Cleveland Browns: The Time for Change is Upon Us Again

Is cleaning house the best course of action for Jimmy Haslam going into the offseason?

My name is Brandon and I was a supporter of the Cleveland Browns front office.

Whew, now that I have that off of my chest, I feel like the healing can begin; after all, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

For months on end I preached continuity as being the key. The current staff just needed time to implement their plan, and success would rain down on the Cleveland Browns and all of their loyal fans like a late spring rain shower off the shores of Lake Erie. Young, maybe immature players like Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert just needed a chance and surely they would succeed as well and lead the team to the promise land.

I was fooling myself. When the wheels come off, all the negative stories begin to seep out of the woodwork and it’s no different this season in Cleveland.

There are reports that there may be front office sexual harassment allegations heading to the organization and that the players are perfectly fine with losing, genuinely not caring at all if they win or not.

With the currently Johnny Manziel or Austin Davis dilemma, the fans are split. It seems as if half of the fan base thinks Manziel needs to be in there if for no other reason to  assess his abilities. The other half would rather the Browns just cut him (Manziel) lose now and be done with him forever. The one thing they all seemingly have in common? They want Mike Pettine and Ray Farmer gone, as soon as possible.

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As the months went on, I came to despise Pettine more and more and support Farmer with more fervor. Nothing massive has happened this season to make me change my mind. In fact I feel that in a different situation both Pettine and Farmer may have been able to succeed.

If Pettine didn’t have a meddlesome front office forcing picks on him that he didn’t like, while forcing free agents and unsolicited advice on who to play, he may have had a chance to do well. Conversely, had Farmer not had an owner imposing his way, and a head coach that he actually picked and got along with, he may have had a chance to do more with his opportunities.

This, however, is Cleveland. It wasn’t meant to be with either of them, and they all need to go. Including, and maybe even especially Alec Scheiner who has himself dealt with accusations of meddling and stepping outside of the boundaries of his position within the organization. I’m also of the belief that the vast majority of the players need to go as well. Anyone who is ok with losing doesn’t need to be in the organization. If the Browns have to field a team with 50 undrafted free agents so be it, as long as they will play their heart out to try to win, and will work harder after each loss. Just bringing in a new coach doesn’t change a culture; the Browns have had 8 coaches to prove that in the last 16 years.

Tired of dealing with conflicts between coaches and front office personnel, I fully expect owner Jimmy Haslam to bring in a ‘Czar’ this offseason to act as GM and head coach. Names like Sean Payton and Jon Gruden have been thrown around social media the last few weeks, especially after Gruden seemed to be throwing hints out left and right in the most recent edition of Monday Night Football when the Browns lost to the Ravens in the most Cleveland way possible. It doesn’t matter who Haslam brings in this offseason if that person doesn’t recognize that the primary problem in Cleveland isn’t the turnover of personnel, it’s the lack of turnover in culture. Once the culture of this organization gets corrected, the issue with constant turnover will as well.

It’s time for the winds of change to once again sweep through Northeast Ohio. Keeping Farmer, Pettine, Scheiner, or any combination of the three would be a massive mistake for an owner that seems to be making his share of mistakes these days. Let’s hope he can right the ship and take the correct course of action before things get worse. Odds are if you’re reading this, you’re from Cleveland, so you know that things can indeed get worse.