Cleveland Browns: A lack of excitement in the coaching search

Aug 20, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Cleveland Browns fans do not have much to get excited about during another search for a head coach.

The seemingly annual Cleveland Browns head coaching search is in full force at the outset of 2016.

Names such as Matt Patricia, Hue Jackson, Doug Marrone and Sean McDermott, among others, fill Browns Twitter. Opinions are for and against each candidate, but this energy may be wasted.

It is no secret that the Browns are not the most desirable landing spot in the NFL for a head coach. Marrone may be the biggest name out of those on the current list, but why come to Cleveland when he could easily choose a team led by Eli Manning and featuring Odell Beckham Jr.

The openings in New York, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and even Tennessee offer tons of upside for a new head coach. The only job that may be more of a mess than the one in Cleveland is with the San Francisco 49ers, but there is at least some talent out there. And the coach would get to live in lovely San Francisco.

And Browns fans are well aware of just how tough it is to get a top head coaching candidate to coach the team. There was a time when a name like Romeo Crennel would leave a great job with one of the NFL’s top teams to come take a chance in Cleveland.

The same goes for someone like Eric Mangini, although his reputation has dwindled over time. His firing after only two seasons in Cleveland was what began this avoidance of accepting an NFL head coaching job in the city.

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Pat Shurmur was brought in to fix things and he lasted two seasons. Rob Chudzinski only lasted one. Mike Pettine lasted a surprising two.

If Jimmy Haslam thinks he has any chance of signing a quality head coach he is foolish. He has destroyed his credibility by firing Pettine after two seasons. There is nothing wrong with having a vision for a football team, but that vision cannot change every year.

He has done nothing to assure anyone that they will be secure in Cleveland. Winning would be an easy way to keep the job, but this team is nowhere near competing amongst the league’s elite. The most notable player is talked about for all the wrong reasons and may not be on the roster in the near future.

Not only is there the lack of talent, but there is a horizontal power structure in the front office, scaring away any coach who wants any sort of control over the roster.

So not only do coaches, at least the big names, have a lack of interest in this job, but fans now doubt that any of the current interviews will actually lead to a hire that will turn things around in Cleveland. The last sense of excitement with a coach was when Pettine had the Browns at 7-4, but even that seemed too good to be true. And it was.

Mike Pettine was not a top choice, or even top ten, and the same seems to be about to happen with this coaching search. It is better for fans to save their collective energy and just let things happen how they will.

This type of indifference does not come naturally to such an energetic and caring fan base, but getting too up or down after every interview is a waste of time. This team is several years away from being competitive and another reboot only adds to that timeframe.

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