Dorsey And Kitchens Reeling In Expectations

Yesterday, Browns’ GM John Dorsey said he didn’t like the hype surrounding the 2019 edition of the team.

After second round draft pick Greedy Williams proclaimed the Browns were going to the Super Bowl after they drafted him, head coach Freddie Kitchens told people he was going to talk to the rookie and explain that his team wasn’t going to behave like that.

Really, both Dorsey and Kitchens were telling everyone, fans included, not to get carried away.

And they are right.

We get it. The Browns have been a doormat for so long, people are excited that finally there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Since Bernie Kosar was released in 1993, Cleveland football fans have waited for a franchise quarterback, and it appears they picked one last year in Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield’s a natural born leader, and he can play the position as well, throwing for an NFL tying record of 27 touchdown passes, as well as displaying uncanny accuracy.

On the other hand, he’s started all of 13 games, and the only playoff team he guided the team to a win against was the Baltimore Ravens. And the score of that game was 12-9 in overtime.

This isn’t to doubt Mayfield. We believe he will develop into one of the top passers in the NFL and it could be as early as next season. But those are the facts.

Without question, the Browns have added a lot of talent from last year’s roster, which did make a quantum leap to 7-9 from 0-16 in 2017.

Dorsey acquired an elite wide receiver in Odell Beckham Jr., a very good pass rusher in Olivier Vernon, and a solid defensive tackle in Sheldon Richardson. Those were the biggest additions in the free agent/trade market.

And the expectation is the rookie Williams will team with Denzel Ward to give the Browns a pair of shutdown cornerbacks, which is a great thing to have in today’s pass happy NFL.

We like Kitchens too, and he did a great job with the offense in the second half of last season, but he’s never been a head coach at the NFL level, so he is another unproven commodity.

We do like that he did things the players were comfortable with and putting the players in positions where they can succeed is one of the basic rules of coaching.

But how does he handle losing two games in a row, or three out of four. Does he keep the team together and maintain the players’ faith in him.

We feel Kitchens will handle it fine, but until it happens, it is up for question.

The biggest thing the GM and the coach are guarding against is a sense of accomplishment. Despite all of the excitement around the area and the country, the Browns are still a team that has made one playoff appearance since 1994.

The fans should be excited. This promises to be the beginning of a renaissance for a once proud franchise, one of the NFL’s flagships up until the franchise was moved.

On the other hand, for the players, this is a squad with something to prove. They’ve done nothing. No playoff wins for 25 years.

Dorsey and Kitchens want to remind them it takes a lot of work to become a playoff team. And that’s what they should do.

Browns’ “Dawg Defense” Had Two Star Corners. Is This Part II?

Most people figured the Cleveland Browns would go heavy on defense in this year’s draft, and GM John Dorsey did not disappoint.

He selected five defenders, one offensive lineman, and a kicker on Friday and Saturday, upgrading a defense that ranked third last in the NFL in yards allowed last season. They also ranked 21st in points allowed.

They survived and even thrived early in 2018 because they were causing an inordinate amount of turnovers, but once those declined, the Browns had problem stopping opponents.

And that 29th ranking in yards allowed was helped by two good performances against the offensively challenged Broncos and Bengals in two of the last three games on the slate.

Dorsey took a page out of the Browns’ past with his first pick, the 46th overall, taking CB Greedy Williams from LSU.

The last time the Browns had a very good defense, and indeed, the last time they had a Super Bowl contending team, was in the late 1980’s and their defense was led by a pair of shutdown cornerbacks, Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield.

With Williams and last season’s rookie sensation, Denzel Ward, the Browns hope to have the same effect.

Williams’ supposed weakness is considered to be the willingness to tackle, but seriously, would you rather have a cornerback who could tackle, but not be able to cover?

Those 80’s teams did not have a pass rusher like Myles Garrett, let alone someone like Olivier Vernon on the other side. Those guys should see sack totals rise because the corners will be able to provide tight coverage.

