Another January, another search for the next head coach for our beloved and beleaguered Browns.  Hiring a new coach often offers fans a ray of hope of better things to come.  But their recent remodeling history makes even the most optimistic Browns backer quite skeptical of seeing any light at the end of this trainwreck-filled tunnel.  Here are the win loss-results of the off-season hirings since the Browns return in 1999 (as well as each coach’s previous job):

1999  Chris Palmer, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator:  5 wins, 27 losses (.156 winning %):

2001  Butch Davis, University of Miami head coach:  24 wins, 34 losses (.414)

2005 Romeo Crennel, New England Patriots  defensive coordinator:  24 wins, 40 losses (.375)

2009  Eric Mangini, fired New York Jets head coach:  10 wins, 22 losses (.313)

2011  Pat Shurmur, St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator:  9 wins, 23 losses (.281)

2013  Rod Chudzinski, Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator:  4 wins, 12 losses (.250)

2014  Mike Pettine,  Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator: 10 wins, 22 losses (.313)

First Energy Stadium has not exactly been the cradle of coaches.  More like a crypt.

For this seventh round of Who Wants to Be Our Football Coach, owner Jimmy Haslam seems to be taking a vastly different approach.  Just hours after their season-ending loss to the Steelers, Haslam not only canned Mike Pettine (along with general manager Ray Farmer), but also announced a new front office structure where little known Sashi Brown was promoted to executive vice president of football operations.

A graduate of Harvard Law School,  Brown was initially hired by Cleveland in 2011 as executive vice president/general counsel.  He worked alongside Farmer, dealing greatly in salary cap management and salary negotiations.  Brown had a similar title when working the previous seven years in Jacksonville, putting lawyer skills to heavy use.

His fancy new title has given Brown final say on the Browns’ 53-man roster.  His very limited player evaluation experience makes this hiring perplexing, to say the least. But Haslam now wants a structure that emphasizes collaboration, and sees Brown being the ringmaster among a team of various titles (head coach, general manager, scouts,…) that will discuss their thoughts togethe on potential roster personnel decisions.

Three days after the hiring of Brown, the franchise announced the hiring of former Harvard  wide receiver and graduate Paul DePodesta for the  title of  Chief Strategy Officer.  He spent the previous 19 years working in various Major League Baseball front offices.

Huh?

Many of you know by now that DePodesta’s biggest claim to fame is that he is the basis for Jonah Hill’s brainiac stat-geek character in the baseball movie, Moneyball. He, along with Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, revolutionize baseball by making personnel decisions that are primarily driven by various statistical and data analyses.

Speaking of that movie, who got the best Hollywood movie make-over???

Choice A.  DePodesta

played by Hill…

Choice B:  Manager Art Howe

played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman…

Choice C.  General manager Billy Beane

played by Brad Pitt…

Ummm, I think DePodesta and Howe got the short end of the stick.

The hiring of DePodesta to go along with the promotion of Brown stresses a new emphasis for the franchise on…

TECHNOLOGY and TEAMWORK

Haslam obviously hopes to get ahead by revolutioning the NFL in data analysis and application.

As the holder of a college degree in mathematics, I respect and appreciate number crunching more than most.  I hate to burst Jimmy’s bubble, but the NFL has been driven by numbers for years.  Teams break down game film in great detail to find tendencies in themselves and their opponents, while also grading the performances of their players play by play.  And the NFL combine, as well as the draft, places an enormous emphasis measuring and testing players in more ways than NASA probes potential astronauts.

And current NFL data analysis goes far beyond what the typical NFL fan knows.  In the past three years  under Haslam, the Browns have placed great emphasis on this facet.   In fact, legendary Cleveland Plain Dealer writer Terry Pluto just wrote of the analytics department that the Browns already have had in place.

This emphasis by the franchise on technology and teamwork has surely factored into the Browns’ coaching search so far.  They would want a man that is gonna buy into the company line.  But it would be a be an enormous mistake to overprioritize these factors in picking a head coach.

So what should they be looking for?  Many want a great tactician, possibly grabbing the next Bill Walsh that can revolutionize the offensive side of the ball.  Or maybe finding another Bill Belichick,  a defensive mastermind that is always one step ahead of his opponent.

It would be great to find an X-and-O genius like those two legends, but those hirings come few and far between.  Even Belichick didn’t appear to be anything special in his first head coaching job in Cleveland, going  36-44 in five years.  And there have been plenty of tactical mastermind coordinators and college coaches that struggled as NFL head coaches.  Buddy Ryan (55-55-1), Lindy Infante (36-60), Steve Spurrier (12-20), and the recently fired Chip Kelly (26-21) quickly come to mind.

