Offseason Primer: Cleveland Browns

It’s possible that Browns fans might have convinced themselves at this point that they are actually living the role of Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. We’ve reached the end of the 2015 season and here are the Cleveland Browns, once again, just like most of the past decade, in disarray. With 19 draft picks in the first three rounds from 2011–15, the Browns have yet to see the fruits of that privilege. Fans have been discouraged, because even though their team has had opportunities to improve the franchise, they have yet to do so, leaving little faith that those in charge will actually make the moves necessary to do so. There are question marks everywhere you look with Cleveland– ownership, front office, head coach, quarterback– you name it. The lack of stability directly correlates to the lack of success. That speaks volumes about those in charge, the ones deciding the direction of the team. However, there is reason for hope when it comes to the future of the Cleveland franchise. The Browns are still in contention for the number one overall pick in next year’s draft and they should have ample cap space to improve their depleted roster. The Browns have all of their own picks in next year’s draft and should trade down in order to accrue more draft selections to fill the many holes that exist in their current roster. With yet another important draft and free agency period approaching, here’s a look at what the Browns will likely seek to accomplish this offseason.

Achieve Stability: It’s no wonder that the Browns have been unable to benefit from any long term, franchise-building maneuvers, as they have had 5 coaches over the last 10 seasons. The math is not difficult, that’s an average of two seasons per head coach and coaches with that type of short leash are unlikely to implement any kind of long term, innovative scheme or system. Thus, the Browns have predictable and blase at times on both sides of the ball. With the front office likely to be hiring a new coaching staff this offseason, they must ensure that they not only hiring the right candidates, but that they also give their next candidate enough time to see how their coaching affects the development of the players.

The Browns have yet to fire Mike Pettine, but many assume he and his staff will be let go. In the imminent coaching search, the Browns will be looking for exactly what all other teams with openings will be looking for– A coach with a vision, leadership, and an attitude which positively affects the players’ willingness to “buy in.” Unfortunately for Cleveland, they’ve found themselves in this position so often, that some candidates may remove themselves from consideration, due to the instability of the higher-ups. With that being said, it’s safe to assume that the big name coaches who are currently out of the league like Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, and Tony Dungy will not be available. It’s more likely that the Browns take a chance on a young coordinator. They’ll need someone with charisma and leadership qualities that can bring them positive results on gameday.

A few candidates which have already been connected to the Browns are Hue Jackson (Bengals OC), Adam Gase (Bears OC), Jim Schwartz (Unemployed), and Mike Shula (Panthers OC). Only Hue Jackson and Jim Schwartz have been head coaches in the NFL before, which could help their candidacies. Jackson was head coach of the Raiders in 2011 and was fired after just one season due to a front office change. He’s guided the Bengals to a top-3 unit in offensive DVOA this season. He’s also gotten good performances from A.J. McCarron, the Bengals backup QB, in Andy Dalton’s absence. Whether Jackson will want to coach another team with a history of instability and questionable ownership decisions remains to be seen.

In the case of Schwartz, he last coached the Bills defense in 2014, a group which was very productive. His record as a head coach isn’t great, but there are those around the league who believe that with the right offensive coordinator, the inconsistency he experienced on the offensive end in Detroit will be reduced. Schwartz got his start in the NFL with the Browns 23 years ago and brings along a defensive attitude which the Browns could certainly use. If the Browns were to hire Schwartz, that would be their second straight time hiring a coach whose last job was as the defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills (with Mike Pettine also being a former Bills DC). In the cases of Gase and Shula, they’re both offensively minded coaches who have never been head coaches in the NFL. Whoever the Browns elect to play quarterback next season, whether that person is on the roster or not, will likely affect the validity of Gase and Shula’s candidacies. Both coaches have shown an ability to improve the play of their respective quarterbacks and could be useful, if the Browns decide to stick with Johnny Manziel.

Evaluate their Own: Given that the Browns have likely been dissatisfied with the returns on their investment as far as their high draft picks are concerned, going forward, Cleveland must perform prudent evaluations of every player on their current roster. This means giving as much attention to question marks like Johnny Manziel, Justin Gilbert, Barkevious Mingo and Pierre Desir, as they do to the more consistent players on their roster, like Alex Mack, Joel Bitonio, Travis Benjamin and Gary Barnidge. Such evaluations will put more of an emphasis, organizationally, on player development, allowing the team to hone in on which players are most likely to realize their potential. When new coaches are hired, there’s obviously new opinions brought to the table about the skill sets of various players. A dominant pass-rushing linebacker who plays in a 3–4, might not be as valuable to a defensive coordinator whose coaching a 4–3. With that said, some of the current players on the roster might not have the same clout they had with the former staff and may be forced to move on. Perhaps the greatest reason the Browns need to extract all of their resources from this roster, is for the simple fact that this team cannot afford to rebuild yet again.

Invest in the Long-Term: How does an NFL team stay flexible in terms of their roster and invest in the long term future of the franchise? There are a few places to start. One, is collecting draft picks. The Browns have shown a willingness to do this in the early rounds before, in the cases of the Julio Jones and Sammy Watkins trades with the Browns and the Bills. Accumulating draft picks give the Browns more opportunities to get skilled, young players, on long-term rookie contracts. Right now, that is a huge chunk of the formula for success in the NFL. It is a formula that has proven to be a success for teams like the Patriots, Broncos, Seahawks, Panthers and Cardinals.

The next approach the Browns need to adopt is to be conservative in their spending when it comes to free agency. There are too many holes in the roster and there is no better example of what happens when a bad team spends their cap space wildly in free agency, than the Miami Dolphins and their signing of Ndamukong Suh. The Browns ought to be looking for free agency bargains– rather than stars. That is a style of team management which will not involve quick fixes and will need to start at the top of the organization. Sometimes, when teams experience multiple losing seasons in a row, owners get impatient and try to solve all of the team’s problems through free agency. If that were to happen this offseason for the Browns, they could be getting themselves into a much more expensive version of what they already have.

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