Adding those two to T.J. Carrie and Terrence Mitchell give new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks a lot of guys who can cover wide receivers, and that’s is of the utmost importance in today’s NFL.

Dorsey also added two linebackers who should help provide depth in third round pick Sione Takitaki from BYU, and Mack Wilson from Alabama.

Wilson was projected by some draft experts as a second round value, so getting him with the 155th choice (5th round) could be a coup for the front office.

And really, that’s what this draft was about, right? Good teams have depth. You can’t have one injury bring your entire team down. Hopefully, guys like Takitaki and Wilson can challenge players like Joe Schobert and Christian Kirksey, and therefore build a stronger roster.

One thing we know about the NFL, there will be injuries, and how you handle them goes a long way in determining your final record.

6th round choice Drew Forbes, brings another athletic offensive lineman to the roster, again, an area where you can’t have too much depth.

They still have Desmond Harrison, who started early last season, and Austin Corbett is a first year starter. Dorsey brought in Eric Kush, Bryan Witzmann, and Kendall Lamm in free agency, but you can’t have too much depth there.

The surprise pick was kicker Austin Siebert. A former teammate of Baker Mayfield, he is reputed to have a strong leg.

Greg Joseph did a decent job last year after arriving during the season, but was still too inconsistent. We are sure Dorsey and the coaching staff would like someone more “automatic” on field goals and extra points.

We have said this before, but the “trust in Dorsey” folks have it right. After what he has done to this roster, he earned and deserves the benefit of the doubt.

With this draft, he emphasized the biggest area of weakness on the team, the defense. On the other hand, there was talent here, Pro Bowl talent like Garrett, Ward, Schobert, and newcomers Vernon and Sheldon Richardson.

The Browns want a defense that puts pressure on their opponents. Let’s see if this draft helped that. Having two press cornerbacks helps for sure.

Plenty Of Time For Browns To Address Remaining Holes.

Since the Browns’ surge in the second half of the 2018 season, fans are chomping at the bit for training camp to start.

This feeling was intensified by the trade in which GM John Dorsey picked up All Pro wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr, and pass rusher Olivier Vernon from the Giants.

That move, along with the free agent signing of DT Sheldon Richardson, and of course, the drafting of Baker Mayfield, have the Browns going from the doormat of the league in 2016 and 2017 to media darlings.

However, it is time to maintain calmness.

Not in thinking the Browns should be a good football team in 2019, on paper, it says they should, but in wanting the roster to be complete…right now!

Dorsey traded starting safety Jabril Peppers in the Giants trade and last week cut the presumed starter, Derrick Kindred, who was picked up by Indianapolis. He traded for Eric Murray from Kansas City, sending Emmanuel Ogbah to the Chiefs.

Then, on Friday, he signed former Steeler and Packer Morgan Burnett as a free agent. Do we believe the front office is satisfied they replaced Peppers, who played very well in the second half of the season? No, we are sure they aren’t.

Because the Browns have their quarterback, people seem to forget there is a little something at the end of this month called the NFL Draft. It used to be the highlight of the spring for football fans here.

But since Cleveland dealt its first round pick to New York, it feels like we are forgetting about the selection process, and we have no doubt Dorsey will be looking to upgrade the safety position and probably the linebacking corps in the draft.

We would also expect another quarterback to be brought in via the draft or a trade. Dorsey keeps telling everyone that Drew Stanton is the back up, but the former Michigan State QB hasn’t played since 2017, and hasn’t completed over 50% of his passes since 2014 when he went 5-3 as a starter with Arizona.

While the Browns don’t have a first round pick, they do have three fifth round picks, which Dorsey may use to move up in the second or third rounds to get a player he feels fits on the Cleveland roster, perhaps a safety or a linebacker.

As for the quarterback, that could come later, perhaps even as late as after teams cut down to 53 players before week one of the season.

Also, the Browns did ink the best QB in the newly defunct Alliance of American Football (AAF) in Garrett Gilbert, who had the most passing yards in the league and was with the Carolina Panthers last season.

