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Tension mounting in Cleveland, where yet more change is feared
The Browns are going nowhere fast, and another shake-up could be on the way

Jason La Canfora mugshot
by Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora 1h ago • 1 min read

Hue Jackson's decision to bench rookie starting quarterback Cody Kessler in the second half of the Browns' loss in Baltimore on Thursday night has heightened tension between the front office and coaching staff, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. With the team inching closer to an 0-16 season, more change seems inevitable.

At the very least, sources say defensive coordinator Ray Horton is facing a very uncertain future, with his unit allowing more than 30 points per game, and changes could be far more sweeping. Horton is a very unpopular pick in various quadrants of the organization to return as defensive coordinator but is supported staunchly by Jackson. Sources said owner Jimmy Haslam, along with his wife Dee, has become increasingly hands on, with many departments essentially reporting directly to his family. It was Haslam who ultimately decided to hire Jackson and sign off on Horton as coordinator, despite strong reservations expressed by others.

The dynamic between the personnel department and coaching staff -- regularly fissured throughout Haslam's various management regimes -- again is a concern to many in the organization, with Kessler's benching raising eyebrows. Given Haslam's propensity for wholesale changes, increasingly lopsided recent defeats and the fact Cleveland has won three games since Thanksgiving of 2014, trepidation is mounting that another shake-up awaits as the winless franchise must start preparing season-ticket invoices for 2017.

Morale is low, even by Browns standards, and with 10-or-so departments reporting directly to ownership and without the presence of a strong team president providing leadership, the hands-on approach of the Haslams is causing concern throughout the organization.

"You basically have a husband and wife in charge of various areas they don't really understand -- football, coaching, scouting, analytics, ticketing, marketing," a team source said. "And that's the way they want it."

Haslam has fired three coaches and general managers in the past four years and has blown up his front office repeatedly, fluctuating from one organizational structure to the next.


http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tension-mounting-in-cleveland-where-yet-more-change-is-feared/

DING DING DING .... been waiting for this one .. i don't see anyone getting fired .. but MONEYBALL and football just isn't going to work ... they can sing Kumbya all they want ..

And i'm not sure if what LaContra said is true of he's just looking for some hits on his article .. but his premise MAKES SENSE and IMO was inevitable ... if the rift hasn't started yet, it will soon ..

The thiefs problem has been on the FO side ... his 1st attempt was two BAFOONS whose hire made us the laughing stock of the league and remarkably its gotten WORSE FROM THERE ..

I do not expect anyone to get fired this year .. maybe Horton ..

But one of these two sides is going to eventually won out ..

MONEYBALL or Hue and the football peeps ...

My guess is after the year .. there all signing kumbya again in public .. but the rift and tension in the building wil be there ..

The first sentence of the article ends with "... according to sources with knowledge of the situation.".

No offense, but I stopped reading there. Mike Lombardi is at it again.

Sorry mac. I replied to you about the FO not speaking to the media.

I then moved on from that to Diam--and some others--getting on Hue for his handling of Cody. Diam even said that Cody wasn't comfortable making all the throws yet.

I think that is preposterous on more than one level. One, if he isn't comfortable making the throws, he should have been benched and remain on the bench. Two, he had the same rap in college. This isn't something new. Three, I think he can't make the throws and it has nothing to do w/him being "comfortable." Four, I don't want to see another HC thrown under the bus because some posters have a love affair w/a qb who more-than-likely doesn't have enough tools to be a long-term starter in this league.

Dave, people like to knock LaCanafora on here. He received a ton of criticism on here by posters when he talked about why Shanny left and the rift that was prevalent w/in the organization. Well, like it or not, he turned out to be right and all the hateful criticism was misplaced.

Love affair? ...

Another low blow Vers ... your getting more and more like Swish everyday ...

I'm out .. go ahead and keep making crap up about what i said ...

Jason does have a history of seeing or hearing this



and reporting it as this

PS. Who drafted him? ...

Later Vers .. your free to make up whatever crap u want ...

That really isn't the way it works in most cases. In season, the coach is the voice of the team. What are the GM or owner really going to have to say?? If they do come out and start talking they stand a good chance of undermining either some of the players or the coach.

I don't see how any good comes from that. Once the season is over is when they should come out and answer questions. We all know you want to tar and feather the front office, but there really isn't anything they can add to the discussion at this point.

