Report: Haslams met with Browns players to calm the waters

Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam reportedly met with the players last week to offer some support and info on the rebuilding process.

It is game day across the NFL today, which means it is time for the national media to turn its attention to everyone’s favorite winless team.

For a team that is 0-9 for the second consecutive season, 1-24 under head coach Hue Jackson and in the running for the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft for the second year running, the Cleveland Browns sure are a hot topic.

First up is a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport stating that owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam met with the players on Monday to calm the waters and let everyone unpack their feelings a bit about the current situation.

That is all well and good, and not all that bad of an idea by the Haslams. Getting out in front of the players and reinforcing the message that everyone is in this together is a good message.

The biggest, and most frightening, takeaway from Rapoport’s story comes near the bottom, when he drops in the idea that Jackson is going to want even more say in the organization going forward:

"The belief is, with an eye toward 2018, that Jackson will want some say in the collaborative effort of picking players. It’s not that he wants more power — he agreed upon the power structure when he signed on and is fine with it. He’s seen coaches thrive in similar power structures, notably Marvin Lewis with the Bengals. But Jackson is believed to want to have his voice heard alongside executives such as (Sashi) Brown, Andrew Berry, Paul DePodesta and others."

The idea of Jackson wanting more say over acquiring players should put fear in the hearts of Browns fans everywhere. Because while the front office takes all the heat for the quarterback situation, Jackson:

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• was fully on board with the decision to pass on Carson Wentz in the 2016 NFL Draft;
• pushed to sign Robert Griffin III after feeling “the earth move” during Griffin’s workout;
• didn’t want Deshaun Watson even though he was the Browns highest-rated quarterback when they were picking at No. 12 in last spring’s draft;
• wanted to trade for Cincinnati Bengals backup quarterback A.J. McCarron at the trade deadline; and,
• has completely botched the situation with rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer this season.

Jackson’s voice has been heard along those in the front office and the evidence points to that not being a good thing. The idea of giving him even more of a voice sounds like a horrible idea.

Since the Haslams appear to be in a chatty mood, their next step needs to be to sit down with Jackson and let him know it is time to rowing in the same direction as everyone else.

Next: Browns vs. Jaguars: TV, radio info

And if that is something he can’t live with, well they can likely find another head coach who is perfectly capable of posting a single win.