Note to Haslam: Losing Won’t Be Tolerated Anymore

The Cleveland Browns had another bad public relations moment on Tuesday.

You might think it was Phil Dawson’s announcement that he is signing with the San Francisco 49ers, ending his tenure as the last Brown remaining from the 1999 expansion team.

The way the team handled Dawson’s free agency wasn’t smart, with team president Joe Banner seemingly indifferent about the departure.

However, in the long run, the front office was just adhering to Branch Rickey’s long ago theory: It is better to get rid of a player a year too early, than a year too late.

At Dawson’s age, even though he’s had great seasons the last two years, you can make that argument.

Dawson should be commended for a great career here, and someday his name and number will be on the team’s Ring of Honor, but he’s a kicker. There isn’t a great deal of difference between the best field goal kicker in the NFL and a middle of the road guy.

The real story though should be owner Jimmy Haslam’s comments regarding Dawson at the owner’s meetings in Arizona. Haslam said it’s not like the Browns are going 13-3 next season.

Really?!

We’ve said this before, but there is no more patience with this football team, and no one cares about new ownership, new front office, and a new coach.

The Browns were 5-11 last season with a poor (to say the least) offensive coaching staff. It would not be a stretch to say Cleveland could have been a 7-9 team with better offensive game plans and better utilization of a few offensive players.

So, for the owner to dismiss a turnaround to a playoff contending season is not something to ignore. Did his right-hand man Joe Banner tell him that with all the changes being made, winning is impossible in 2013?

Teams make quantum leaps in terms of success every year in the NFL. Last year, the Indianapolis Colts went from having the leagues worst record to a playoff spot.

A year earlier, San Francisco hired Jim Harbaugh and immediately became one of the better teams in the NFC.

That’s the type of improvement that Haslam, Banner, and Mike Lombardi should be expecting at this point in the off-season. Not telling the fan base that they should expect another year of mediocrity.

It’s simply not acceptable. When former GM Tom Heckert and coach Pat Shurmur were let go, it wasn’t done as part of another “five-year plan”. Haslam was viewed as an owner that felt losing was not an option.

He said he wanted to build the right way, through the draft, and not have the Browns have one year of solid football and go back into mediocrity. But it appears, he and his people feel the team needs another year or two of rebuilding.

The owner may be trying to slow down optimism a bit with his comment, but he should know better than to say something like that. With a new head coach, an experience offensive coordinator in Norv Turner, and a hot defensive headman in Ray Horton, the Browns better be closer to 13-3 this season than they are to 3-13.

If they aren’t, the goodwill from buying the franchise that Haslam has will be as short-lived as Shurmur’s tenure here as head coach.

Critics Aside, the Browns Have Improved

The first day of free agency in the NFL has come and gone and the Cleveland Browns made a big splash with three signings.

OLB Paul Kruger, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, was the first choice of the brown and orange. A pass rushing linebacker who had seven sacks a year ago, Kruger had an impressive post-season with the Ravens last season.

The Browns also signed DE Desmond Bryant, a huge man, and another OLB Quentin Groves, who played for defensive coordinator Ray Horton last season with the Cardinals.

GM Mike Lombardi and president Joe Banner felt the defense needed some help for 2013, with input from Horton, and the Browns went out and signed two likely starters at linebacker, a weak position for Cleveland in 2012, and the type of defensive end you need in the 3-4 defense.

Yet, there are still people upset that the Browns did not address the quarterback position as of yet, and haven’t signed a cornerback to go with Joe Haden either.

It just shows that there are some people who like to complain about everything.

In the NFL, where there are no guaranteed contracts, if you have the room under the salary cap, there isn’t a big penalty if the player doesn’t work out. And as everyone is very aware the Browns have a ton of money available under the cap.

That means that Lombardi and Banner basically picked up three players, all of whom are younger and appear to be talented, for nothing more than cash. They didn’t have to give up any draft picks or players. They just spent money.

How can anyone be upset with that?

This isn’t like baseball or basketball, where a bad contract can hamper an organization for many years, like the Indians with Travis Hafner’s deal. The organization had plenty of money to spend, and they did so.

They filled needs with the two linebackers and getting Bryant replaces Frostee Rucker, who was cut by the new regime since the end of the season.

And most football people felt the Browns had more needs on the defense. They still could use another cornerback and another safety, and they still have the college draft to address those positions.