Being a great strategist is definitely a plus, but most NFL coaches know their stuff.  And unlike college football, the talent level between teams is relatively close.  Tactics may give you a slight upper hand, especially if you have the right talent–and the right quarterback–to build your football philosophy on.

But there is one magical ingredient the recipe of head coaching success that the Browns should be scouring their candidates for…

T-O-N-E.

The biggest key to a team maximizing its potential (and talent determines the ceiling to a team’s potential) is the TONE that the head coach sets for his squad.

Tone?

Tone, as in the ‘refuse to lose’ attitude that he instills in his players not only on Sunday afternoons, but in every drill and repetition of every practice.

Tone, as in getting the defense to buy into the mentality of flying to the football on every snap.

Tone, as in getting  the offense to strive to execute the offensive gameplan crisply to perfection.

Tone, as in driving and pushing both the offensive and defensive lines to be the hammer, not the nail, at the line of scrimmage.

Tone, as in holding players accountible for their effort and execution on the field.

Tone, as in holding players accountible for their actions both on and off the field.

Tone, as in getting players to hold each other accountible on and off the field.

Tone, as in getting each player to hold himself individually accountible on and off the field.

Tone, as in motivating players to put in the extra time and effort it takes to reach greatness.

Tone, as in inspiring each individual to buy into the idea that not only is he part of a team, but that he needs to give everything he has to support and protect his teammates–his brothers–on and off the field.

Setting the tone doesn’t mean being a tyrant.   The tyrant approach has worked from time to time, but can often blow up in a coach’s face.

Setting the tone takes the right blend of motivating players, pushing them, supporting them, holding them accountible, giving them respect, earning their respect (through words and actions), giving them a kick in the butt, and giving them a pat on the shoulder, to name a few.

Here is a list of the Super Bowl winning coaches over the last 12 years:  Bill Belichick (4 times), Jon Gruden, Tony Dungy, Tom Coughlin (twice), Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll, Sean Payton, Mike McCarthy,  John Harbaugh.

Not only does each have at least one Super Bowl ring.  Each coach has a team that has had pretty consistent success.

They were all helped by having very good to great QBs, but almost all of them give off an aura where they SET THE TONE for their team.

And each of the coaches sets the tone for his team in different ways, from the iron fist of Belichick to the soft speech of Dungy.

And if you didn’t notice, I intentionally left one coach off the Super Bowl list that is every Browns’ fan’s ultimate sideline dream…

Do you think Bill Cowher had any problem setting the tone for his team?  I get chills just looking  at that scowl!

The question is, how does Jimmy Haslam and his selection committee sift through the resumes and interview sweet talk to find the right tone-setter?

I would suggest that they to talk to those that played under those coaches.  Players admired for their effort. You will get a clear idea of which coaches are the ones that their players would follow into battle.  Certain players might not even like a coach very much, but they respect him.

As for my choice, I would  love to see the Browns grab one of these two candidates:

1.  Former Raiders head coach (and current Cincinnati offensive coordinator) Hugh Jackson.

2.  Former Bills head coach (and current Jacksonville offensive line coach) Doug Marrone.

They both appeal to me because they have already been  NFL head coaches with some measure of success.  I am certain that each guy sees his previous experience is a great learning tool that they can build upon for their second head coaching rodeo.

And from the reports I have read, each guy SETS THE TONE.

And hopefully their children have trained them well enough that they don’t flunk any smart phone technology tests that Haslam and his Ivy League lads might pull out during an interview…

Question #1:  How do you keep the screen from flipping when you turn your phone sideways?

 

Follow or contact the author  on twitter:  @macaljancic

 

 

Back before the start of the season, I wrote a blog entitled, Some Twisted Predictions on the Browns’ Season.

As another dismal season came to an end, I re-visited my predictions.  How did I do?  I can summarize my performance using the eloquent words of anchorman legend Ron Burgundy…

You be the judge.   My September predictions are below, with my post-season verdicts following them in bold type:

So l am gonna make some 2015 Browns’ predictions from a little different angle…

*Number of games  Josh McCown will start this year:  10.

