Cleveland Browns: 3 Questions Going Into The Bye Week
If the Browns go 0-16, Should Someone Lose Their Job?
Going 0-16 is a feat only mastered by one team, The 2008 Detroit Lions. The fate of that front office and that coaching staff? They were all fired or replaced.
So if the Cleveland Browns go 0-16, will anyone lose their job? Well, owner Jimmy Haslam isn’t a patient owner, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Yet is it the right answer? Should the Cleveland Browns blow it all up again?
In a normal situation, yes, but in the Cleveland Browns situation, no. The record shouldn’t dictate jobs.
For the first time since 1999, the Cleveland Browns did what no other front office did. They refused to patch together the roster. Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown opted to strip the team of its overpaid veterans, didn’t extend the contracts of players who didn’t want to be here, and used 14 draft picks to fill the roster.
From top to bottom, the 1999 expansion roster and the 2016 roster share a lot in common. Both rosters were full of rookies, mixed in with a few veterans to contribute. The 1999 team managed to win two games, and the 2016 team is on pace to go winless. The roster is proof that this season wasn’t about wins and losses.
Sashi Brown and the Front Office
You could argue that passing on players Carson Wentz, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dak Prescott, should cost Sashi Brown his job. However, with the extreme overhaul of the team, who knows if the Browns would have benefitted from these players the same way their current teams have.
In Philadelphia, quarterback Carson Wentz has the benefit of playing for a team whose veteran defense was dominant to begin the season. They found ways to score on defense, and the defense kept other teams from scoring when Wentz wasn’t on the field. All Wentz had to do in most games was manage the offense and try not to do too much. The Eagles started 3-0, but they are only 2-6 since.
Meanwhile, quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott benefited from a superior offensive line, a Pro Bowl wideout in Dez Bryant, and a veteran defense. They couldn’t have landed in a better situation to flourish.
Who knows what they might have actually done in a Browns uniform? Yet the realization is that we have a longer way to go. Therefore like real Browns draftees Corey Coleman, Emmanuel Ogbah, and Cody Kessler, the impact of Prescott, Elliott, or Wentz might not be instantaneous either. We’ll have to trust in the decisions made by Sashi Brown and his scouting department, and the impact of this draft won’t be known for at least another two seasons.
The Coaching Staff
This brings us to Hue Jackson and the coaching staff. It’s hard to coach and develop a team composed of mostly rookies and un-drafted free agents. Add in the injuries, the constant quarterback rotation, and the tribulations of being a first time staff, how can anyone truly be held accountable?
Sure the defense hasn’t been the best, but defensive coordinator Ray Horton hasn’t had much to work with. His best player is cornerback Joe Haden, but Haden’s not the same player he coached last time around. Aside from Haden, the defense is light on playmakers. The other cornerbacks, linebackers, and defensive line members are all younger players.
On offense Jackson is the play-caller, while Al Saunders and Pep Hamilton are his assistants. Much like the defense, what does Jackson have to work with? His quarterback situation has fluctuated week to week. The offensive line is patch-work at best, after the free agent losses of center Alex Mack and tackle Mitchell Schwartz and an injury to guard Joel Bitonio. Aside from Terrelle Pryor, no one has stepped up as a playmaking threat this season.
Much like Sashi Brown, how can you hold Jackson and his staff accountable this season? Yes there were some decisions you’d like to have back, but at the end of the day, who knows if the Browns would be better off? The truth is, we won’t know for 2-3 years.
The Browns should not make any rash moves this off-season when it comes to the front office or the coaching staff. If the Cleveland Browns need one thing, it’s stability. While the 2008 Detroit Lions cleared house, it might be in the best interest of the Browns to follow the course of the win-less 1976 0-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They kept their staff in tact, and by 1979 they turned 0-14 into 10-6.
The Browns need to stay the course. That’s not the easy route to take, but Haslam must see if this thing works out. From there, the organization needs to start putting the right pieces in place.