The fans need to use patience. The excitement is real and understandable, but the schedule hasn’t even been released as of yet, so the campaign isn’t starting next week.

There is plenty of time to fill out the Browns’ roster, and we doubt John Dorsey is satisfied with the personnel on his squad. There will definitely be more to come.

We can all watch the draft differently this season, and the GM’s history shows he is not afraid to make moves. So, the Browns may be very active that weekend.

Just don’t go crazy because safety hasn’t been addressed, or outside linebacker, or left tackle. There is a lot of time between now and July when this edition of the Cleveland Browns takes the training field.

Tank Or Not To Tank For Cleveland Teams?

After it was announced that Manny Machado signed a $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres, the conversation around town quickly turned to Francisco Lindor, and the possibility of the Cleveland Indians keeping him after he can become a free agent following the 2021 season.

Being Cleveland, we heard many fans saying if the Indians weren’t going to try to sign the star shortstop, then they should trade him now and start rebuilding for the future.

Which brings us to the question of the day: Tank or not to Tank?

With the Indians having the starting rotation they have along with two of the best position players (Lindor and Jose Ramirez) in baseball, a total rebuild is the last thing on the minds of the front office.

Especially with Lindor still here for three more seasons.

Now, if prior to the ’21 campaign, Lindor’s agents make it clear he will not re-sign with the Tribe and the team gets off to a poor start, dropping out of contention, you might see a deal for the guy who is arguably the best position player in team history.

However, no team is going to give up a chance to win a championship, and if the Indians win the AL Central they will have that shot, to start rebuilding.

Let’s look at two instances of rebuilding jobs in our own town–

The Cavaliers didn’t intend to tank this season, but when you lose LeBron James, drop your first six contests, and then lose your best remaining player for basically the entire first half of the season, you change your way of thinking.

Once you hit the end of November with one of the NBA’s worst records and Love is still going to be out until February, GM Koby Altman had to try and get one of the first picks in the June draft, and hopefully you get Zion Williamson with the first choice.

The Browns were stuck in mediocrity for most of the last 15 seasons, when then GM Sashi Brown decided to gut the roster, purging it of veterans and trying to go with young players who can hit their prime together.

We don’t believe he envisioned 1-31 over two seasons, but Hue Jackson’s guidance took care of that, and earned the Browns a franchise quarterback, and a franchise pass rusher.

In both cases, the circumstances (poor start and Love’s injury for the Cavs, an extended period of crap football for the Browns) dictated the tank.

Tanking isn’t guaranteed to work. While people point to the Cubs and Astros in baseball, both of those teams drafted very well, with Chicago getting Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber, and the Astros drafted George Springer, Carlos Correa, and Alex Bregman in the first round in a three year span.

Let’s say the Cavs wind up with the worst record and the fourth overall pick, do they subject their fan base to another year like this? It’s also tough for the front office/ownership to sit through.

And for the Browns, they tried a whole bunch of things. They tried helping young players by supplementing them with veterans. They tried getting veteran quarterbacks, getting players with local ties.

None of it worked.

Why not try what the Dallas Cowboys did when Jerry Jones bought the team and hired Jimmy Johnson. Gut the roster, accumulate draft picks, and see if that works.

We started to see the fruits of this plan, aided by hiring a good talent evaluator in John Dorsey, this past year.

If you decide to tank, here is the difficult question no one wants to ask–What happens when you don’t get the first overall pick?

You have to have a back up plan. If you don’t, you lose your job. That’s why more teams don’t do it.

Browns Fans Watching The Game Today With Hope.

Today is Super Bowl LIII, and there is no need to remind you that the Cleveland Browns are one of the few teams in the NFL who have never played in the game.

Only four franchises have never won their conference championships in the Super Bowl era, and two of them, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans, are expansion teams, both coming into the league after 28 championship games had been played.

Yes, the Browns are technically an expansion team as well, rejoining the NFL in 1999, but played in five conference title games in the Super Bowl era before they were ripped from the city and moved to Baltimore.