It is pretty well known that LaCanfora's go-to on things regarding the Browns is Mike Lombardi. That doesn't necessarily mean he didn't get the story from Shanahan about his departure. Besides, you don't have to be Nostrodamus to predict that there is "tension" in the organization. They're 0-10, of course there's tension. I think if Haslam cleans house again, the PR firestorm would be so bad that he'll have to sell the team. Which might make it worth it. Paging Dan Gilbert - got a spare $1.5B?

Bingo.

The last time JLC sited a "team source", it was proven to be an absolute lie, IIRC. The story is on here somewhere. He claimed a team exec sent him information, when he copied information from another journalist.

Just saying.

Hue drafted him and I have no problem if you wanna rip Hue for that. However, I do have a problem w/you making a big deal of Hue benching a guy who won't/can't make all the throws that are given to him.

It was when he stole a screen shot from Benjamin Allbright and claimed an "NFL personnel exec" sent it to him. La Canfora has no journalistic integrity and is borderline irrelevant.

Link

I tell you what - some peeps have much higher expectation of how a 3rd round rookie thrown into the deep end of a talent lacking team should perform. I guess they'd prefer Kyle Boller and his ability to wing the ball through the uprights from the half way line, on his knees. What an arm that former first round pick had.

Below is the Pro Football Talk replay of the Canfora story. What I find interesting is reading the replies under the story...a lot of the same things we have been discussing in this thread...

Click this link link to read the replies.



Report: “Heightened tension” in Cleveland, as you get when you’re 0-10

Posted by Darin Gantt on November 13, 2016, 10:04 AM EST


When Browns coach Hue Jackson was asked last week about the future of defensive coordinator Ray Horton, he headed off the discussion and any like it.

But the interesting part will be whether Jackson is able to protect a guy he hand-picked for the job, amid the inevitable uncertainty that comes with being 0-10.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com, Horton’s status and Jackson’s decision to bench rookie quarterback Cody Kessler last week have led to “heightened tension” within the Browns organization.

There’s also mention that owner Jimmy Haslam and his wife Dee have become increasingly hands-on with the operation, including a number of non-football departments reporting directly to them.

“You basically have a husband and wife in charge of various areas they don’t really understand — football, coaching, scouting, analytics, ticketing, marketing,” a team source told La Canfora. “And that’s the way they want it.”

Of course, any sense of uncertainty in the Browns organization is created by Haslam himself, since he’s done nothing to create the kind of stability people were hoping for there, considering his background as a partial owner of the Steelers.

He changes coaches and General Managers the way many people change the oil in their cars, and there hasn’t been a rebate in sight for Cleveland fans who have actually been able to enjoy success in other sports.

Sure he does. You just offer rebates to customers and don't follow through on them.

One of the few good Brown's beat reporters basically calls JLC's article crap.....

https://twitter.com/RuiterWrongFAN/status/797848580618850304

Daryl Ruiter

There's no dysfunction/infighting internally; frustration over 0-10 yes, frankly there should be but building night & day different from '15


The problem is an article by JLC shouldn't cause people to automatically assume the worst, but because the Haslam's have created an environment where there has been constant infighting/dysfunction it is easy to believe.

This is where I disagree with you.....moneyball vs football has little to do with it if there is tension. Why do I believe that?? Because all the previous Haslam FO's have had pure "football" guys and they were constantly undermining each other.

The only constant between them is Haslam. For the time being I will take Darryl's word for it, because imo he's the best reporter the Brown's have.....but the situation bares watching based upon past infighting/dysfunction in Haslam FOs

All the talk about tension in the FO from La Can'tfora & the quoted sourced articles dissing Collins is directly linked to Lombardi, therefore to be dismissed out of hand, IMHO.

Lombardi does not work for the Browns anymore. Wow!

I think Kessler is struggling some adjusting to the speed of the game. In particular, I think he is having trouble with Safeties. I think it is exacerbated by how little he sees of NFL caliber play back there in practice. He often sees it three pressure packed (in just about all interpretations of the word) plays at a time on Sundays and not any time else in person.

Not only did he not get a ton of reps due to his place in the pecking order behind RG3 and McCown, when he did they were against sub par talent.

Unfortunately you can only fix so much at once. Hopefully we can get the backend shored up this coming offseason and will have a trickle down effect throughout the team (in particular at QB)

Very rough estimates for most cap room next year on $166M cap

1. Cle- $112M
2. SF- $86M
3. NE- $67M
4. TB- $64M
5. Jax- $64M
6. Ten- $60M

That money should go to offensive line help.

