For the second consecutive season, the Cleveland Browns will hit the Thanksgiving weekend winless. They are, thanks to a San Francisco 49ers 31-21 win over the New York Giants, the only team without a victory in the league this season.
Now, if you follow the NFL you probably already knew that, but maybe hadn’t put it in that context. If you don’t follow the NFL and have ended up at this article about Cleveland and Browns in your Googling, you want to back out right now. And clear your browser history, you freak.
A lot of teams have been bad in the NFL over the last few seasons, but none have reached the historic levels of the Browns. Since Nov, 23 2014, the Cleveland Browns have won a total of four games. Let that sink in. That’s nearly three years ago. And that season Cleveland started 7-4 before losing five consecutive games to finish the season. Since then all they’ve done is lose. They’ve lost so much that they’ve turned it into an artform.
https://twitter.com/BarstoolUofM/status/929934266707972096
That Nov. 23, 2014 game was a 26-24 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta went 6-10 that season. Last year they were in the Super Bowl. Few things could put the Browns’ era of futility in perspective better than that, except one simple fact. The offensive coordinator and architect of that Falcons offense that propelled them to an NFC Championship was Cleveland’s offensive coordinator in 2014, Kyle Shanahan. They ran him out of town after the season.
It’s poetic justice that Shanahan led his new team, the 49ers, to their first victory last Sunday to leave the Browns all alone on the Goose Egg Squad.
Since that fateful day against Atlanta, the Browns are 4-42. This is not an expansion team. This is a team that has been drafting players, hiring coaches and signing free agents since 1999. But in spite of that, Cleveland has exactly two winning seasons in the last 18 years and only one playoff appearance back in 2002, a 36-33 wild card game loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In the NFL, hope is always eternal and all it takes is a few smart moves to completely turn around a franchise, even one as moribund as the Browns. First, they have to clean house completely. As good a job as Sashi Brown did of sabotaging the team’s trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for A.J. McCarron, he needs to hit the road. Hue Jackson and his entire staff too. It’s time to clear out that building.
https://twitter.com/BortlesFacts/status/931225946178441217
After they’re all gone, it might not be a bad idea to hold an exorcism on the property too. Maybe get it blessed by priests and priestesses of any and all religions available. And just circle the whole building in salt like Sam and Dean trying to keep out a vengeful ghost on Supernatural. Cover all the bases is what I’m saying.
As shady a person as owner Jimmy Haslam is, he’s got some pretty good friends. One of those “friends” is former NFL quarterback and future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning. Manning has made it clear he’s not interested in being a head coach, but he has expressed a desire to follow his old buddy John Elway into the executive suite. Manning wants to be a general manager and certainly no team would be more of a challenge to manage than the Cleveland Browns. I say he’d take the job for the right money and on the condition that Haslam stay out of all football operations across the board.
The look on Peyton Manning's face when he fires Hue Jackson … #Browns pic.twitter.com/MnF8WF0DPA
— Steven R. Walker (@Steve_R_Walker) November 15, 2017
Once you’ve got Manning in the building, everything changes. With Manning as the GM, the Browns would have their pick of all the top head coaching prospects. Who are they? Outside of New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels I haven’t really gone through the guys, but other than Stanford’s David Shaw nobody really jumps out at me right now. You know who does have a pretty good idea of who would make a good NFL coach? Peyton Manning.
Cleveland will have $54.203 million available in salary cap spending next season at least. Their drafts of late haven’t been complete disasters. If anything, they’ve been too cautious, trading out of Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson picks to gather selections for the future and take position players.
This year they’ll likely have the No. 1 pick and probably another pick in the Top 10 thanks to the Houston Texans. Not only that, they’ll have three No. 2s and a No. 3. That’s six picks on the draft’s first two days.
This next off-season should be see the best load of quarterback free agents in memory. Drew Brees leads the group as he has a clause in his current contract that keeps the New Orleans Saints from hitting him with the franchise tag. After him, Kirk Cousins should be cut loose as his next franchise tag with the Washington Redskins would be something like $34 million.
#Browns Peyton Manning when he fires Hue Jackson… 🎶“you will never coach again”🎵 pic.twitter.com/9NjRqb1srJ
— Slark (@SlarkDawg87) November 15, 2017
Sam Bradford will be a free agent and if the 49ers aren’t super happy with Jimmy Garoppolo over the final stretch of the season, so will he. Oh, and if they want to bee cheap and still draft a guy high, Case Keenum will be a free man too. That’s not even mentioning Teddy Bridgewater if the Vikings don’t franchise him and he’s healthy.
That’s one available superstar (Brees), one Pro Bowler (Cousins), two verified starters (Bradford and Bridgewater) and maybe one QB of the future in Garoppolo. And they can still draft whoever they want.
Now, if Garoppolo is in the wind, Cousins likely winds up in San Francisco. Personally, I fell like Garoppolo is in San Fran for good. If Bridgewater is healthy, I don’t see him leaving Minnesota either. They’ll franchise him for at least a season and they can afford it. Brees, after the season he’s having in New Orleans, might just decide to stay put too if they numbers are right.
That leaves Bradford or Cousins and I think either of those guys fixes Cleveland for good. If the Browns sign Cousins, they’ve got their franchise guy. If they sign Bradford, they can still draft Sam Darnold or whoever and he can hold down the fort while the young guy gets ready for the NFL. Manning makes either of those moves possible because he’s a GM a player, especially a QB, wants to play for.
See, running an NFL team isn’t that hard?
To make a wager on any sport, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here.
