Tankology 101: How Sashi Brown rebuilt the Cleveland Browns, and nearly destroyed them
John Dorsey is rightfully the toast of Cleveland right now, but some success of the Cleveland Browns is due to the previous administration
Although General Manager John Dorsey is rightfully the toast of Cleveland right now, much credit for the 2019 success of the Cleveland Browns is also due to the previous administration of Sashi Brown. Brown took over a poor Cleveland Browns team and promised to deliver a contender by an analytics-based approach to manipulate the NFL draft in his favor and playing ‘Moneyball’ with the salary cap.
The 2018 squad shows promise that the dream will come true as the roster is now filled with young and improving players, and the coffers are charged up with salary cap space galore. However, the process nearly destroyed the team.
During Brown’s tenure, the team went 1-27. Worse, most of his draft choices not panning out and he managed to not provide coach Hue Jackson with an experienced veteran quarterback that he could be comfortable with. In particular, some of his moves were so destructive to the team that it became impossible for the team to coexist with its GM.
Hence, Brown was fired and it was left to John Dorsey to wisely utilize draft choices, trades, and free agency to bring Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, Nick Chubb, and Genard Avery to the team as well as veterans E. J. Gaines, T. J. Carrie, Damarious Randall, Terrance Mitchell, Breshad Perriman and Greg Robinson.
The Browns would never call what they did “tanking” in that the players on the field were always trying to win the game. However, it is clear that the Browns front office removed talent from the roster in order to qualify for top draft picks and also create a favorable salary cap structure. They created an environment that encouraged losing and lots of it.
Sashi Brown’s plan
First of all, Brown, assisted by Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta and others, admitted that the Browns were not as good as other NFL teams in the area of talent evaluation and scouting. In fact, they were clearly worse than other teams, as they consistently drafted poor talents like Johnny Manziel, Justin Gilbert, Trent Richardson, Barkevious Mingo, Brandon Weeden, and Brady Quinn.
The Browns also admitted to themselves that they could not attract free agents to the team as effectively as other teams. Teams like the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers create a “Winner’s Discount,” whereas losing teams like the Browns must pay a “Loser’s Tax.” In other words, a player typically commands a substantial pay raise to decide to play in Cleveland. Players like Jamie Collins and Kevin Zeitler were significantly overpaid to leave winning teams and sign with the Browns.
Based on these inescapable truths, the only way to build the team is by having more draft picks than other teams, and by having more salary cap reserve to allow them to outspend their competition. In this way, a winning team can be built after a three or four year rebuilding period.