Schottenheimer: Don’t call me

By Sean McClelland | Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 04:59 PM

Just in case you’re thinking how wonderful it would be if Marty “There’s a gleam, men” Schottenheimer stepped in to fix everything, let it be known he has no interest in getting anywhere near the situation. He said as much today on a Sirius NFL radio show.

Host: “We’re going to have some Cleveland Browns fans call and they are going to want pick your brain about whether or not you’d have interest in that sort of thing yourself simply because of the expertise that you have and all the years in the league and your ties with [the Browns] organization. Any interest whatsoever in possibly going to be a consultant for the Browns?”

Marty: “I don’t even see that kind of a role for me. I’m not familiar enough with what they have in terms of their front office. Let somebody else do that. It’s really a very unusual circumstance and it’s going to take some dramatic measures in my mind to be able to get the thing headed in the right direction.

“The bottom line for them right now is they don’t have a real good football team. They’re not playing even to the level that the talent is expressed and it’s going to be a very, very difficult circumstance. The important thing in my view is very simply this: You cannot lose your football team. And dashing around doing all these things that are on the periphery don’t serve any useful purpose at this point in time. You want to resolve issues like this? Let the thing play out, gather information as you go.

“We recognize the decision for them from the standpoint of a playoff berth is virtually impossible for them to achieve. You need to leave some sense of stability at least through this season because players that are there signed to long term contracts are thinking, ‘What in the world is going on here?’ You worry about the reaction of your players and, believe me, let’s not make any mistake about this: That feeling that a player has about his organization is an integral part of their ability to perform at the highest level.”

Earlier today, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reported that former Browns GM Ernie Accorsi also said he hasn’t the slightest bit of interest in attempting to resurrect the franchise.

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Another GM crashes and burns

By Sean McClelland | Monday, November 2, 2009, 09:04 PM

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer first reported early Monday evening that first-year GM George Kokinis had been fired and, in fact, escorted from team headquarters.

At about midnight, the team got around to confirming the reports, although the part about Kokinis being ushered from the building was denied.

So in record time, another front-office figure crashes and burns, joining the likes of Dwight Clark, Pete Garcia and Phil Savage since the Browns returned in 1999.

Team owner Randy Lerner has only himself to blame, of course. He hired Eric Mangini as head coach, thinking it was a coup, then had Mangini pick the general manager, who turned out to be his buddy.

It was a curious management model from the start, the coach essentially picking the GM.

In the end, Kokinis wasn’t here long enough for anyone to determine his worth as a personnel man. Lerner apparently was irked that Kokinis stayed in the background and that he rarely said anything for public consumption. This should hardly come as a surprise, however. When you hire an overbearing coach like Mangini, you can’t imagine his hand-picked personnel lackey thinking he belonged anywhere near the spotlight.

So Mangini’s power is being systematically stripped. The woman who was his “assistant” was recently told to vacate the premises and now Kokinis is sent packing. Meanwhile, the shadow of Bernie Kosar looms as the process of carving out some role for the iconic — and bankrupt — former quarterback apparently moves forward.

There’s even some speculation that Ernie Accorsi, who built the Browns into the team that went to three AFC Championship Games in the late 1980s, might emerge from retirement to keep the chair warm until Kosar is up to speed.

What you have is an organization in constant flux, an organization as dysfunctional as any in the NFL, including the Raiders (whose owner at least knows football even if he’s a bit out of touch with reality).

It all goes back to Lerner. Given a chance to hire a strong personality to run the personnel side, he instead opted to hire the coach, who picked his bobo. Lerner should have known this was a dubious model. Why? Because it didn’t work with Butch Davis, who arrived with the similarly inexperienced Garcia in tow.

At least Lerner appears to be on the case. We know he’s in town, anyway, because he has agreed to meet Tuesday with those two buffoons who are threatening to organize a protest at the Monday night game against the Ravens.

One of those guys, by the way, used to dress up as a container of French Fries during the brief heyday of quarterback Charlie Frye. Wonder if he’ll show up in costume today for the meeting with Lerner. That really would be appropriate given the clown act currently in progress.

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Savage comes out of hiding

By Sean McClelland | Thursday, October 29, 2009, 12:25 AM

Phil Savage apparently just couldn’t take it anymore.

