Cleveland Browns: Determining what a win means at this point

The Cleveland Browns don’t need a win in 2017 to avoid a head coaching change, but some confidence for the players heading into 2018 would be nice.

Jimmy Haslam knows how to keep Cleveland Browns fans interested in his organization.

Just when doom had set in with an 0-12 record, Haslam decided to fire Sashi Brown and bring in John Dorsey, providing some hope that things will be better in 2018.

It is hard to believe anything Haslam says at this point based on his history of firing coaches and general managers, but fans can rest easy knowing that Dorsey is considered a great choice for the job. It doesn’t mean he will succeed, but at least he has some experience working as a talent evaluator in the NFL. The same could not be said for Sashi Brown.

All this front office news makes it seem like the offseason, but the Browns still have four games remaining this season. That is, four chances to pick up at least one lousy win.

I originally thought that Hue Jackson could not go 0-16 and keep his job, but that changed when Haslam made it clear his coach isn’t going anywhere after the season. 0-12 is the new 12-0 in Cleveland.

So now that Jackson isn’t coaching for his job, does it matter if the team picks up a win? I’d still argue that it does, as a winless season would haunt this group and would do nothing to help the development of the young roster.

Fans don’t want the team to be 0-16, but the players would be the ones who have to live with that record.

A 1-15 season following a 1-15 season is nothing to smile about, but it would at least give the young guys a taste of victory. The Browns already have a two-game lead for the number one pick in the NFL Draft, so one win won’t hurt the chances of drafting the next supposed savior at quarterback.

Next: Talking Sashi's firing in the DPD Podcast

I honestly can’t believe we are in 2017 talking about the Browns not going 0-16, and I want to believe that things will get better in 2018. Maybe this team can surprise us all and pick up a few wins this month, showing some progress in the win column from a year ago. Not that two wins is really that much better than one.