http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8511711/mike-holmgren-cleveland-browns-sale-official-sources-say
Jimmy Haslam is naming a new CEO/President in Joe Banner, meaning Holmgren is gone. How are other Browns fans feeling?
I was really excited for Holmgren to join the Browns, but they never seemed to get things clicking. I didn't like the Shurmur hire at all. How much of this was Holmgren's fault vs. others in the administration? It's hard to say, but it's also hard not to put some of the blame on Holmgren. I'm going to try not to get super hyped for the personnel changes that the new owner will be bringing, but I am hoping that he will do whatever it takes to make the Browns a winning team again.
Begin to look descent win a big game and then fire. Never ending circle with the Brownies. Seriously how many coaches in the last 10 years?
Dating back to 99, when the 'new' Browns came back to the league, they've had 5 head coaches and 1 interim.
Chris Palmer
Butch Davis
Terry Robiskie (interim)
Romeo Crennel
Eric Mangini
Pat Shurmur
The more staggering list is the number of starting QB's they've had since 99 as this picture tells the story:
Holmgren was pretty 'meh' as president. I do hope that Haslam gives Shurmur one more year, unless Gruden wants to coach. Also it would be wise to keep Heckert as he's been pretty good as a GM, evidenced by the past two drafts.
In a league that is designed to elevate bottom dwellers cyclically and systematically, the Browns have managed to sustain a consistent level of mediocrity unparallelled in the NFL over the last 13 years. The front office has made bad decisions in the drafts, free agency, coaching hires and fires, basically anywhere a decision could be made. Hopefuly, the new front office will make a few good decisions that will be given a chance to take root.
I was pretty excited about Holmgren at first too, it seemed like a really serious hire by the organization. But as good of a coach as he may have been, he had no experience as a team president. Joe Banner is a good move assuming that he had anything to do with the ammount of talent Philadelphia currently boasts on the field. I just hope that they keep Tom Heckert, he drafts with amazing efficiency I think. It seems like every year I disagree with something the Browns do early in the draft, & that player always proves me wrong. Brandon Weeden has a future. (Although it may be short considering his age) I'm actually reminded of Peyton Manning to a certain extent, a guy who threw more INT's than TD's as a rookie, & led his team to another losing season. But the team showed signs of life, & stuck in all the games. That sounds alot like the Browns this year. That's the reason I'm more excited than I ever have been for Cleveland football, because we're finally competing. We finally have enough talent to start investing on both sides of the ball, that's the point where good teams really become playoff caliber teams in the rebuilding process. We just need to hope they keep Heckert so the talent keeps on coming. But Holmgren out.. Idk how much I'll miss him. Only time will tell if it was a good move.
It's 5 o'clock somewhere, & Michigan still sucks
Mediocrity??? Thats being pretty generous lol. The Browns have sucked...
im such a browns fan that none of this even excites me. if anyone can keep this owner from succeeding, its cleveland. i have such little hope it is depressing.
@419,
Spoken like a true fan of Cleveland Sports. Here's a little video clip for you. Switch "Chinatown" for Cleveland, and it should all make sense.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cWnubJ9CEw
Good
Wherever you are, there you be!
As an outsider, from what I see, the team looks like it at least has more talent than when Holmgren first came on. Shurmur seems like a decent coach too. Should give him another shot. I wouldn't be surprised if your brownies win a few more games later this year. They should at least beat my Chiefs! You want to talk about sucking, how about not leading a single second for 6 games straight to start the season!
And cheering like Eagles fans when your own players get hurt!
Man KC has been just BAD, short of Charles who has been quite the opposite.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
Wow, that list of QBs is staggering.
I still believe it's because we haven't invested in a good O-line. McCoy went from being the most accurate passer in college football history (completion percentage senior year was 78%) to a sub-par NFL QB.
McCoy understands the offense. He can read defenses. He can throw passes on a rope. *IF* he has a good O-line and a couple of good receivers. You think Manning or Brees would thrive behind the Browns' O-Line? No way.
McCoy is not good. He ran an all shotgun system spread offense at Texas. While you can defend him by bashing his weapons he was always good for at least a couple inexplicable throws/plays per game. I already like what I see out of Weeden better. He actually has an NFL arm compared to that pea shooter of an arm on McCoy.
Dont let the door hit you in the rear end on the way out. You could have paid me 10x less to do what he did.
the browns have sucked for a long itme, it is time for a thorough house cleaning, maybe even new janitors, ball boys, all coaches, every one has to go. tired of the losing and the excuses. i hope the new owner has his hands into every aspect of the team. hope he sits in the dawg pound with the fans on occasion. this may seem like a far fetched idea, but hey what about tress being the head coach?
^This is crazy talk. Jauron has done an awesome job as the DC. Weeden was a good pick, Richardson was a good pick, Schwartz was a good pick, Hughes was a good pick, Winn was a good pick. That's in this year's draft alone, the Browns are on the upswing. Shurmur should get one more year. With the exception of Gruden, name a head coach that has within two years turned a team into a juggernaut. Even then, Gruden inherited Dungy's team. How long was Cowher in Pittsburgh before they won? Several years. It takes time to build up a team, and Shurmur is the right choice if Cleveland is going to run the West Coast offense. Look at St. Louis before and after he left....
McCoy may have run a shotgun system at UT, but for some reason, they always wanted to play Walrusball during McCoy's last two seasons. He'd face 3rd & 10... a lot... and would pick up first downs like they were easy.
"I like to kick Michigan's ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of gum."
