The Browns are now 0-8 for the year, and 1-23 since the latest reboot of a franchise that may need to get booted out of the NFL for the CFL in order to ever consistently win.
So what happens after Sunday’s 33-16 loss in London, the place where multiple coaches (Dennis Allen, Joe Philbin) and one G.M. (Martin Mayhew) have gone to get fired?
Some think that it will be the end of the road for coach Hue Jackson, but the absence of a clear-cut candidate to take over for the second-year head coach could help him keep his job through the end of the year. Jackson has no offensive coordinator, which is great protection against an in-season firing. He also has Gregg Williams as the team’s defensive coordinator, whose role as the mastermind of the Saints bounty scandal could make him an unpalatable choice to take over for the final eight games.
Others wonder about a ceremonial front-office firing, with whoever decided (or recommended) passing on Carson Wentz and/or Deshaun Watson being passed over for continued employment. Former baseball executive Paul DePodesta would be an obvious place to start, if the Browns want fans who have had enough to know that ownership has had enough, too.
Before figuring out what the Browns will do, it’s important to figure out who will be making the decision to do anything, or nothing. Although the team owner routinely is identified as Jimmy Haslam, his wife, Dee, has become more and more involved in recent years. Before they can decide what needs to be done, they may have to get on the same page.
However it plays out in Cleveland, it’s clearly not working. Yes, the team is still rebuilding. But in today’s NFL, no rebuild should require a full-blown retreat.