*Number of games Josh McCown will start if he continues to boycott sliding like in his last pre-season game:  2

Josh ended up starting 8 games this year, sitting out week 2 after suffering a concussion vs. the Jets when he got helicoptored going for a TD (and fumbling).  He later got injured in week 8 vs. the Cardinals.  He returned in week 11 for their Monday night game vs. the Ravens, where he broke his collarbone to end his season.

*Chance that we will see the 2013 version of McCown that threw 13 TDs, 1 interception, and had a 109 QB rating for the Bears:  28%

I was completely wrong here.  Old Man McCown balled this year, putting up big numbers:  2,109 yards, 12 TDs vs. only 4 interceptions, 64% on completions, 93.3 QB rating.  In a three-week stretch, he threw for 341, 356, and 457 yards vs. the Raiders, Chargers, and Ravens, with 6 TDs and 1 pick.  I am more to happy to have him on the roster next year, whether as a starter or a back-up and mentor.  As for our other QB…

*Number of games Johnny Manziel will start this year:  5

Johnny got 6 starts in this year.  He led the team to a win over the Titans in week 2, then played in games 9 and 10 at Cincy and Pittsburgh before getting put in time-out for 2 games by Papa Pettine (see below).  He then came back for a win over the 49ers and losses to the Seahawks and Chiefs, where he was concussed.

*Number of Johnny Manziel sideline TV shots for the opening Jets’ game:  37

*Number of Johnny Manziel sideline TV shots for the opening Jets’ game where he is half-grinning while talking to someone:  13

*Say what you want, but Johnny definitely is one cool cat, even when riding the bench!  He could probably go toe-to-toe with the guy in those ‘The Most Interesting Man Alive” commercials!

 The past few months indicate that Johnny is much more interested in taking over “The Most Interesting Man Alive” role in the those beer commercials for this aging hipster…

than being an NFL QB.  

OCTOBER 16th:  Johnny is pulled over on the highway on an early afternoon.  He admits to have been drinking, though he was not intoxicated.  He and his girlfriend scuffled some.  Eyewitnesses claim that he was driving on the highway shoulder to pass cars at very high speeds.

NOVEMBER 24th:  Johnny is benched again for violating the team’s trust by publicly partying in and out of Ohio, then lying about it.  I think Coach Pettine also took away Johnny’s phone and car keys for a week. 

JANUARY 2nd:  The USA TODAY just reported that Johnny was dining and gambling in Las Vegas yesterday.  This was days after the team announced he would not be playing that Sunday because he was put on the NFL concussion protocol from last week’s game.  That report also says that Johnny put a picture of him and his dog at home on his Twitter account with the hash tag, ‘#SaturdayNights’ and the picture location as Avon, Ohio. UNBELIEVABLE!  

I have another role that would fit Johnny…

I think Johnny is gonna have a lot of Sundays off in the in the next year or so.  

*First game where a ‘Fail for Cardale’ fan sign will be shown on TV:  game #6 vs. Broncos

Things didn’t work out as hoped for for Ohio State and quarterback Cardale Jones.  He likely would have been a first round pick if he came out last year.  Now, he’s looking like a late round pick.

*Percent chance that someone other than McCown or Manziel will start the last game vs. the Steelers:  32%.  Remember that Connor Shaw (2014), Thaddeus Lewis (2012), and Bruce Gradkowski (2008) all made their starting debuts for the Browns in the season finale.

Nailed this one.  Austin Davis continues this wonderful Browns January tradition.

*Mystery QB that might start the last game vs. the Steelers:  Kenny Guiton (that was for all you Buckeye fans!)

Wrong on this reach, but another Buckeye (see the next prediction) was the back-up QB for the final game.

*Number of TDs scored by Terelle Pryor:  4  ( I guess Ray Farmer didn’t pass out copies of my recent keep Terrelle Pryor blog to his staff on the way out the door to his month-long time-out).

Terelle caught his first pass as a Brown in this last game!!!  A clutch 42-yarder on 4th down!  He later earned a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with the Browns inside the 5-yard line.  That’s a 27-yard profit, though!

*Number of games where  Solomon Wilcots will be a TV announcer:  4

No Solomon sightings after the pre-season.  Maybe the CBS network read my blog???

*Number of Christmas cards that Solomon Wilcots will receive from Dwayne Bowe and Ray Farmer:  0

Solomon’s criticism of Bowe (the big free agent signing in the off-season) in pre-season game #4 was right on the mark.

*Chance that Dwayne Bowe will win the 2015 Keith Hernandez bad over-the-hill veteran contract signing award:  29%

*Chance that Dwayne Bowe will top his 2014 TD total of 0:  78%

I think 5 catches for the entire season while earning $9 million in guaranteed money will get the award  re-named after Mr. Bowe.