I'd rather it go to Collins, Pryor, and maybe we can entice Stephon Gilmore or Trumaine Johnson.

If we were going to spend it on OL help, we should have found a way to keep Mack.

Bitonio and Kirksey could be other options, internally.

I agree on O-line. Get guys who are good and experienced. It will pay dividends on the field on Sunday. So sick of seeing our oline brain farts aka mistakes.

Sorry Mac. I don't disagree with you on many of your recent points, but Hue is the guy who picked the QB. You have to give that up. If Hue really wanted Wentz, Wentz would be a Brown today.


No, I have no real proof, but I think 90% around here agree. Keep on keeping one, but don't go there. Hue had more say in this past draft then did DePodesta.


Hue had a big say on the QB.

I actually think we had a fairly decent draft. A lot of the rooks look like they are improving nicely.

if everything one knew about our current situation was learned by reading the multiple pages of multiple threads about the front office, a person could not help but come to the conclusion that sashi brown, depo and their crew had taken a proud an quality organization and turned it into the pile of donkey dung that it now is. that this front office is the earthly manifestation of the devil.

the truth is that they have played a role but only a minor one. certainly letting Schwartz get away was a major mistake by the front office. imo their biggest one. our quarterback situation should be place squarely at the feet of our coach, hue. i am certain if hue had wanted wentz we would have taken him. i am certain if hue would have wanted Prescott in the third instead of Kessler we would have taken him. I think we will regret these quarterback decisions for a long time but they are not on the front office.

however, 60-70 percent of our plight has nothing to do with our current front office. it has to do with the drafting decisions made from 2011-2014. six first round picks. six!!! how many are currently helping the browns?? none! in fact i do not think any of them are starting anywhere. those six players should be the core of our team. three to five year veterans who are our impact players. the fact that they are not is the majority of the reason we suck. until we make better decisions in the draft we will continue to suck.

by the way, if you really want to make yourself nauseous,go back and look at who we took at those draft spots and who was sitting there to take that we did not pick.

Build the O-Line. Rookie QB and Rookie RB with an Outstanding O-line has done wonders for Dallas.

So I am clear - you believe the person who negotiates the contracts - a specialist like many teams have - has a free role to sign and keep whichever players they choose? Right?

Jc

I figured out why we're 0-10, and we need to start a petition.

Guys, Hue Jackson has the Mr Hero curse!!

Mac: I don't know if that was your intention but sorry, it sure sounded that way...

Cleveland Browns: Sashi Brown says team ‘on the right course’ despite 0-10 record
By Jeff Schudel, The News-Herald & The Morning Journal
POSTED: 11/14/16, 3:56 PM EST | UPDATED: 15 SECS AGO
0
Executive Vice President of Football Operations Sashi Brown met with reporters for nearly 40 minutes on Nov. 14, and boiled it down to one message. He said he is disappointed with the team’s 0-10 record, but is confident the Browns are on the right path to turn things around.



Brown took over a team that won just three of 21 games. He tore apart the roster bequeathed to him by former General Manager Ray Farmer and Coach Mike Pettine. Nineteen players on the 53-man roster are rookies.



“I’m not going to shy away from the disappointment in our start from a wins and losses perspective, but there are some real positive signs from what we’re seeing here in the building,” Brown said. “We’re disappointed, but we don’t take that as being deterred. We’re determined as ever.



“We always knew this was going to be a major challenge, where we sat with our roster, our cap situation and where we were standing at quarterback. We knew what we were undertaking. We always want to learn, but we are steadfast in our plan and we feel like we’re on the right course.”

Brown said he is confident fans will stick by the Browns despite the constant losing. The Browns have had only two winning seasons since 1999 and haven’t won a playoff game since 1994.



By contrast, the Cavaliers are defending NBA champions and the Indianswent to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series,



“Hats off to both those organizations,” Brown said. “We share families. The Cleveland sports scene is tremendous. It’s one of the things that attracted me the Cleveland Browns organization.



“I know it’s been tough for the fans. I don’t think we’re in danger of losing our fan base. I think we’re in privileged positions to have one of the best fan bases in the NFL. The days of winning are coming. I’m confident of that. We just have to stick with the plan and support our fans through the process.”



Brown attributed the large number of Dallas Cowboy fans in the stands on Nov. 6 and predictably a large number of Steelers fans in the stands on Nov. 20 as fans from those teams traveling well.

http://www.news-herald.com/sports/201611...ite-0-10-record
Cleveland