey would have kept Jackson on as head coach after going 1-31 in his two seasons here.

After winning two of the first five games this season, two consecutive losses had the “dysfunction” returning to Berea. There were reports nationally that offensive coordinator Todd Haley could be fired after Sunday’s game. That’s the kind of news that permeated the media a year ago.

Sashi Brown was gone, Dorsey was here now. The only common denominators to the feeling the organization was in chaos were Jackson and Haslam, and the owner wasn’t going anywhere.

That leaves Jackson, whose best attribute as head coach seemed to be blaming other people for the losing.

We have heard reports that Brown wasn’t the person making the decision to start DeShone Kizer last season at quarterback, we would have been fine going with veteran Brock Osweiler.

And as for real football players, as Dorsey said early in his tenure, don’t forget not all of the players who have played well for the Browns this season arrived before the 2018 season.

Myles Garrett, Joe Schobert, Christian Kirksey, Jamie Collins and others were on the roster, yet the Browns couldn’t win a single game.

The Buffalo Bills are rebuilding this season, going into the year with rookie Josh Allen and second year man Nathan Peterman at quarterback, and when Allen was injured, they signed former Brown, Derek Anderson.

They’ve already won two games this season.

Our point is it is hard to lose every game, and even more difficult to win one contest in two seasons.

Hue Jackson accomplished it.

In reality, the reason he was brought back for a third year was Haslam not wanting to be perceived as an owner who goes through coaches like he changes underwear. He may be the only person on the planet who would have brought Jackson back for a third season.

When the Browns drafted Baker Mayfield, we are sure they told him things would be different now with Dorsey in charge, but halfway through the year, it was back to the same old Browns routine.

It was surprising that offensive coordinator Todd Haley was let go as well, meaning the offense is now in the hands of running backs coach Freddie Kitchens, and we would guess Al Saunders will be helping him out.

And even more surprising is the appointment of Gregg Williams as the head coach, and maybe that’s why Haley was let go. Picking one of the coordinators over the other may have made it uncomfortable.

Going forward, the Haslams need to change the structure of the organization and commit to Dorsey by giving him the power to hire and fire coaches. That’s how most, if not all, NFL teams work.

This kind of stupidity should not happen again. Here’s hoping the changes make a positive impact on the Browns for the rest of this season and beyond.

Hue Jackson’s Biggest Problem May Be Talking

When John Dorsey was hired as the general manager of the Cleveland Browns at the end of last season, it was thought the circus atmosphere around the franchise would end.

Guess again!

Just seven games into the 2018 season, a season in which they have already won two games and tied another, a big improvement over last year’s winless season, the Browns are in the center of controversy once again.

And this time it started because one of Hue Jackson’s issues came out once again, the love of his own voice.

After another tough loss in overtime to Tampa Bay last Sunday, Jackson was asked about the offense’s struggles in the first half. His answer was that was his area of expertise, and maybe he could help out.

Afterwards, he stated that he was the head coach of the football team several times.

Jackson doesn’t know how to deal with or handle the media. For one, he tends to speak in absolutes. For example, there was a big deal about Josh Gordon starting the opener against the Steelers, because Jackson announced he would not start.

Our point is why say Gordon would not start? Jackson could have just told the media he would decide later as to who would take the first snap.

He’s done that before too. He did it earlier in camp when talking about Joel Bitonio playing left tackle, proclaiming it plan Z. A week later, Bitonio was playing the position.

He don’t know if Jackson says these things to make himself feel important, or to be glib with the media, but he needs to learn how to speak to the reporters. Don’t say anything that can be held against you later.

As for the comments after the game about getting involved with the offense, why not say something like we have to get better at all facets of the game immediately after kickoff, there is no need to point fingers at a particular unit or coach.

That comment became the story, and after watching the offense the last two seasons, we are sure the last thing Browns fans want to see is having Jackson’s hands on it.

All of this became an issue because of the ludicrous organizational set up the Browns have, where the GM and the head coach (and who knows who else) reports directly to owner Jimmy Haslam.

We would assume that Dorsey would love to bring in his own coach, but as of this moment, Jackson doesn’t report to him, so he has no authority to replace him.

That’s not how winning organizations are set up.

We feared this very thing in the off-season when Jackson was brought back after a two year record of 1-31. We felt because of all of the losing the past couple of seasons, if the Browns struggled this season, there would be clamoring for the coach’s job.

And that’s exactly what is happening. After an encouraging win over the Ravens at home, the team laid an egg against the Chargers and played a terrible first half vs. Tampa.

The wolves started howling.

When you think about it, the situation wasn’t fair to both Dorsey and Jackson. The GM doesn’t have the coach he wants, and Jackson is questioned about his employment every time the Browns lose a game.

However, Jackson needs to learn to be quiet. As someone once said, it is better to be quiet and have people think you are stupid, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

The March To 0-16 Is Complete.

We are sure that some will find humor in the play that clinched the 0-16 season for the Cleveland Browns was a dropped pass by Corey Coleman, because it goes along with the narrative that the former first round draft pick is a bust.

That’s the state of the Browns these days. Fans are divided, and the ownership seems to be in a world of their own.

That world allows them to be content enough with a coach that has gone 1-31 over a two year span, and put together just the second 0-16 season in NFL history, to bring him back for a third season.