*Chance that Ray Farmer with text to the Browns’ sideline this year:  0.01%

*Ray Farmer’s most used phone app this year on game day:  Snapchat

Ray was laying very low once his suspension was over.  I think things are gonna get a bit lower for him in the next few days.

*Best chance for a big upset win this year:  The Broncos.  Peyton Manning is almost 40!

The Browns wasted  a couple of ugly late-game Manning interceptions before falling  to the 5-0 Broncos 26-23 in overtime.

*Most exciting win of the year for Browns’ fans:  whatever NFL game that ends the Steelers’ season.

Still waiting for this moment.  Thanks Jets.  And Browns.

*Price for cheap seats on StubHub the week of the Dec. 13 game vs. 49ers:  $10  (a couple years ago, I took my boys to a December game vs. the Jaguars for $8 a pop.  And we snuck down to the 10th row bench the Jaguars’ bench for the whole 2nd half.  Shhh.  Don’t tell the ushers!)

I bought some Nov. 1 tickets to the Cardinals game in 60-degree weather for $15.  The San Fran tickets were in the single digits during the game week.  Then on the day of the game, I checked the StubHub  website and saw that various people had their nose-bleed seats priced at $1,000.  Gotta appreciate a sense of humor!

*Number of times the Browns go orange popsicle look (orange pants, jersey, and helmet):  1

I like the orange jerseys the best!  The Brown ones need some tweaking.

Not one orange popsicle in sight all year!  Not even orange pants with white jerseys, ala the Kardiac Kids of the the late 1970s and early 80s.  Way too much of the Brown pants  for my liking.

*Most likely to be the new sponsor for the Browns’ offense:  Dunkin’ Donuts

I think it’s gonna be a dink and dunk passing offense this season.  During the preseason, McCown had an impressive 92.8 QB Rating, going 29-for-38 (76% completion percentage) with 3 TDs.  But all of those completions accounted for only 207 yards.  That’s 5.4 yards per attempt, and 7.1 yards per completion.

Whether you liked Hoyer or not, he usually made for good TV.  He wasn’t afraid to throw the ball down field.  He averaged 7.6 yards per attempt, and 13.7 yards per completion!

Way wrong on this one (see my earlier shout out to Josh McCown).

*Number of 2nd halves where I will fall asleep on my couch watching the ‘dink and dunk’ show:  3

(No offense to McCown.  I have nodded off on my couch to Couch, Dilfer, Delhomme, Weeden, Quinn, Anderson, Frye,…)

That number seems about right.  I know that I got much better with my fast forward DVR button during those 2nd halves.

Here’s my overall season win-loss prediction.  I like to do it in chunks, since the Browns always lose some they should win, and win some they should lose.  And remember, every other NFL fan looks at their own schedule and counts the Browns’ game as a win for them.

Sept. 13  at Jets, Sept. 20  TITANS, Sept. 27 RAIDERS:

Win 2, lose 1 (they went 1-2)

Oct. 4 at Chargers, Oct. 11 at Ravens, Oct. 18  BRONCOS:

Lose all 3 (2-4 overall)  (went 1-2.  Great win over the Ravens!)

Oct. 25  at Rams, Nov. 1  CARDINALS, Nov. 5  at Bengals, Nov. 15  at Steelers:

Win 1, lose 3 (3-7 overall)  (went 0-4)

bye week, Nov. 30  RAVENS, Dec. 6  BENGALS, Dec. 13  49ERS:

win 2, lose 1 (5-8 overall)   (went 1-2, thanks to the Ravens returning a blocked field goal at the final gun)

Dec. 20 at Seahawks, Dec. 27  at Chiefs, Jan. 3  STEELERS (home)

lose all 3  (nailed it)

5 wins and 11 losses.  Just bad enough to possibly fire a head coach and general manager.  Just good enough not to be able to get a good QB in the draft.

They finished 3-13.  I guess that prediction shows that I am pretty much a glass half-full kind of guy!   As for the head coach and general manager, their glass looks pretty empty.

At least we earned the #2 spot in the draft!

ONLY IN CLEVELAND.

(nailed that line).

Prove me wrong, Brownies!!!

They didn’t.  

ONLY IN CLEVELAND.

 

Follow the author on twitter:  @macaljancic

E-mail the author:  macaljancic@yahoo.com