So, it leaves just the Detroit Lions and the Browns as teams around when the Super Bowl started and have never been there.

Actually, the Lions have only been to one NFC Conference title game, in 1991, losing to the Redskins.

The Browns lost to the Colts in ’68, the Vikings in ’69, and the famous three losses to Denver in the late 80’s.

This year’s Browns give you hope that it won’t be too long before Cleveland can get to the Super Bowl for the first time. They appear to have their quarterback in place at long last in Baker Mayfield, and in going from zero wins to seven this season, the future certainly looks bright.

However, let’s slow down on talk that the Browns can be in Super Bowl LIV next season. Yes, the second half of the season was impressive, and we aren’t even going to bring up the argument that the team didn’t beat anyone good.

They lost to a Ravens squad that everyone was deathly afraid of in week 17 (we weren’t, because of their “gimmick” offense), but had a chance to win on the game’s last possession.

They also lost to another media darling team, the Texans, when Mayfield threw three first half interceptions, and then had a dazzling second half.

The reason we say this is because the Browns haven’t even made the playoffs since 2002.

We understand that it can happen. Heck, the Eagles went from not making the playoffs for three straight seasons to winning the Super Bowl last year.

When the Rams won in 1999, it was their first playoff appearance in ten seasons. So, it can happen. When the Patriots won their first title, they were coming off a 5-11 season.

Still, the Browns have a lot of improvement to make in this off-season. The defense ranked as one of the worst in the league, and even though they have an elite pass rusher and a shutdown corner, there are still improvements that need to be made.

And they have to build depth. Playoff teams withstand injuries, so there must be a “next man up” mentality. It helps if that guy can play professional football at an acceptable level.

Fortunately, John Dorsey has demonstrated he can find these players. And with 11 draft picks and a ton of salary cap space, he will have to opportunity to fill the holes on the roster.

We are also quite satisfied that he knows where these holes are, and that is half the battle.

The biggest thing is having Mayfield though. After a brief period (2001 and 2003) where quarterbacks like Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson won the big game, for the most part, the winning signal callers are at the top of the heap among QB’s.

Only Joe Flacco and Nick Foles would not be considered Hall of Famer type players among winners in the last 15 years.

We’ll bet Dorsey has learned that once you have the franchise quarterback, you build around him, and not rely on him to erase all of the other roster problems.

For the first time in a long time, Cleveland fans can watch the Super Bowl with hope.

Kitchens Gets The Gig!

The Cleveland Browns’ coaching search didn’t last all that long, and they stayed in house elevating Freddie Kitchens from offensive coordinator to the 17th full time head coach in team history.

Certainly, the performance of the offense in the second half of the season, after Hue Jackson was let go, was a factor in Kitchens getting the gig. And his connection with Baker Mayfield didn’t hurt either.

However, the biggest factor may have occurred when the former Alabama quarterback was given the reins to the offense when Jackson departed.

Kitchens made the players part of the process. By accounts, he went to the guys who have to go out on the field and execute what they liked to run and what they felt could be effective.

And then he started using those plays, and they worked. That got him the respect of the offensive players. It’s called leadership.

Good leaders aren’t tyrants. They include their subordinates in the process, only putting their foot down when they have to.

One of factors we believe makes a successful coach is taking what you have and getting the most out of your talent. And it helps if you can go to those guys and take into consideration what they feel they are good at, and not trying to fit the proverbial square peg into a round hole.

And it’s not like Kitchens is some inexperienced young guy either. He’s been a coach for a long time. He spent six years in the college ranks, and has been coaching in the NFL since 2006, with his longest tenure being in Arizona.

We feel some have dismissed him because he was here in Cleveland last season. Let’s say Kitchens was the offensive coordinator for half a season in Indianapolis and was part of the Colts’ resurgence. We think that would have made him a hotter commodity.

