Browns: The 3 distinct eras since football came back to Cleveland in 1999

Since coming back in 1999 the Browns have had three distinct Eras.

This was an idea I was kicking around a few weeks ago about how the Browns have had three very distinct eras. Each era is ironically centered around the quarterback era, or lack thereof, and each of them has a certain mark that they left behind.

The three best quarterbacks the Browns have had, Tim Couch, Derek Anderson, and Baker Mayfield all occupy one of the specific timeframes, and that’s not by accident. Whenever a new franchise era starts in football, it usually starts with the star player or the quarterback being replaced.

So with that said, let’s give these timeframes some names.

The three distinct Browns eras

The Hype Era (1999-2002)

The Hype Era is exactly as it sounds. It was an era of never-ending hype; hype around Tim Couch, hype around Courtney Brown, hype around Butch Davis. There was even a countdown clock in the middle of Tower City that counted down from years out until the exact moment the Browns officially came back to Cleveland. It was an era of unbridled passion and fervor, and one that was maybe justified. Despite two 2-14 seasons to start their run, they then went 7-9 and 9-7 in their next two years (the first two under Davis). The team made many modern-day legends, by that it’s obvious we mean not true franchise legends, but for the next 20 years they’d obviously have to do.

The Dark Ages Era (2003-2017)

The ugliest and easily the longest Era of Browns football is the Dark Ages. Three times in that span of 15 years the Browns won seven games. Only once, in 2007, did the Browns have a winning season. None of those years saw a playoff birth, however. Out of a total of 15 seasons, the Browns were losers in 14. They did create a few Hall of Fame (even if just Browns HOF) caliber players in Joe Haden, Joe Thomas, and Josh Cribbs, but that would largely be it. This was also the era that saw Cleveland end the careers of two of the biggest hometown stars due to MRSA.

The Hope Era (2018-Current)

It is what it is, an era of hope and optimism. A new day, if you will, has come to Cleveland and the Browns have their best quarterback since Brian Sipe, alongside a head coach who knows how to utilize his players, a front office that isn’t just making moves to make moves and team that’s built to win now and tomorrow. The era officially started in 2018 when Baker Mayfield took over the reins and while 2019 was a bad season, 2020 was a great season. Since he started the franchise comeback, we figured we’d start the new era the same time he joined the team. It’s only fair, he did lead us to the playoffs and two back-to-back wins over the Steelers.