There's always at least a little surge of excitement in the fan base surrounding a change of ownership of an NFL franchise. Most of the time it's simply the natural excitement of something new. I remember the rise of "Purple Pride" when Texas rich-man Red McCombs bought the Minnesota Vikings in 1998. That excitement lasted about as long as Randy Moss was happy. If the fans of the Cleveland Browns found some excitement in Jimmy Haslam paying Randy Lerner in excess of $1 billion for the team in October of 2012, I wonder how they feel now. I've never before seen so much change and chaos surrounding a single team in such a short window of time.
Haslam bought the Browns in the middle of October. By the end of November, Mike Holmgren was no longer President of the Browns. Haslam brought in Joe Banner as CEO. Before December was over, head coach Pat Schurmur was fired after two seasons and nine wins. General Manager Tom Heckert was fired after three seasons. It's certainly not unusual for a new owner to clean out the office and bring in his own hires. Besides, it's his team. Ten days after the firing of Schurmur, Haslam hired Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski to be the first head coach of his choice. Haslam then pairs coach Chudzinski with General Manager Michael Lombardi. CEO Banner said then that Lombardi will be a perfect compliment to owner Jimmy Haslam and new head coach Rob Chudzinski. Ray Farmer was hired as Assistant General Manager. The Cleveland Browns are now set for the Jimmy Haslam era! Injuries force the Browns through a revolving door at quarterback throughout the 2013 NFL season. Despite a difficult 4-win season, the Browns were an emerging, competitive team. Six players were sent to the Pro Bowl. There was talent in Cleveland. It's been a while since that could be said. Instead of building on something promising, Haslam tore it down. Chudzinski was fired after only one season. The front office of Haslam, Lombardi, and Banner conducted a search for a new head coach. Seven teams were doing the same thing. The Browns were the last to fill their coaching vacancy when they hired Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine to be their new head coach. About two weeks later, General Manager Michael Lombardi and CEO Joe Banner were shown the door. It was the first time that an NFL team had ever fired their head coach and general manager after only one season. Maybe Banner was canned because of his belief that Lombardi and would be a perfect compliment to Chudzinski. Whatever, Ray Farmer was promoted from assistant general manager to general manager to replace Lombardi. Maybe Farmer will be the perfect compliment to Pettine. The curious thing about the pairing is that Farmer wasn't part of the head coach interview process. A general manager typically likes to hire his head coach. Jimmy Haslam is the owner. He can do what he wants with his team. I think that Jimmy Haslam is out of his mind. In 16 months he's fired two head coaches and two general managers. I don't know all of the particulars of the respective severance packages of Schurmur and Chudzinski but it's possible that Haslam is paying the salaries of three head coaches. He might have the most expensive coaching staff in the history of professional football. Even in his most impatient days, Al Davis showed more patience with his coaches.
Cleveland Browns fans must be on the verge of collapse. If I was a football coach looking for an NFL head coaching job, I wouldn't set foot in Cleveland. Even if there are only 32 of those jobs, it's just not worth it. Haslam's interest in hiring head coaches, or any front office position, seems to be more about his enjoyment in firing them.
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