Jon Gruden is not the answer for the Cleveland Browns

Jan 23, 2015; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; ESPN broadcasters Mike Tirico (left) and Jon Gruden at Team Carter practice at Scottsdale Community College in advance of the 2015 Pro Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Browns may soon find themselves in the market for a head coach, but Jon Gruden is not the answer.

A lot of bad things happened Monday night for the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns lost their sixth consecutive game, this time in historic fashion. They also lost starting quarterback Josh McCown for the season as he was finally hit with an injury that he can’t bounce back from.

One thing that certainly needs to be on that list is that because the game was televised on Monday Night Football Jon Gruden was in attendance at FirstEnergy Stadium.

And that means we’ve kicked off the season where speculation starts to build that Gruden is the “big-name coach” who will come in and “save the Browns.”

As if we didn’t have enough headaches to deal with when it comes to the Browns.

Jeff Schudel at The Morning Journal kicked off the annual holiday tradition after having the opportunity to speak with Gruden during a local appearance over the weekend, writing that:

"Gruden has not ruled out a return to coaching eight years after being fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His name is sure to come up if Browns owner Jimmy Haslam bows to public pressure and fires Mike Pettine when this wretched season blinks out for good on Jan. 3 in a home game with the Pittsburgh Steelers."

While Gruden didn’t say he wanted to return to an NFL sideline, Schudel points out that Gruden didn’t shoot the idea down, either.

"“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I have a great job. I’m excited to be with the guys I work with and I haven’t lost a game in five or six years. I feel pretty good about it.”"

It is no surprise that Gruden continues to play coy when his name pops up every year when a losing team is considering a coaching change. Staying at ESPN as an analyst – at a reported $6.5 million per year – and being hailed as a coaching savior by desperate fans across the country is a pretty nice gig.

But an actual return to coaching would mean long hours, sleepless nights and those same fans turning on you once reality sets in.

Because make no mistake about it, Gruden is an extremely average coach who has grown increasingly over-rated as the years roll by.

Yes, he did win a Super Bowl, but that was in 2002 – an eternity ago in NFL terms. And he did it with a team built by Tony Dungy – a fact that Gruden’s supporters dispute but one that he admits to being the truth.

But after that first season with the Buccaneers, Gruden was just 45-51 over his final six years in Tampa. While that may sound great for a team like the Browns, who perpetually go 4-12 (or worse), is that really the mark of a good head coach?

In addition, for reasons that have always escaped us, Gruden has carried around with him the title of “quarterback guru, but who are the quarterbacks he developed? For all the talk about how Gruden develops quarterbacks, in his seven seasons with Tampa Bay, he rolled through nine starting quarterbacks in seven years.

Haven’t we seen enough of that revolving door in Cleveland? Do we really need to bring in a coach who has a history of doing that very same thing?

One thing that Gruden does have in his favor is that he is a fan of Johnny Manziel, which is more than enough for some fans to sign off on hiring Gruden immediately.

“I don’t have any concerns [about Manziel],” Gruden said during a conference call prior to the 2014 NFL Draft. “I’m a Manziel – I don’t know what the word I should use is – advocate, proponent. I want Manziel. I realize he’s under 6 feet tall. Maybe he can’t see over the line. We blew that theory in the water last year with [Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell] Wilson and [New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew] Brees.

“I know he can learn. I spent two days with him, and I know he wants to learn. He had four different offensive coordinators at Texas A&M. He had two different head coaches. It didn’t matter. He adapted and did extremely well. This is the first Heisman Trophy winner as a freshman. In two years at Texas A&M, he had the most productive back-to-back seasons in SEC history. I don’t know what you want him to do. He threw for 8,000, ran for 2,000, he has 93 touchdowns. All I know is I want Manziel.”

More from Dawg Pound Daily

If Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam is willing to make a mistake and hire Gruden then forget about any accountability or consequences for Manziel. It would be non-stop parties and “making plays” on Sundays from here on out as Gruden would rise to the top of the list of Manziel’s enablers.

And wouldn’t that just be a grand old time for everyone?

Finally, if the Browns do bring in Gruden (or any other head coach) that also means an entirely new coaching staff and system.

The one thing that has gone right, for the most part, this season has been the offense under first-year coordinator John DeFilippo. But a new coach is going to want his own people with him, so if a change is made plan on saying goodbye to DeFilippo, who is showing promise as a coordinator.

And let’s not pretend that any coach worth hiring is going to accept the head job with any conditions attached to it, such as a mandate that they have to keep certain coaches.

The Browns have plenty of problems surrounding the team and just as many questions.

But Jon Gruden is not the answer to any of those questions.

Home/Browns News