Sashi Brown not sweating over 1-19

The Cleveland Browns are mired in one of the worst slumps in NFL history, but executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown is committed to staying the course.

In the eyes of many, the job that executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and head coach Hue Jackson undertook in 2016 was a simple one.

All they had to do was turnaround a Cleveland Browns franchise that had been rotting away since 1999. Oh, and they better do it right away – preferably with one draft but certainly no more than two.

The reality, however, is that “quick fixes” in the NFL are nothing more than fool’s gold, which is why Brown has been smart to avoid going down that road. And while the process the Browns are using is nothing new to the NFL – can we please have a moratorium on “analytics” and “spreadsheet” jokes? – what they are attempting to do is somewhat unique.

Rather than simply going through a rebuild or a retool, the Browns have turned back the clock to the spring of 1999 in an attempt to start over from scratch and essentially become an expansion team.

That means fielding one of the youngest teams in the league, stockpiling draft picks to increase the chances of landing an impact player, and continuing the three decade quest for a franchise quarterback.

It also means losing, a lot of losing, as we’ve all seen while watching the Browns go 1-19 under the watch of Brown and Jackson.

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While it has been frustrating for everyone involved, especially the fans as they have been the one constant throughout the losing, it has also been long overdue. Sure, it was all fun and games when the Browns went 10-6 in 2007, but when reality struck the following year as the magic turned out to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

What happened to the Browns in 2007 and 2008 happens all the time in the NFL – a team catches every break, has a favorable schedule, and posts a year that is completely unsustainable. As hard as the past 20 games have been to watch, no one with an interest in the team should want to go through that again.

Despite the losing, the injuries, the still unsettled quarterback issue and the outside noise, Brown is holding firm (some might call it arrogance) in his belief that the current plan is the right plan, as he told clevelandbrowns.com:

"“We are committed to turning this thing around. We are not shying away from what our record is. At the same time, we are determined and resilient about where we are headed. We do see some of the progress being made on the field. It is not good enough yet. We are not satisfied by any stretch, but both Hue and I are really realistic about where we were and where we are and where we are going. We are committed to that, good open communication throughout, so no different than what we have had from Day 1.”"

Things have been ugly at times for the Browns over the past 20 games, but that should not come as a surprise. With so many players still learning what it means to be an NFL player, along with figuring out how not to lose, anyone who thought this team was going to be good this year was just being naive.

That doesn’t mean anyone should be happy with games like Sunday’s against the Cincinnati Bengals, but as the team is only now approaching the end of the beginning of this rebuild there are going to be bumps on the road.

The bottom line is that Brown and Jackson cannot be held accountable for the mistakes that came before them, but they are responsible for getting this franchise on the right track.

Next: Myles Garrett takes another step toward playing

We wish we knew when, or even if, that will actually happen, but there is one thing that everyone should be certain of.

It is going to take a lot longer than just 20 games.