And so the fired general manager of your favorite football team dropped a few morsels on his hometown boys about the sorry state of that football team and how most of the good work he did for four years has been driven asunder by the latest bunch to take up residence in the Berea facility.

In so many words, Savage (who might have violated the terms of the separation agreement that stood to pay him the $12 million remaining on his contract) told a Mobile, Ala., newspaper on Wednesday that the current regime has destroyed not one, but two, quarterbacks and that he takes no pleasure in watching the organization circle the drain.

Savage reportedly said, “You don’t take a lot of solace in watching a place you leave go downhill further. But they took what we did have going there and they just dismantled that even further.

“We left two quarterbacks behind that both seem ruined right now. They traded a lot of players out of there. I feel for the guys we brought in because they’re good players and good people and they’re stuck in a situation and can’t get out for at least the time being.”

Didn’t always agree with everything he did, but Savage does have a point here, I think. What he’s really saying is, “Why did you fire me instead of letting me make a coaching change, continue to build the organization and see where that leads us?”

Looking back, that’s probably what should have happened. Savage never actually got to pick his own head coach, if you’ll recall. Romeo Crennel, while hired a month later, essentially was forced on him by owner Randy Lerner, who desperately grasped for any limb of the Bill Belichick coaching tree he could get his hands on.

Savage, of course, had enough of his own lapses in judgment to bring his competence into question. Using profanily while trading e-mail barbs with a fan was probably the last straw. But when you consider he also put together a team in 2007 that came within a few intercepted Derek Anderson passes of going to the playoffs, maybe he should have been looked upon more as part of the solution than the problem.

A savvy owner might have been able to separate the coach from the general manager and make a better decision, because what’s currently in place obviously isn’t working.

Granted, some of the criticism of Eric Mangini has been over the top. Even a guy writing in Rolling Stone got into the act, calling him the “Hurricane Andrew of football mismanagement.” Then there’s the Akron columnist, who used to work for the Browns, calling for Mangini’s dismissal already.

The last thing this team needs is yet another change in direction. Unless, of course, it involves a new owner.

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‘Hurricane Andrew of … mismanagement’

By Sean McClelland | Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 09:16 PM

Poor Eric Mangini. You fine a guy $1,700 for taking a $3 bottle of water from a hotel without paying for it. You force rookies to take a bus to Connecticut and work your camp.

Your team is 1-5, sporting one of the NFL’s worst records. You just lost your leading tackler, linebacker D’Quell Jackson, for the season with a shoulder injury.

And now you’ve got a writer in Rolling Stone making fun of you.

Doesn’t seem like it could get any worse, but it probably can.

As the Associated Press reported today:

In its latest issue, the iconic music magazine stepped outside its usual arena with a harsh critique of Mangini, comparing him to Augustus Gloop, the fictional overeater in Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and calling his short coaching tenure in Cleveland “a sort of Hurricane Andrew of football mismanagement.”

Mangini, fired by the New York Jets in December, has become a target of abuse — much of it from outside Cleveland — for some of his decisions this season, most notably his handling of the Browns quarterbacks and excessive fines levied on players who break his rules.

The Browns are 1-5 with their only win a 6-3 decision over the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 11. Long before Rolling Stone piled on, Mangini was being slammed for some of his coaching methods. He has fined players for not adhering to his policies — like parking in the wrong spot — and he slapped one unidentified player a $1,701 fine for failing to pay for a $3 bottle of water during a hotel stay. …

Taibbi went as far as saying the Browns have quit on Mangini in lopsided defeats, a charge many of Cleveland’s players dismissed after road losses to Denver and Baltimore.

Taibbi wrote: “In the NFL, if you don’t show your players that you have a plan that works, the T-minus to an on-field player revolt is usually about a month. In Cleveland, we’re there.”

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At least they got something for Edwards

By Sean McClelland | Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 09:57 PM

Thought it was relatively shrewd of the Browns to get what they did from the Jets for receiver Braylon Edwards, especially since they weren’t exactly dealing from a position of strength after his recent off-field incident.

Most appealing is that the third-round draft choice obtained in the deal could become a second-rounder next year if Edwards reaches some performance standards with the Jets, who see him as their No. 1 receiver from the moment he puts on a green-and-white uniform.