An added bonus to signing Kruger is that he leaves the Ravens, a divisional foe. Improving your team while hurting a divisional rival is always a win-win.

None of these players are guys who are near the end of their careers either.

Kruger and Bryant are just 27 years old, and Groves is only 28. They have plenty of years left in the NFL lives and fit in perfectly with the rest of the young Browns. They will be able to grow with the young core of veterans with four years or less of experience. Players such as Alex Mack, Joe Haden, Taylor, Greg Little and Jabaal Sheard.

In fact, right now Cleveland has only three players with 10 or more years in the NFL on the roster: Sheldon Brown, Juqua Parker, and Phil Dawson. And it is doubtful that any of them will be back this season, although it would be great if Dawson is still the team’s kicker.

Also, with the expected departures via free agency of TE Benjamin Watson, TE Alex Smith, S Ray Ventrone, and the expected release of P Reggie Hodges, the Browns will not have a player over 30 years old on the roster.

That’s a young football team.

There is no question the Browns are a better team today than they were on Monday. That’s progress, no matter how people want to say differently.

How Much is Weeden to Blame?

Now that the NFL draft is less than two months away, it’s time for Cleveland Browns’ fans to start the debate on who the team should take with the sixth pick in this year’s selection process.

And since it is Cleveland, the seemingly endless debate about whether or not the “Consensus Four” of Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, Michael Lombardi, and Rob Chudzinski should take another quarterback just a year after the Browns took Brandon Weeden in the opening round of the 2012 draft.

Because Weeden didn’t set the world on fire in his rookie year, like Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson, several people with voice on radio talk shows have given up on the former Oklahoma State signal caller.

Keep in mind, Weeden passed for more yards than Griffin III (by a little less than 200 yards) and Wilson (a little more than 200 yards). However, Weeden had way more interceptions (17, compared to 5 by RGIII and 10 by Wilson) and not as many touchdowns (13 compared to 20 for Griffin and 26 for Wilson).

The question comes down to how much do you blame the Browns rookie for his ineffectiveness?

Weeden isn’t perfect, but then again, most rookie QBs who start in their first years aren’t either. He did have a tendency to lock on receivers, and try to throw through defensive backs.

You know who else used to do that? Watch films of John Elway, Dan Marino, and Brett Favre early in their career. The confidence they had in their arms overrode their coaches telling them not to turn the ball over.

This is not to say that Weeden is in the same class as those three passers, two of whom are in the Hall of Fame, and the other will be soon. It does speak to the way quarterbacks with big arms think.

Before throwing Weeden out with the bath water, remember the circumstances he played under last season.

His coach had a horribly conservative offensive philosophy, and once a turnover occurred he played it more close to the vest.

The Browns best offensive weapon, fellow rookie Trent Richardson, was injured early in the season with bad ribs, and even when he was carrying the ball well, there were times when the coaching staff ignored him.

The Redskins had the league’s best running attack and Seattle was third. Cleveland ranked 24th. This is the same ranking the three teams had in terms of rushing attempts. And the Browns weren’t blown out of many games last season, so there was plenty of opportunity to run the ball, the coaching staff just refused to do it.

The question has to be how much is Weeden to blame for a mediocre rookie performance. If you think he’s a lost cause, then the Browns’ front office should look to replace him. If they think Geno Smith and/or Matt Barkley is the next Elway, then draft one of them.

Just remember that Alex Smith, another darling of the Cleveland media, had a worse season than Weeden in his rookie year (50.9 completion percentage, 1 TD, 11 INT) and under Norv Turner’s tutelage the next year improved to 58% completion rate, 16 TDs and 16 INT as San Francisco went from 4-12 to 7-9.

Also, notice that the front office’s evaluation of the quarterback has seemed to soften at least in public comments after Turner came aboard and presumably has looked at film.

Perhaps Turner, who knows more football than most, has seen something he can build upon with Weeden, despite his advanced age.

Still, the Browns should continue to say they may be interested in Smith or Barkley, but only because the Arizona Cardinals, desperate for a quarterback, pick right behind them. Perhaps Lombardi and Banner can squeeze a draft pick out of the Cards to move up one spot.

It comes down to this…do the Browns need to replace Weeden more than they need a big time pass rusher or another cornerback to team with Joe Haden? That answer is simple, Cleveland needs to get more playmakers on the defensive side of the ball.

