The Cleveland Browns are now looking for their seventh full-time head coach since returning to the league as an expansion team in 1999. Owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner met with reporters yesterday to discuss whey they fired coach Rob Chudzinski Sunday after less than a year on the job, and tried to convince an angry fan base they'll get their second head coaching selection right . A year ago, Haslam and Banner said they wanted to build an organization that was stable and would be a consistent winner. Yesterday they said they did not see enough progress in a team that went 4-12 this season, the Browns 10th double-digit loss season in the last 11.
Banner says the final decision was made on Saturday after he and others in the front office talked about it for about a week. The firing means the Browns are now paying between 30 and 50 million dollars to former coaches fired with time left on their contracts. Reporters asked the two why any good candidate would chose to come to a perennial loser with a track record of changing coaches quickly. Banner said the team has many assets that would attract a good candidate, including himself and Haslam.
Banner was a salary cap expert in Philadelphia who had little to do with former coach Andy Reid's lengthy tenure. Haslam was a minority owner of the Steelers and had little or no say in decisions on players or coaches. Haslam, who still has the Pilot Flying J fraud rebate scandal looming, says he's tired of hearing how things have stayed the same in Cleveland, even though the team has had three owners, several coaches and general managers since 1999.
The Browns are 9-23 during Haslam's time as owner. Candidates to succeed Chudzinski include Patriots assistant Josh McDaniels and Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.