Since he was here, the excuses were made, like the offense clicked because Cleveland was playing opponents like Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Denver, all of whom ranked in the bottom 11 in terms of yards allowed.

However, the Browns played three other teams in the bottom ten under Hue Jackson, and didn’t move the ball up and down the field.

The Jets and Buccaneers had bad defenses too, yet the Kitchen led offense gained more yards against the Texans and Ravens than the Jackson/Haley one did against those foes.

GM John Dorsey spoke at the end of the season about the new coach being a “leader of men”, and that may be more important than the strategic things a head football coach brings to the table.

That being said, let’s say thank you to Gregg Williams, who galvanized the Browns and guided them to a 5-3 record in the second half of the season. After a three year period totaling four wins, the players needed to know what winning felt like.

Williams provided that.

No one knows if Kitchens will guide the Browns to the playoffs in the future, the same as no one knows how long the players will buy in to his message.

Bill Belichick was a defensive guru. Andy Reid coached the offensive line and tight end before moving to quarterbacks coach. Pete Carroll was a defensive backs coach before becoming a coordinator. John Harbaugh was a special teams coach.

The point is there is no set way to become a great coach in the NFL.

Freddie Kitchens seems like he’s comfortable with who he is, and that’s a big difference from the guy who was here at the beginning of this season.

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 Get Playoff Atmosphere This Sunday

When the Tennessee Titans won Saturday afternoon, the slim chance for the Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs went up in smoke.

However, the Browns will get to experience a playoff atmosphere in their season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.

As everyone knows by now, if the Browns beat Baltimore for the second time this season they will likely knock the Ravens out of the post-season, provided the Steelers beat the Bengals.

This experience should be invaluable for next season, when the Browns should be in the playoff hunt for real. And it will be on the road, making it more difficult for the young Browns, as it will be a very hostile atmosphere.

That’s why John Dorsey, Gregg Williams, and the rest of the organization should do everything it can to win the last game of the year.

And we don’t doubt for a second that is exactly what they will do.

The Browns’ front office and players aren’t about rebuilding anymore, they know how good they can be, and the culture has been changed. No more playing for draft picks, no more settling for getting close.

Oh, by the way, a victory over the Ravens would give Cleveland a winning record, 8-7-1, for the first time since 2007.

A victory would also establish the Browns as a force in the AFC North in 2019. With a bunch of draft picks and a ton of cap space, there is no reason to believe Dorsey won’t be able to add more good players to provide the depth the team needs to contend.

For the first time in a long time, there will be expectations around the Cleveland Browns. No doubt many national experts will be picking them to make the playoffs.

How will they respond? Will they have the same chip on their shoulder they did coming off an 0-16 season? Our guess is with Baker Mayfield at quarterback, they will.

We have seen people being critical of the streak of five wins in seven games because the schedule hasn’t exactly been imposing. For a franchise that won just a single game in the past two years, it’s a ridiculous claim.

It shows progress that Cleveland has gotten to the point where they can beat the teams on par with them record wise. Would those people prefer the Browns lose to the Bengals, Broncos, and Panthers?

The Browns have been losing for so long, people have forgotten what it is like to win. That’s why they are still calling for players to sit out the final game of the season to avoid injury, or to have a higher position in next spring’s draft.

Perhaps when the Browns have several playoff appearances under their belt, it might be time to sit players down, or it would be okay if the seeding for the playoffs were set in stone, the rest would do certain players good.

More so, Williams wants to win because it creates a better case for him to keep the head coaching gig. Would Dorsey let Williams go after he finished the season 6-2? It would be very difficult.

As Charles Barkley once said, if it ain’t broke, don’t break it.

Anyway, Sunday’s game it one to look forward to. The Browns can ruin the Ravens’ resurgence behind first round pick Lamar Jackson, and they can put the Steelers in the playoffs.

The fate of the AFC North centers on that game, and CBS’ number one announcing team will be on hand to cover it.

It’s the biggest game the Browns have played in years even though they can’t reach the playoffs.

It should be fun for sure.

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.