Imagine selling that to your fan base, after the 28-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

To be fair, the Browns fought back from an early 14-0 deficit to tie the game at 21 in the third quarter on a 5 yard touchdown pass from DeShone Kizer to Rashard Higgins, the latter’s second TD catch on the day.

The special teams, coached by zombie apocalypse survivor Chris Tabor, allowed a 96 yard kickoff return by JuJu Smith-Schuster which gave the Steelers a lead they would not relinquish.

The turnover battle, normally a loss for Cleveland, was even today, making Hue Jackson’s crew 0-12-4 for 2017 in that category.

Kizer, as he usually does, made some good throws, such as a 54 yard strike to Josh Gordon, and first TD toss to Higgins on a slant pattern. However, he also spiked several throws throughout the day, and flirted with interceptions several times in the second half before finally throwing one in the fourth quarter.

Consistency is a talent. Great players aren’t the ones who make great plays, they are guys who make positive plays all the time. Kizer is the baseball player who gets four hits in a game, but goes 0 for 18 in five other games. Professional sports is about being consistent.

The rookie quarterback didn’t get any help from his coaches, who failed to protect him all year, by throwing the ball way more than they ran it all season long.

Even today in frigid conditions, the Browns ran the ball with their running backs just 21 times, compared to 42 passing plays (30 passes, six sacks, six runs by Kizer). By contrast, Pittsburgh had 25 running plays and 33 passing plays (27 throws, three sacks, and three bad snaps).

Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin said he thought the Browns should run the ball more to minimize turnovers early in the week. Apparently, everyone realizes this except Hue Jackson.

Besides finishing without a win, the largest kick in the groin Cleveland football fans have to endure is the owner Jimmy Haslam’s stubborn stance in bringing Jackson back.

Jackson maintains there is a devoid of talent here, but several articles have come out recently disputing that. Statistically, the Browns are much better than the ’08 Lions, the only other team that finished 0-16.

And even if Jackson’s claim is true, it simply means he didn’t do a good job coaching. Good coaches get more out of the talent given to them. As was pointed out earlier this week, the New York Jets were said to be tanking this season, but Todd Bowles squeezed five wins out of them.

Look, we and anyone reading this could have coached the Browns to an 0-16 record. Jackson didn’t maximize the talent here, and we believe time will prove that there are good players here.

Hopefully, the owner comes to his senses on this issue and allows new GM John Dorsey to bring in a someone different.

We don’t trust Jackson to be involved with whatever QB Cleveland drafts in the first round this spring, or with a veteran brought in by Dorsey.

Hue Jackson contributed to this mess, he should not get a chance to ruin another football season in Cleveland.

Haslam’s Opinion Seeking Leaves Us Feeling Hopeless.

It just keeps getting better if you are a fan of the Cleveland Browns.

If it isn’t enough to be watching a team that hasn’t won a game this season, a feat accomplished just once before in a 16 game season, and compounding that with just one measly win in the past two seasons, you get the information that came out yesterday.

It has been reported that owner Jimmy Haslam has consulted with national football writers such as Peter King, Chris Mortensen, and Adam Schefter, to ask their opinions on the Browns.

This seems harmless on face value, but when you think about it, it points out many of the problems with the Haslam ownership, and when you add it all up, it seems hopeless for Browns’ fans.

First, those writers mentioned are certainly great writers, and no doubt love the sport of football. No one in their right mind would question their passion.

However, if those guys were so good at judging personnel, both on and off the field, they would be employed by an NFL team. They are information gatherers and reporters.

This isn’t to say media people cannot have a working knowledge of the sport. But can they tell what would make a good defensive end in the pros, or who would make a dynamite head coach without asking around to their many sources around the league?

Second, it seems Haslam likes to talk. And then talk some more.

There are sayings, such as “talk is cheap”, and “actions speak louder than words”. Haslam seems to be a guy who likes to keep talking, but he can’t discern who are the correct people to listen to.

If you talk to “football guys” like Bill Parcells, Bill Polian, and Jon Gruden, you will get three different opinions on what makes a winning team, and quite frankly all of them would be correct.

However, if you put bits and pieces of each plan together, it likely does not work. Here’s another expression…”too many cooks spoil the broth”. The point is the Browns’ owner has too many voices in his head.

And listening to the national media is probably the biggest reason it appears Haslam may bring Hue Jackson back in 2018, despite a probable 1-31 record in two seasons.

The national guys love them some Hue Jackson.

Jackson has two major advocates in Mike Silver and Amy Trask, who speak in glowing terms about the Browns’ head coach pretty much on a weekly basis.

This is not to denigrate either one, they have long relationships with Jackson, and naturally people who like other people talk well about them.

However, because they respect Jackson, they are not objective about him either.

Could it be that in conversations between media people, they share their glowing views of Hue Jackson, and that also colors the opinions of King, Mortensen, and Schefter?

Haslam may have made a good move in hire John Dorsey as his GM. Time will certainly tell, but Dorsey has a solid resume.

But now, Haslam has to trust Dorsey and allow him to build the organization is the way he feels is the best. And if Dorsey wants to bring in a head coach he respects and feels he can work with, then that’s what should happen.

Someone has to be the ultimate decision maker. Whether you like him or not, Haslam needs to let Dorsey be that guy.