@WILLIAM - Mike Tomlin comes to mind, though he inherited an awesome team. Rex Ryan and John Harbaugh took teams with rookie QBs to the AFC title game in their first years, though. Jim Harbaugh also got to the NFC title game in his first year.
Your point remains, but the guys above have made it unacceptable for many fanbases to spend more than two years rebuilding. I can understand Cleveland's frustration, though; it's been one rebuilding project after another.
I've softened a bit on Weeden, though he is still a game manager at the absolutle best. I like Richardson-he can catch the ball much better than I was aware of, but you didn't just give a nod to Dick Jauron did you? "Awesome job"? 31st worst D in the NFL.
What has he, or the D, done that is so awesome.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
I'm pretty Shurmur that we need a new head coach - this one clearly sucks.
Greg Jennings "I put my team on my back"
Brewster, look at Cleveland's rankings on defense when they were healthy last year. They've been without Phil Taylor the entire season, and just got Joe Haden back. They're stellar when they have everyone healthy. I see Weeden as more than a game manager. FWIW he has more passing yards than your boy Cutler, and the same amount of passing TDs.
Brewster, Aside from Winston most people seem to think that it was blown out of proportion with what happened 2 weeks ago at KC. I watched the replay of the scene, they weren't cheering till after he was up on his feet walking. It was a far cry from what Eagles fans do.
Now the banner was poor taste and I made sure I voiced my opinion to the people that were collecting the money for that crap. I dislike Cassel as a QB but use some decorum please.
Also, the punter is awesome and the kicker isn't bad either. The defense is really young with some huge potential at some really nice positions (justin houston, eric berry). Charles is a monster and It is a pleasure to watch him run every week. He looks faster than before his injury!
KC will be good once they draft Geno Smith #1 overall. Cleveland will be good once they get Weeden some receiving options that don't drop the ball. I don't think it will be too long because Pitt is long in the tooth and Baltimore will be right behind them. Biggest competition will be Bengals who we all know screw up about as much as the browns do. I really don't think Cleveland is that far off from being the best in the division. Super Bowl contender? Not sure about that for either Cleveland or KC.
Let's give Weeden more than 6 games before we hang the "game-manager" tag on him. He's far from perfect, but he's the best we've got (with apologies to the McCoy supporters, although I do like him a lot as a #2).
Cutler's had his off week and Weeden's thrown 75 more times than Jay has-I should hope he has more yards. But for a miserable GB game and a weird STL game, Cutler has lit it up the other three games this season. I get what you are saying, but Good Cutler is infinatley better than Weeden, I really hope you don't think otherwise.
Also, he plays on a team with the NFL's best defense (Statistically, Dallas has that but the Bears already throttled them, I'll take Chicago over Dallas any day of the week). So he isn't playing from behind a ton and doesn't have to throw as much with a balanced enough running game.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
Oh no. I'd say Cutler is better than Weeden, just pointing out their stat lines. Now two years down the road, we'll see who is better, and I have a feeling that if Weeden continues his progression he'll be better than Cutler.
Well I can meet you half way only because at this point, 6.5 years in, Jay is what he is. He's a guy who can look like the best and worst QB in the NFL from week to week. That alone will prvent him from ever being one of the top QB's in the NFL, he just has to be one 10 games per year and the Bears will continue to pile up wins.
5 years in, Weeden will be at the sunset of his career, so who knows. I just don't see him as a game changer behind center though. When he adjusts to the speed of the NFL, he won't be a guy to lose Cleveland a ton of games, but he won't be one to win a ton either. Sort of reminds me of a poor man's Matt Schaub, minus the crazy aresenal Schaub has.
4-6 seconds from point A to point B and when you get to point B, be pissed off
One down, more to come - hopefully Shurmer who has Luke Fickell eyes
The drafts under Holmgren have been spotty - and this last draft suggests that Heckert is not quite with it.
^What are you talking about? Do you even watch the Browns?
Yes, William, for a very long time (I can still recall 1964). This team is a disaster. The only players here who are untouchable (?) are Thomas and Haden, IMHO. D'Qwell is close (never been a big fan), as is Mack. Not sure if there is anyone else I would say is safe, but definitely no one from the 2012 draft. I would gladly trade Richardson for a high draft choice if anyone would pony up
Although I admit that the overall D is playing better than I thought they would - maybe we should make Dick Jauron head coach.
But then reasoanble minds can differ. There's always next year
If it's Brown flush it down!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Go Bengals!!!!Kevin
OH!!!!!
Proud parent of a Senior at The Ohio State University
As much as the browns suck right now there is more hope after Holmgrin than before. Weeden, Thomas, Mack, trich, gordon, cooper, little and benjiman is a promising young offense. Haden, Winn, Taylor, ward, rubin, and sheard look like keepers on d.
He was far from great but I think he leaves the situation better than he received it, complete bare cupboard upon arriving.
You guys throw the word suck around like the Browns havent been competitive every game this season that wasnt against the Giants. Some more pieces still need to be put in place but this team is not a disaster nor does it suck. We have some WR's who need to get some more game time under them, get a little more comfortable out there which I think is now starting to happen. Weeden is coming around slowly but surely. Hopefully Haslem can get these guys the right pieces to make this team better and i like his enthusiasm right now to get things done.
I have officially become optimistic after having a beer with a good friend and browns fan during the debate last night.
Our owner now cares. And has something on the stick. Lerner had to keep the team for 10 years as part of the will from his father, he dumped it like 3 mins after that ended.
Lerner is a soccer guy. That was the problem.