So . . . Who’s Responsible For This Mess?

While it’s pretty safe to say that we cannot totally blame Carmen Policy, Dwight Clark, Butch Davis, Phil Savage, Eric Mangini, Mike Holmgren, Tom Heckert, Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi for the abominable mess that is the 2015-2016 edition of the Cleveland Browns; they’ve all certainly had their hands in the cookie jar at one time or another. This current regime is merely the latest chapter of ineptitude at its finest – continued season after miserable season since 1999.  Let’s look at the current cast of characters, shall we?

Jimmy Haslam, Browns owner: A distinguished graduate of the University of Tennessee’s College of Business Administration, he bought the team for a cool 1 BILLION DOLLARS in August of 2012. He has since come under investigation by the FBI over Pilot/Flying J’s rebate scam. In spite of the team’s ineptitude on the field since he took ownership, the franchise’s value – according to Forbes Magazine – has risen another 500 MILLION DOLLARS. This is just one statistic that proves how great a cash cow an NFL franchise is.

Alec Scheiner, Browns President: A 1992 graduate from Georgetown University with degrees in economics and Latin American studies (whatever that’s supposed to mean) and 1997 graduate of Georgetown University Law Center; Scheiner practiced law from 1997 until 2004, when he was hired by the Dallas Cowboys in 2004 to be their general counsel. Four years later, he was promoted to Vice President. He became team President of the Cleveland Browns in December of 2012. So, in a nutshell, he’s a business lawyer who never played a single down in the NFL.

Ray Farmer, General Manager: Duke University (1992-1996) and two-time All-ACC team player at safety, he graduated with a degree in sociology. He was then was drafted in the 4th round by the Philadelphia Eagles, playing linebacker for two seasons until a knee injury ended his playing career. Over that time he played in 30 games; accumulating 64 tackles (14 solo), 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 4 fumble recoveries, 1 INT and 4 passes defended. The stats would lead me to believe that Ray was a situational/rotational player for the Eagles and not necessarily a starter – just saying. After doing some radio and TV work from 1998-2000, he became athletic coordinator for his alma mater in 2001. From 2002-2006 he was a scout for the Atlanta Falcons, then became director of pro personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006 until 2012; when he accepted his current position with the Browns. During his tenure in Berea, this is what he’s given us in the first round of the draft. Remember, these are players that were selected in spots where your impact is supposed to be immediate and positive.

2014: Justin Gilbert – CB – Oklahoma State (8th overall)_Physical freak without even the slightest clue when it comes to technique. Translation = BUST

Johnny Manziel – QB – Texas A&M (22nd overall)_Undersized, frail and undisciplined BUST

2015: Danny Shelton – NT – Washington (12th overall)_Limited success thus far, but is nowhere close to resembling Haloti N’Gata; to whom he was most often compared.

Cameron Erving – OC/OT – Florida State (19th overall)_Incomplete, but what little I’ve seen so far has not been good. In fact, it’s been bad, man . . . really bad. 

Of those four players mentioned, only Shelton has seen significant playing time. The only times that the others have gotten onto the field for real game time action are when injuries to other players have forced the coaching staff to play them. If these selections are Ray Farmer’s alone, then he alone needs to be held accountable for his actions. If not, then the blame needs to be spread around equally to all guilty parties.

Mike Pettine, Head Coach: Son of a legendary high school football coach, he played free safety at the University of Virginia – graduating in 1988 with a degree in economics. Began coaching as a graduate assistant from 1993-1994 at the University of Pittsburgh, then coached high school football from 1995-2001. In 2002 he took a position with the Baltimore Ravens as a member of their quality control group, breaking down film and the like. Was promoted to assistant D-line coach in 2004, then promoted again in 2005 to outside linebackers coach. In 2009 he left the Ravens to become the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets and served there three years. In 2013 he left the Jets for the same position with the Buffalo Bills, thinking he was ready to fly out from underneath Rex Ryan’s wings and make a go of it on his own. In 2014 he became the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

So why did I give a quick synopsis of the four major players in this mess? I did it in hopes of finding a common thread. Here’s what I’ve been able to conclude. Three with degrees in economics or business administration, one sociology degree, two played college football; one of which played in the NFL and later became a scout.

With Farmer’s background in scouting, it’s surprising that the top end of his two drafts were so abysmal – unless he wasn’t allowed to make his own picks. What I’m lead to believe is that both Haslam and Scheiner have an equal voice in the war room as Farmer and Pettine. This is a classic example of having too many cooks in the kitchen, and the result is that the broth  gets spoiled. Only in this case, the roster is filled with high draft picks that either aren’t talented enough to crack the starting roster or lack the dedication it takes to make it at the NFL level. Another thing that perplexes me is that Farmer seems to relish excessively in dumpster diving to upgrade the 53rd slot on a 53 man roster, when the fact of the matter is that he looks incredibly inept at nailing the picks that are costing the team the most – both in terms of dollars and years set back. And let’s not forget the signing of free agent WR Dwayne Bowe and his 9 million dollar guaranteed contract. The end result is a collection of over-drafted first contract players and older veterans that came to Cleveland for the sole purpose of getting one last big paycheck because no other team was willing to offer them contracts.

So how do we fix the current dilemma? First and foremost, both Haslam and Scheiner need to remove themselves from the decision making process in terms of player personnel and stick to the business side of professional football operations – particularly when it comes to QB Johnny Manziel. Until that happens, there’s absolutely no hope of this organization turning things around because nobody with a proven track record will agree to interview for their GM position, much less accept the job. Secondly, Farmer needs to be removed from his current position as GM.

Some of the blame needs to go to Pettine for not developing a defensive scheme where one of the highest paid starting rosters can be effective. Your pass rushers need to be rushing the passers and not dropping back into coverage. It also appeared that Pettine was far to soft on the players in training camp. However, in Pettine’s defense, he can only play with the players that Ray Farmer gives him.

In short, this organization needs to check their collective egos at the door, relinquish their voices in player personnel decisions and hire a real GM with a proven track record . . . such as Bill Polian, Ron Wolf or (perhaps better yet) Barberton, Ohio native Thomas Ditroff with Bernie Kosar as special assistant to the GM. Let the new GM decide on the fate of the coaching staff and (yes, it pains me to say this) start over from scratch. The only other hope would be for Haslam to hand Ozzie Newsome the keys, give him a percentage of the team in order to pry him from Baltimore and let him do his job they way he wants to do it. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen; even though it would probably be the best thing for the Browns organization.