The Cleveland Browns’ Search for a Head Coach is a Joke…Right?

Each new name thrown out there is like another throbbing pain to an already immensely painful migraine: Mike Mularkey? Pat Shurmur? Perry Fewell?

Someone wake me when this coaching search is over, or when team president Mike Holmgren has a press conference to announce either Jon Gruden or himself as the next head coach of the Browns. And I don’t say that simply because  I want to see the team coached by a high-profile guy.

It’s because I don’t see how a hire like Mularkey, Shurmur, or Fewell would possibly energize the fan base and take this team to the next level. The Browns are sitting at the threshold of that “next level,” with an opportunity to really build upon some of the success they had in 2010. Some of that has already been sacrificed by the firing of Eric Mangini. No matter what, it always takes time for a team and coaching staff to gel. Unless, of course, you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Obviously, the organization has to be thorough when searching for the next head coach of the team – many people lamented the fact that owner Randy Lerner hired Mangini so quickly – but the Browns and the fan base don’t need another coordinator trying to make it as a head coach, whether it’s the guy’s first try or a second attempt after a failed first effort. How does that possibly make the situation any better than the one under Mangini?

If Holmgren cannot hire an established head coach, or simply take the reins himself, it’s going to take a lot to make everyone eventually buy into the decision. Let’s just hope then that he makes the right one.