Judge QBs in Games, Not in Combine

Now that the NFL Draft Combine has passed, it is time for the annual debate as to who the Cleveland Browns should draft the next month.

And as usual, since many fans are disappointed when the current quarterback doesn’t remind them of Bernie Kosar, supporters start asking themselves which passer the Browns could take in the first round.

Stop the madness, now!

First of all, just because someone is the best college quarterback available, it doesn’t make them worthy of the 6th pick in the draft.

The flavor of this combine was either USC’s Matt Barkley, who has an injured shoulder, or West Virginia’s Geno Smith.

Keep in mind, neither of these players have played a game since the bowl season ended around the first week in January.

Since Barkley didn’t work out because of his injury, Smith was the player who garnered the most attention, showing a good arm and surprising speed for a player at his position.

Once again, keep in mind that no one was playing defense against Smith during his workout.

And remember that Smith’s West Virginia team started 4-0 and finished at 6-6.

Granted, it wasn’t all Smith’s fault. He and his offense put up an awful lot of points in some of those defeats, scoring 38 against TCU, 34 against Oklahoma State, and 49 vs. Oklahoma.

However, in the other three losses, the Mountaineer offense put up just 14 points in losses to Texas Tech, Kansas State, and Syracuse.

Smith put up good numbers in those games, but remember he played in the Big 12 Conference, a league not noted for strong defensive play.

And the same conference that Brandon Weeden played in a year ago.

The point here is that neither Smith nor Barkley are prospects on the level of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, the first two picks in last year’s draft and players who led their respective teams to the playoffs in their rookie year. You can make a very good case that they were the best two players available, regardless of position.

Also, neither player has done anything on the field to merit moving up from the late first round or second round status they were projected at a month ago. It is simply the desire NFL teams have to find the next Tom Brady, the ever elusive franchise QB, that has these two players rising into the early first round.

You can make the same argument against trading for New England back up QB Ryan Mallett, a third round choice in 2011. What makes him better now than he was then? Two years watching Tom Brady play? If he’s so good, why does New England want to trade him?

The draft is arranged the way it is to enable to have the lesser teams get more talent, to equalize the talent pool. Not taking the better player early in the selection process sets franchises back. That’s why the Browns have been in a constant state of mediocrity for all these years. They’ve made poor selections.

That’s why they can’t take a quarterback with the sixth overall pick in April. They have far too many other holes, in areas where there is talent worthy of top ten selection to reach and take a player ranked in the 20s or 30s overall at their current slot.

Teams in the NFL make a lot of mistakes drafting quarterbacks higher than they should. If the Browns made a mistake last year, then they can’t compound it by doing it again. There isn’t a passer worthy of a top ten pick in April, but someone will take one anyway.

Here’s hoping the Browns aren’t that team.

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.

Please, No First Round QB For Browns

The Cleveland Browns have a new owner, a new CEO, a new vice president of player personnel, a new head coach, and new coordinators. It was really a case of out with the old and in with the new.

Here’s hoping the new regime doesn’t do something that the front office’s of the past have done in the recent past. And that is draft another quarterback in the first round of this April’s NFL draft.

This is not an endorsement of Brandon Weeden, Colt McCoy, or even Thad Lewis. Both Rob Chudzinski and Norv Turner will make a determination who is the best quarterback to run the offense, but either the Browns have to trade for a veteran who can start, or go with one of the guys currently on the roster.

The Browns have too many other holes on the squad to select another QB with the sixth pick in the draft, particularly when it is their only pick in the first two rounds.

The switch to a 3-4 defensive alignment means new defensive coordinator needs some more linebackers to implement the scheme. Also, the defensive backfield is short of another quality cornerback to pair with Joe Haden.

So, it would be a mistake to pick a quarterback in the first round.

Also, there are no Andrew Lucks or Robert Griffin IIIs in this year’s draft. The best passers available this year are West Virginia’s Geno Smith, USC’s Matt Barkley, and North Carolina State’s Mike Clennon. While all three might be taken in the first round, it would be because of the NFL’s search for possible franchise quarterbacks, not because they are first round talents.

A list of the best players available might list one or two of them in the top 30, and probably none of them would be in the top ten. To pick one draft guru, CBS’ Rob Rang, he has Smith listed as the 11th best player and Barkley next at 17. Those are the only QBs he has listed in the top 30.

