Red Right 88

In Cleveland, hope dies last

20 Jan 2014

It’s time for the Browns to make their move on a head coach

The Cleveland Browns are entering the third week of their latest coaching search, one that has taxed the patience of many a Browns fan.

And while we’ve been on board with the team being patient and looking at a variety of candidates – owner Jimmy Haslam isn’t running out of any meetings to rashly hire a new coach the way Randy Lerner once did for Eric Mangini – it’s time for the team to end this. And Sunday’s NFC Championship Game showed us everything we needed to see:

The Browns need to hire Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their next head coach.*

19 Jan 2014

From the editor’s notebook …

It was quite the week for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Davone Bess, one where every time you thought you’d heard it all something new would come out.

Things started when Bess was arrested on Friday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and charged with simple assault on an officer, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence. It then escalated on Saturday when Bess posted a naked photo of himself on Twitter; later in the day Coral Springs police officers came to the hotel where Bess was staying at on Saturday for what police are calling a medical call.

Then there is the fact that this isn’t the first time that Bess has had a problem. In March, it took six Broward County sheriff’s deputies to restrain Bess at his home. According to police reports, Bess was allegedly screaming, “Hide the guns!” “Where is my weed?” and “I want to get in the end zone; throw me the football!” That incident did not come to light until Friday afternoon, which will be an important point to remember in a moment.

There are three takeaways from the ongoing situation with Bess, the first dealing with Bess himself.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Liverpool and tagged Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Liverpool | Leave a comment

16 Jan 2014

Cleveland is ground zero for dysfunctional franchises

As the Cleveland Browns coaching search marches along to what we all assume will eventually turn into a coaching hire (we’re pretty sure the NFL bylaws require teams to have a head coach) the Browns have turned into a punchline, both nationally and locally.

The situation has been described as being “radioactive,” with a front office known for its “shadiness,” and some have even gone as far as to suggest that new uniforms will entice a quality coach to take over the team.

The thing is, as dysfunctional as the Browns may appear to be, it’s not anything we haven’t seen before in Cleveland. And, truth be told, the Browns are not the only dysfunctional franchise in town, at least from a historical perspective.

15 Jan 2014

From the editor’s notebook …

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam dropped a letter to season-ticket holders on Wednesday outlining just what the Browns are up to with their ongoing search for a new coach.

And while Haslam’s letter lacked the playful whimsy of the infamous Comic Sans letter that Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert sent a few years ago, it did contain a couple of items that are important to remember.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Liverpool and tagged Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Liverpool | Leave a comment

13 Jan 2014

1 Comment

Browns coaching search has everyone terribly vexed

The Cleveland Browns coaching search is two weeks old now and the team has not made a decision yet on who will replace the fired Rob Chudzinski.

Whether or not owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner are any closer to finding Chudzinksi’s replacement is still unclear and while the situation is less than ideal, it may not be as dire as many are making it out to be.

But there is little doubt that the past two weeks have certainly left everyone so terribly, terribly vexed.

There are things that are known about the coaching search, while there are probably just as many things that people assume to know. While what we know is a pretty straight forward question to answer; what it all means may prove to be a bit trickier of a question.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

08 Jan 2014

1 Comment

Browns, Cavs having a productive start to the new year

It is only the first full week of 2014 and already both the Cleveland Browns and the Cleveland Cavaliers have had one heck of a time.

The best news of the year came earlier today when New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said he was not interested in the Browns head coaching job, a position he interviewed for over the weekend but was never officially offered.

McDaniels had been the presumed favorite to replace fired coach Rob Chudzinski, primarily because he works for New England and when it comes to the Patriots and their assistant coaches, current Browns general manager Mike Lombardi simply can’t see that the emperor has no clothes.

McDaniels carries a career winning percentage of .393 (in line with former New England assistants and Browns coaches Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini), actually made the St. Louis offense worse the one year he was offensive coordinator and, like every other coach who has worked for Bill Belichick, has never succeeded unless he is standing next to Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers and tagged Andrew Bynum, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Josh McDaniels

06 Jan 2014

3 Comments

Browns need to choose wisely in hunt for next quarterback

If there was still any lingering doubt that the Cleveland Browns need to fix the ongoing problem at quarterback before they can begin to have the kind of “sustained success” promised by Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner, then this weekend’s NFL playoff games should have helped removed those thoughts.

And if there is anyone who still thinks the answer to the quarterback conundrum is currently on the Browns roster, they need to look no further than a few hours south on I-71 to see the hazard of not having the right quarterback.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

05 Jan 2014

7 Comments

Some things went right, many went wrong, for Browns in 2013

The Cleveland Browns wrapped up the 2013 NFL season a week ago and it was a familiar one for Browns fans.

The team finished at 4-12, the 12th time the Browns have had double-digit losses in a season since returning to the NFL in 1999. This was also the 10th time in the past 11 years that the team won two or less divisional games and their 3-5 home record means the Browns still have not posted at least four home wins in consecutive seasons.

But it is not all bad news in Berea. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and team CEO Joe Banner are currently undertaking a thorough and exhaustive search for a head coach to replace Rob Chudzinski, who was fired a year after Haslam and Banner undertook a thorough and exhaustive search that led them to hire Chudzinski.

And the Browns hold 10 draft picks in the 2014 NFL Draft, including two in the first round and seven total in the first four rounds.

So before we turn the page to next season, let’s look back and some things that went right and some that went wrong for the Browns in 2014.

Read more…

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns

02 Jan 2014

Weighing the pros and cons of the Browns coaching search

The Cleveland Browns are currently in the market for their fourth head coach since the Romeo Crennel era ended after the 2008 season and there is no shortage of interesting candidates.

The team reportedly has received permission to interview New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, as well as Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. They have also been linked to Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.

In what could turn into a pleasant surprise, Jason La Canfora from CBS Sports claims that the Browns will also look to interview Auburn coach Gus Malzahn (once he is done celebrating another national title for the SEC, of course) and Vanderbilt’s James Franklin.

Malzahn is interesting because of his offensive system, one he calls a “hurry-up no-huddle” system that put up almost 400 yards of offense against Alabama – including 296 yards on the ground – and then totaled almost 700 yards – including 545 on the ground – against Missouri. (Of course, these are the Browns so we’re not sure why we are even talking about running the ball.)

Franklin seems to have come out of nowhere, but he does have NFL experience (something Malzahn lacks) after working as a position coach with Green Bay. He is also linked to the Penn State job, which opened up after Bill O’Brien left to take over the Houston Texans.

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns, Gus Malzahn, James Franklin | Leave a comment

31 Dec 2013

Browns continue to betray the trust of their fans

In what was a surprising move – even for a franchise that is synonymous with dysfunction – the Cleveland Browns fired head coach Rob Chudzinski Sunday night after just one year on the job.

And Browns fans are left wondering why they should believe anything that comes out of the mouths of team owner Jimmy Haslam or CEO Joe Banner.

Chudzinski becomes the first Browns coach to be fired after just one season in franchise history, so at least Haslam was truthful when he said things were going to be different with him as owner.

Officially, the team “relieved” Chudzinski of his duties (how very polite of them), saying they “needed to see progress with this football team. We needed to see development and improvement as the season evolved and, unfortunately, we took a concerning step backward in the second half of the year.

“Our fans deserve to see a consistently competitive team. We have high standards, and there’s an urgency for success. When we believed we were not positioned to achieve significant progress in 2014, we knew we had to admit that a change was needed, and move forward.”

Posted in Cleveland Browns and tagged Cleveland Browns | Leave a comment

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