Even though the Cleveland Browns have been the kings of dysfunction, they may not be the most dysfunctional team in the NFL in 2022.
Even though there was some slight mathematical hope at the playoffs for the Cleveland Browns the last two weeks, the team was officially eliminated last Saturday after a loss to the New Orleans Saints. While this team has suffered multiple traumatic losses, this one was up there on the list of terrible losses this season.
I’m not sure it trumped the Jet’s meltdown but letting a dome team come into your stadium when the windchill was negative 10 degrees and overcoming an early 10-0 deficit is a tough pill to swallow. On top of that, the Saints were missing their two top receivers and had guys playing meaningful snaps who were on the practice squad just last week.
As the Browns now turn their focus to tuning up the 2023 roster, the question must be asked. Are the Cleveland Browns the most dysfunctional organization in the NFL?
No. 3 – Houston Texans
In a real neck-and-neck race, the Houston Texans are just above the Browns when it comes to dysfunction. Although they have been going through a rebuild for the last three years and have treated some situations in a bizarre way (Brandin Cooks), the fact they got what they did from Deshaun Watson moves them ahead of the Browns.
Not arguing that Watson won’t be worth the picks the Browns gave up, but he’s a public relations nightmare and certainly brings a dark cloud with him and his past accusations.
The Texans still appear to be in the 2013-2015 era of the Browns. They have had four head coaches (one interim) in the last three seasons, and there aren’t more than one or two guys on this roster that fans are excited to grow with.
The real question is if the Texans hit the bottom as the Browns did in 2016/2017, or if they can turn some of those first-round draft picks into talented franchise-changing players.
No. 2 – Cleveland Browns
Not only is the Cleveland Browns front office and locker room fairly dysfunctional, but we also have some of the most passionate fans in the world as well. With passion, comes delusion as well, unfortunately.
The biggest crossing of wires at the moment is this roster and Kevin Stefanski. The roster is fairly talented with a serious lack of leadership, and Stefanski is as talented as any coach in the NFL, but his biggest weakness continues to be getting his guys fired up. The combination of those two things has led to an appearance that the team has quit — with players calling out the coaching staff to the media.
For the last three years, fans have wanted Joe Woods (defensive coordinator) fired, yet here he is three years into the job and following his same resume. The worst defense in the league for the first seven games of the year, and then starts to perform well about the offense falls apart at the end of the season.
The structure of this organization is challenging as well. Jimmy Haslam has given the keys to Andrew Berry in the org chart, but Paul DePodesta is involved on the analytics side, and Haslam is also a very hands-on owner. While I love the passion of Haslam, sometimes it’s easy to get in the way like Jerry Jones does with the Cowboys.
I really do think this team is close, but Berry must bring in some players this offseason with experience and strong leadership. If Woods does get fired (which is very likely), Stefanski needs to focus his attention on a guy that can also get this team fired up to play week in and week out.
If this roster can slightly over-perform instead of constantly underperform, they can go from a 7-10 team to an 11-6 team in the snap of a finger.
No. 1 – Denver Broncos
The only team in the NFL my dysfunctional than the Cleveland Browns right now is the Denver Broncos.
After re-signing a couple of key free agents on the defense and making the splash trade for star quarterback, Russell Wilson, many had the AFC West pegged as the most difficult division in football. And while it’s still a strong division, the Broncos sitting at 4-11 through 16 weeks is by far the biggest surprise of the NFL.
Multiple videos and pictures have leaked of players screaming at Wilson and players on the offense for not being able to move the ball. And one of the league’s best defenses to start the season has started to break down after being on the field and put in so many difficult situations throughout the season.
Just this week Nathaniel Hackett who was the offensive guru meant to take Wilson to the next level was relieved of his duties as a head coach not even making it the full season. Now there are questions if their general manager will be next, or if they do trust George Patton to find and hire the next coach for the Broncos.
The Browns have had a stigma over the last 25 years that includes too much losing, that is the only thing the Broncos aren’t fighting at the moment. As bad as things are, there are still guys on this roster that have done a ton of winning and know how to lead a locker room.
2023 will be a very interesting year to see if things get turned around.
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