That means taking one of those guys at six would be a big time reach, and with a franchise on the brink of playoff contention, it’s not worth the gamble.

No matter what anyone thinks of Weeden, he deserves the right to compete for the job, and in fact, he shouldn’t be handed the gig after a rookie season that didn’t see progress as it went on.

However, it is clear here that the offense ran by Pat Shurmur did not play to Weeden’s strengths, a thought shared by more than one NFL analyst during the season.

If CEO Joe Banner and Michael Lombardi want this team to improve, they need to bring in a guy who has played in the NFL to compete with Weeden, not another guy who hasn’t taken a snap in the pros, and will be learning on the job.

Drafting a player like Luck or Griffin III is one thing, but handing the reins to Geno Smith or Matt Barkley doesn’t seem like the thing to do if you want to get off to a good start next season.

The Cleveland Browns need to add an impact player with the sixth pick this spring, a player who can help now. Hopefully, they won’t be picking this high again for a while.

Letting last year’s high picks on offense (Trent Richardson and Weeden) improve, and helping out a defense that needs an assist in the secondary or in getting to the opposition’s quarterback is the way to help the Browns win in 2013.

Taking another QB isn’t a smart move now.

Let Chud Coach A Game First

Of course, for fans of a football team with just two playoff appearances in the last 18 years, the hiring of Rob Chudzinski by the Cleveland Browns was met with a great deal of negativity.

However, if the whole fiasco surrounding Oregon coach Chip Kelly hadn’t taken place, would these people feel any differently?

Even though Kelly hasn’t spent one day in the NFL as an assistant coach or head man, he was a big name and would have created a big splash and a buzz with the Browns’ fan base.

The reality is no one really knows what kind of head coach Rob Chudzinski will be until he coaches a few games in the regular season.

As Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto wrote, Steelers fans probably weren’t thrilled about the hire of Mike Tomlin, nor were Raven fans ecstatic when they found out John Harbaugh was their new head coach. Neither was a “hot” candidate when they got the job.

On the converse side, look at the cases of Norv Turner, who is a favorite to be Chudzinski’s new offensive coordinator, and Wade Phillips, currently the defensive coordinator for Houston.

Turner was the OC with the Dallas Cowboys for many years when that team was winning Super Bowls. He directed an offense led by QB Troy Aikman, RB Emmitt Smith, and WR Michael Irvin. He is a great coordinator.

However, his record as a head coach is disappointing to say the least. In 16 years with the Redskins, Raiders, and Chargers, Turner’s record is just 114-122-1, a .483 winning percentage. His teams made the playoffs just four times.

Phillips has a great reputation as a defensive coach, and he has made the Texans a contender by making them stronger on the defensive side of the football. However, although his regular season record as a head coach is better than Turner’s (82-61 in stints with Denver, Buffalo, and Dallas, plus interim stints with the Saints and Falcons), he has won just one playoff game in five appearances.

The point is just because you are a great coordinator, it doesn’t translate into success as a head coach.

And as Tomlin and Harbaugh show us, sometimes a candidate who seemingly comes out of nowhere can be a big winner as a head coach. That’s why any judgment on Chudzinski should be reserved until he coaches a game.

He has had success as a coordinator, most notably with the Browns in 2007 and with the Panthers in 2011. The Browns ranked 8th in the league in points scored in ’07, while the Panthers ranked 5th in ’11.

His offenses have ranked in the top 12 three times in his five years as a coordinator, and his rushing attacks have been in the top ten three times, showing not only that he will make good use of Trent Richardson, but also he’s not a guy who falls in love with the passing game.

You can still hear fans disappointed that Jimmy Haslam III and Joe Banner didn’t hire Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, or Jon Gruden, the holy trinity of former NFL coaches. Those fans are delusional. Those guys don’t want to coach anymore. They make a lot of money talking about the game and don’t have to suffer through the possibility of losing games each week.

Who knows if Rob Chudzinski will be successful in his new gig? No one. Going into the process, many people said if Haslam and Banner were wowed by a candidate, they should hire him.

They shouldn’t be criticized because that guy was Rob Chudzinski and not Chip Kelly.

Browns Can Have Open Search for Coach Now

The Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner had a press conference last Monday announcing the firing of coach Pat Shurmur and GM Tom Heckert. In the question and answer period, both gave the public what they were looking for in a new coach.

