NEWSLETTER
The New York Giants got the ball rolling by firing their head coach and general manager to start the week, and the Cleveland Browns are keeping the good times rolling with their latest organizational news.
Sources have told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Dianna Russini that the Browns have fired Sashi Brown, the man in charge of running the team’s personnel department the last two years. However, Head Coach Hue Jackson will return for the 2018 season. Meaning he’ll be around for the team’s Christmas Eve showdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 16.
Here is a statement from team owner Jimmy Haslam:
Statement from Browns owner Jimmy Haslam: pic.twitter.com/U55uBf36FB
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 7, 2017
Brown replaced GM Ray Farmer in January 2016, but the team hasn’t taken any steps forward during his tenure. Cleveland is 1-27 since Brown took over and the most notable moves are the ones the team ultimately passed on making.
The team decided to trade out of the No. 2 pick in 2016, rather than draft Carson Wentz in 2016 – a move the 10-2 Philadelphia Eagles are glad they made. A year later, Cleveland owned the No. 12 overall pick – which came from the team’s trade with the Eagles a year before. But instead of taking quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Browns dealt the pick to the Houston Texans in exchange for the 25th overall pick and Houston’s first-round selection in 2018.
In an era where having a stud quarterback is of the utmost importance, the Browns handed potential franchise quarterbacks to the Eagles and Texans in consecutive years. Luckily, Houston’s next pick looks like it will land within the top 10.
The Browns are armed with draft capital with 12 picks in this upcoming draft, including seven in the top 100. The team also projects to have a ton of cap space. But what Cleveland doesn’t have is a sense of stability at the top as it embarks on a search for its ninth general manager since the franchise returned in 1999. Credit the Browns for trying an analytical-based approach, but a two-year run before deciding to move on serves as a reminder of how dysfunctional that franchise has been.
If anything, the Browns are a cautionary tale of how constant turnover can be a detriment to a franchise searching for success. But at least they’ll have a head start on finding the hire they want before another team beats them to it.