Edwards might thrive in New York. He’s savvy enough to deal with the New York media, although for a bright guy he had a habit of saying and doing the wrong thing or, worse, hiding and saying nothing after games. That won’t sit well with the bloodhounds in the Big Apple.

Best advice for Braylon: Catch more than you drop. Whatever else goes on, the fans will love you if that happens.

ARE THE BROWNS better off without Edwards? It’s hard to make that case, at least for this season. WR Chansi Stuckey looks like he’ll have a career in the league and the other player obtained in the deal, LB Jason Trusnik, is a special teams demon.

But to think the Browns are better off without the third player chosen in the 2005 draft strikes me as a bit of a stretch.

Was Edwards a distraction at times? Sure. But the best reason to trade him is why Cleveland teams trade anyone: He didn’t want to be there and would have left on his own when his contract expired at the end of the season.

SO THE REBUILDING continues, and so does the shedding of Phil Savage-era draft picks. Here’s who’s left from Savage’s drafts:

2005: Brodney Pool (2nd round), starting safety.

2006: Kamerion Wimbley (1st round), starting outside linebacker/alleged pass rusher; D’Quell Jackson (2nd round), starting inside linebacker; Jerome Harrison (5th round), running back; Lawrence Vickers (6th round), fullback.

2007: Joe Thomas (1st round), left tackle; Brady Quinn (1st round), deposed quarterback; Eric Wright (2nd round), starting cornerback; Brandon McDonald (5th round), cornerback.

2008: Ahtyba Rubin (6th round), DT; Alex Hall (7th round), linebacker.

That’s about five solid starters from four drafts. Could be better. Could be worse. It’s just too bad Edwards, the one with the highest profile, could not have enjoyed his time in Cleveland more.

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Did Braylon punch LeBron’s friend?

By Sean McClelland | Monday, October 5, 2009, 04:11 PM

Maybe it was frustration over not catching a pass in Sunday’s 23-20 overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Maybe it was frustration over the loss itself.

Whatever the case, Browns receiver Braylon Edwards is being accused of using one of LeBron James’ friends as a punching bag late Sunday night.

An Associated Press story this afternoon:

LeBron James called Browns receiver Braylon Edwards “childish” for allegedly punching James’ friend early Monday morning outside of a Cleveland night club.

James said Edwards punched Edward Givens, a friend of James’ and a promoter with a Cleveland marketing firm who was working outside the club around 2:30 a.m. EDT.

“I’ve never crossed paths with Braylon before, but it seems like there’s a little jealousy going on with Braylon and me and my friends. I have no idea why,” James said. “I’ve never said anything to Braylon at all. But for him to do that is very childish. My friend is 130 pounds. Seriously. It’s like hitting one of my kids. It doesn’t make sense.” James says he was home when the fight occurred, but got a call from Givens telling him about it at 7 a.m. Monday.

Browns coach Eric Mangini said he has spoken with Braylon Edwards about the alleged fight.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that a 28-year-old man accused Edwards of punching him in the face following an argument. The man said Edwards hit him with a closed fist. He said he suffered a black eye and cut and was treated at a hospital. Mangini said he was aware of the incident. He added his players’ personal conduct is important and that he was still gathering information on the incident.

Edwards did not catch a pass in Sunday’s 23-20 overtime loss to Cincinnati. It was the first time in 62 career games Edwards did not have at least one reception.

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Well, so much for James Davis

By Sean McClelland | Saturday, October 3, 2009, 03:54 PM

James Davis, the rookie sixth-round draft pick from Clemson who had done so well in preseason, has been placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, meaning he is out for the season.

To take his place, the Browns signed running back Chris Jennings to the active roster from the practice squad.

Sunday against the Bengals could be Jennings’ coming out party. The Browns are woefully thin at running back with Jamal Lewis doubtful due to a hamstring injury. Jerome Harrison might see the bulk of the work.

Jennings was signed by the Browns on Aug. 18, 2009 and rushed for 63 yards on 18 carries and added seven receptions for 69 yards in three preseason games.

He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 2008. In two seasons at the University of Arizona (2006-07), Jennings rushed for 607 yards on 158 carries and four touchdowns, while notching 34 receptions for 262 receiving yards with one touchdown. He also attended Arizona Western University in 2005, where he rushed for 488 yards.

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