In reality, they were looking for one man, University of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly. They interviewed other candidates, talking to former Cardinals boss Ken Whisenhunt and Arizona defensive coordinator Ray Horton, and the reportedly interviewed Syracuse coach Doug Marrone.

But more and more it looks like Kelly was the apple of their eye, and that was the wrong way to handle the process, particularly with the Browns being on the cusp of being a contender.

When you have your mind made up, it alters the way you think. You start believing everything said by your guy is golden, and you go into the other interviews not fully engaged.

The whole thing blew up in Haslam and Banner’s face when Kelly didn’t return their affection and will likely stay in college.

The problem that critics of the situation had with Kelly was that he never coached at the NFL level, and betting on him to get the Browns turn the corner seemed like a huge risk. It was the ultimate high risk, high reward hire.

We preferred someone who would put a better offensive scheme in place than the one Pat Shurmur employed, one the stretched the field both horizontally and vertically which would benefit the two players selected in the first round a year ago, QB Brandon Weeden and RB Trent Richardson.

So now the Browns have to start over again. They are looking for an offensive minded head coach and that would mean the leading candidates are probably Whisenhunt, Patriots offensive coordinator and former Broncos’ head coach Josh McDaniels, current Denver O/C Mike McCoy, Washington OC Kyle Shanahan, and 49er offensive head man Greg Roman.

All of their offenses ranked in the league’s top ten, and to be sure there will be mention of Bengals coordinator Jay Gruden as well, and his offense was 11th in the NFL.

Former Bears coach Lovie Smith should be talked to as well, because of his 81-63 record in nine years in Chicago, including four 10 win seasons, a Super Bowl berth, and nothing less than seven victories since his first year at the helm. Smith has a defensive background so he would need an offensive coordinator, but he has a good track record of winning.

Whisenhunt has had offenses ranked in the top half of the league, but in two of the last three seasons, his offense has ranked in the bottom two in terms of yardage. His offense has struggled since Kurt Warner retired.

Shanahan is young, but appealing because of the way he (and his father, Mike) changed their offense to fit what Robert Griffin III could do, and also altered his attack again when Kurt Cousins started against the Browns.

That’s what Cleveland needs. Someone who will get the most out of the talent at hand, particularly when it comes to Weeden and Richardson.

These two were first round picks and they should at least get the opportunity to be in a system that fits their strengths.

Weeden played in a shotgun attack in college, and people who think you can’t run out of that formation simply wasn’t watching the playoff games this weekend.

Maybe Weeden can’t play in the NFL, but there are a lot of experienced people in the league who think he can, but the offense didn’t emphasize what he did well.

His critics say he looked uncomfortable last season, and if that’s the case, maybe it was because he was doing something he wasn’t used to doing.

This is not to say that handling Weeden is the chief chore for the Browns new head coach. He hasn’t reached that level for sure.

However, the new coach should be a guy who looks at the other offenses of winning teams in the NFL, and gives Cleveland an offense that looks similar to those teams.

The talent on the Browns’ roster should be ready to win in 2013. Haslam and Banner need to hire the guy who can get that done.

Browns Need Coach, Not System

Now that the dust has settled regarding the firings of the Cleveland Browns head coach and general manager, it is time to look at what kind of coach Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner should be looking for.

The early speculation has the Browns intrigued by Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who has been in charge of an NFL team before, and is a former defensive coordinator with Cleveland in the Bill Belichick regime.

Reportedly, Banner is in Arizona this week to interview Oregon coach Chip Kelly, an offensive guru who runs a spread option type of offense. However, Kelly has never coached at the NFL level.

It would be nice if Haslam and Banner at least kicked the tires on former Bears’ coach Lovie Smith, who has coached in a Super Bowl and whose team went 10-6 this season, and Ken Whisenhunt, who took the Cardinals to the Super Bowl a few years ago.

However, what the Browns really need is a coach. They need a man to come in, look at the talent available and put together a system or game plan that emphasizes the strengths of that talent.

And this isn’t talking solely about Brandon Weeden either. They need to get the most out of Trent Richardson, a young receiving corps, an offensive line with three high draft choices, and a defense that has a good base because of a young, talented line.

So a switch to a 3-4 scheme would involve getting new personnel, which would likely mean a process taking more than one off-season.

