At least I thought that when the game was over with so would
be the suffering. No more Browns games until next August, and hopefully with a
new quarterback, a rebuilt running game, and another threat or two at the
receiver position. Some time away from the Browns would be good for all of us,
from the fans to the press. But no, like a bad case of poison ivy that won’t go
away, the Browns just couldn’t give us that well deserved break, could they?
The firing of Rob Chudzinski was not the defining moment of
the season. Brian Hoyer getting hurt was not the defining moment. The moment
that defined the season happened the day Trent Richardson was traded. Not the
trade itself, but the fact that Richardson heard about it from a friend who had
heard it on the radio. That should have told all of us how the latest front
office regime was going to handle things.
Where was the front office and owner the last seven weeks of
misery? Nowhere to be found. And each week they threw Chud out there in front
of the press. To talk about a team that Ray Charles could have game planned
against, with no running game, a carousel of players at quarterback, and a
defense that spent way too much time in the field.
When Jimmy Haslem was introduced to the fans of Cleveland he
told us he ran his business like he hoped to run his football team, by hiring
the best people possible and let them do their jobs. Since he told us that
wonderful news, he has spent the last year dodging lawsuits and pleading that
he didn’t know what was going on as his company ripped off their best
customers. He either has been lying or he didn’t hire the best people possible
to run his business.
The fans will once again go through another season of
change. A new head coach, new coordinators, new philosophies on offense and
defense, new position coaches, etc., etc., etc. You better have someone waiting
in the wings that is a proven winner on the head coaching level either in the
NFL or a major college. A coaching retread, someone who has already failed as a
head coach, an unproven offensive genius, just won’t do. But who is going to
come here? An owner in serious legal problems; a front office that just left
the last head coach out to dry; a general manager and team president who have
less than stellar reputations. A first time head coach or a retread rebounding
from disaster will be what we settle for. Here we go again.
The Browns disappointing 2013 season was the fault of many
people, not just the head coach. They traded their leading rusher from last
year; they added very little in the draft, especially a part time player with
the sixth pick in the draft; when they were 4-5 and still in the thick of
things no personnel moves were made to strengthen the team. None of that was
the coaching staff’s fault. The Browns have five Pro Bowl picks, but had
nothing but journeymen playing at quarterback, running back, and most of the
receiver positions. That lack of talent was not the fault of the coaching
staff.
I want to thank Lane Adkins and Brian McBride for letting me
do this blog this year. I really enjoyed it and hope to do it again in the
future. I’ll soon have all sixteen weeks filed on my website, as well as all
the columns I’ve written over the years for the Orange and Brown Report. Check
it out at www.gregcielec.com.
Greg Cielec
Section 120, Row B, Seats 3&4
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