Tag: jon gruden

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.

JD

Browns Need Progress Not Headlines

Now that the football season is over, with a mixed bag of emotions (unhappy that the Ravens hoist the Lombardi Trophy, but thrilled Art Modell is not going to be enshrined in Canton this year).  It is time to start looking ahead to the next few months, meaning the free agent period and the NFL draft.

By the way, does Jim Nantz think the Lombardi Trophy is named for Michael?

There are still many Browns fans unhappy with the choice of Rob Chudzinski as head coach, and even more disconsolate over owner Jimmy Haslam III’s remark over during Super Bowl week that it is unlikely his team will make a big “splash” in free agency.

Supporters of the brown and orange want results and want them as soon as possible, and we are no different.

However, to be sure, it is better to have results than glamor.

While we don’t know yet if Chudzinski is the right man for the job, and we won’t know until the games start for real in September, there is a large population of ticket buyers who are upset that Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher didn’t take the gig.  Put aside for a moment that neither man expressed any real interest in returning to the sideline.

They wanted a “big name”, an attention grab.  That’s because we are so insecure about our teams.  It lends credibility to the Browns and the city if a man who has talked about the game on a network for the last few years is the head coach.

The same goes for free agency.  Think about last year at this time, two of the bigger names on the market were Packers’ reserve QB Matt Flynn, who signed with Seattle, and Texans’ DE Mario Williams, who signed a huge deal with Buffalo.

How did those moves work out?

Flynn went to the playoffs, but watched on the sidelines while rookie third round pick Russell Wilson started for the Seahawks.  Today, you can get Flynn in a trade for a lower round pick or if and when Pete Carroll lets him go.

Williams had an okay year with 10.5 sacks, but he didn’t turn the Buffalo defense into a dominating unit, as they ranked 22nd in yards allowed, and 26th in points allowed.

This isn’t to say no big name free agent is worth the effort.  Certainly, Green Bay wouldn’t have won its Super Bowl in 1996 without signing the late Reggie White as a free agent.  But guys like that are few and far between.

It also isn’t to say the Browns shouldn’t sign any free agents this off-season.  If the Ravens decide to make WR Anquan Boldin an unrestricted free agent this spring, he’s a guy who would provide excellent hands as a wide out and serve as a mentor to Josh Gordon and Greg Little.

This team is in desperate need of leaders.  They don’t have many veterans on the roster, especially since guys like Sheldon Brown and Ben Watson likely will not be back in 2013.

Also, the Browns need some older players who have experienced winning, something the young guys have certainly never experienced.  There is a lot of sentiment that Chudzinski’s team simply doesn’t know how to win, and they need someone to show them the way.

Those are the types of players this team needs to bring in, and with room under the salary cap, they have the cash to bring in a few winners.  Spending big cash on a player past his prime, or doesn’t fit the system used by Norv Turner and/or Ray Horton isn’t the way to go.

Rather than making headlines, the Cleveland Browns need to make victories.

JD