If Kelly can do that, great. The same with Saban, Smith, or Whisenhunt.

What cannot happen is another delay of a couple of years waiting for the new coach to bring in players who fit his style of play or system. This is no time for patience, nor is it time to overhaul a roster because a coach wants to bring in his guys.

There can be no more delays in putting together a winning team.

Not after what we saw this year in which Indianapolis went from two wins to the playoffs. The Rams went from two wins to seven. The Vikings and Redskins each made the playoffs after winning three and five games respectively in 2011.

It can be done.

That should be the focus of the interviewing process conducted by Haslam and Banner. Can the coach be adaptable or does he have to play a certain way with a certain system?

Coaches can have a preferred way to win games, particularly offensively, but look at the job John Fox did in Denver last season. He tried to win with a conventional offense, but it wasn’t working, so he went with Tim Tebow and a system that showed off his strengths.

It probably wouldn’t have worked for the long haul, but it did for one season.

Remember also that Belichick went 11-5 with Matt Cassell playing QB for an injured Tom Brady.

The great coaches in the NFL adapt and change based on the talent they have, and from the press conference, it seems that’s the kind of coach the Browns want to hire.

The beef with Pat Shurmur was he was married to the west coast offense even though Weeden and Richardson would have been better in a different kind of attack.

They want someone who will be here for the long haul. Someone that will have long-term success.

The Cleveland Browns need to hire a coach this time. Not a system that the rest of the NFL will catch up to in two years, but a man who can lead and get the most out of his players.

Hopefully, they will find that guy.

Browns Need to Win Now

As expected by virtually everyone on the planet, the Cleveland Browns made it official this morning, firing coach Pat Shurmur and GM Tom Heckert.

The chief reason was the team’s poor record over the last two seasons, winning just nine games and losing 23, the same mark achieved in the two years under the previous head coach, Eric Mangini.

However, there is a major difference between the end of the Mangini era and the current group of Browns who finished the season with three straight losses after a three game winning streak prior.

There is certainly more talent here right now, mostly due to the efforts of Heckert, who should get credit for the talent he’s brought into the organization.

When Mangini was let go after the 2010 season, here are the players on the roster who still remained contributors in 2012: On offense, T Joe Thomas, TE Benjamin Watson, TE Alex Smith, C Alex Mack. On defense: NT Ahtyba Rubin, CB Joe Haden, CB Sheldon Brown, and S T. J. Ward.

Of that group, Haden and Ward were drafted by Heckert and Brown was brought in via a trade with Philadelphia engineered by the general manager. Watson was brought in as a free agent during the off-season as well.

That means only Thomas, Mack, and Rubin were here before Heckert arrived.

Most NFL people believe the Browns are close to being a playoff contender in the AFC. Their primary needs going into the draft next April are help in the secondary, a pass rusher, and another outside linebacker. That’s a far cry from several years ago, when Tony Grossi referred to the roster as a group of special team players.

What this means for whoever will be the new coach and head of player personnel (Joe Banner wants to run things, so the new guy will not be the GM) is there is no grace period. Immediate results will be expected, so a one or two game improvement will not be tolerated by a fan base that has watched more than its share of losing football since 1999.

That is why people are concerned with Banner, that and the unflattering personality traits people here about from his days in Philadelphia. He seems like a guy who wants things done his way, and to the Cleveland football fans, that sounds like starting over once again, something seen five times since ’99.

It is time to build on what is already here and enhance it, getting the Browns back to the post-season. Of the teams with the top four choices in last year’s draft, only the Browns are packing up their lockers today. The other three (Indianapolis, Washington, and Minnesota) are all preparing for the playoffs.

That kind of turn around needs to take place in Cleveland.

One of the things new owner Jimmy Haslam and Banner have to seek in a coach is the ability to make adjustments according to the talent at hand. No more guys with the attitude of this is what I run, so we will try to fit a square peg into a round hole. Let’s try putting Weeden in an offense where he is more comfortable, so he can just play.

Let’s try to utilize Trent Richardson better, and not just have him run up the middle continuously.

It has been said many times that based on the cash Haslam put up for the team, he should get to put his own people in place. That is absolutely true. However, the Cleveland Browns need to start winning in 2013. A 6-10 or 7-9 record is going to get himself and Banner off to a bad start along the shores of Lake Erie.