DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum RAC Debate...Stay or Go?

The difference between teams that fire their head coach midseason and flounder and us, is the fact that the teams that usually fire their head coach midseason generally suck.

I don't think this team sucks. I think its coaching isn't up to par though.

Now pit, THAT was a post that a person could read and think "hey, that makes sense". It's one of the first you have had in which you didn't try to either cram your opinion down someone's throat, insinuate that they are stupid, or act like a know it all.

If only RAC could show such improvement.

ZING!

Just clicking, and a point I want to make.

IMO, RAC is a good leader, but a mediocre to below mediocre football coach.

On the flipside, Butch Davis was a good football coach, but an AWFUL leader (his players hated him, but he got the best out of what was essentially garbage).

Our next goal is to get the complete package.

I dont think RAC is a bad football coach by any stretch of the imagination. I think he's a great coordinator/ position coach. His decision making abilities need to be greatly worked on.

nice post, Pit.

Can't really argue with a thing you've said, nor would I want to.

The shortcomings that RAC displays might be fixable, maybe he's close to maxed out on potential. I don't know. Players- same there. I can see Braylon getting back to last year's form, but he may always drop those stupid ones. DA... he gonna probably always be what he was last year, but there's still a "?" about him. This year, I've seen him toss into the sidelines instead of throwing into triple coverage, so that's progress of a sort. He may not be "The One," but he's certainly better than we saw last week. (Hell- if he'd played in game 2 like he did in game 1, we'd have probably won against Pitt...) His rust is evident so far this year, and I hope he shakes it off. We can win with him playing like he did in the middle of last seasn, but we absolutely can't if he plays like he has in the first 2 games of this year.

RAC, DA, BE... all seem to be in the same mode right now... off-kilter, and it shows.

Thanks for your assessment of RAC. If you're still trying to keep an open mind, it means you haven't committed to tossing him out immediately like some on this board. Open minds be a good thang, yo.

RAC has made some calls that have had me scratching my head, but he simply hasn't made me as livid as some. I think that losing a game has a way of magnifying the calls that we don't agree with, and I hope that's behind some of the venom I've been reading here. Dude- the atmosphere around here is absolutely toxic right now, and there's simply no reasoning with some of these posters.

No one simgle person on this team is responsible for last Sunday's loss, and there's blame enough to spread around. I know it's a RAC thread, but the RACvenom is seeping into almost every thread I'm reading, regardless of subject. That's the evidence that some folks are close to being out of control about this. It's really kind of sad to see.

Hope he gets better at the clock management. Better play from our guys might keep him out of those tight spots that seem to have Dawgs howlin'. (I don't see us blowing out too many teams this year, so every game could be tight.)

I guess time will tell. I just made up my mind to give the Phil & RAC show the time that they asked for... and it makes me sad to see how many others think that after 3 seasons, it's time to start a purge near the top. It hasn't worked for us since The Return, and I don't see it working for us now.

Patience is a virtue, but apparently not in Dawgtown.

I defended Romeo since he got here.

That has changed.

Keep Savage. Dump Romeo. We have talent. Romeo isn't cutting it. I like the guy, but he isn't making it happen. Dump him at the end of the season if its a losing season. No need for interim head coach madness.

It's not that I'm livid to the point of wanting him fired right now. Firing a coach mid-season is always wrong, barring some kind of scandal on the coach's end. The reason I'm frustrated is that Romeo hasn't fixed his flaws in game management, and to me it doesn't seem like he fundamentally has the right kind of coaching philosophy to lead a team like the Browns. A team like Baltimore or Tennessee, or Tampa? Maybe. What really worries me is that if Browns are involved in a game of with huge playoff implications during his tenure, and it comes down to the wire, he hasn't given me confidence that he won't find a way to botch it. If he's not showing us that he can win those type of games, why wait until it's too late?

The Browns were involved in some close games last year, but the games which they won, as far as I can remember, didn't require crucial late game coaching decisions. They were mostly situations in which the offense came through with a drive just when they needed it, or Dawson made a miraculous kick.

I don't know why he doesn't just hire an assistant who's only job is time management. He can hit Romeo in the back of the head whenever he should call a timeout.

Seriously though, he needs help with it.

A lot written here; some of it is even on subject. Not to be mealy mouthed, but I think things (a number of them!) should change if he is to stay. Management and ownership should set the bar fairly and insist on improvement AND RESULTS. But it doesn't seem to happen. I have maintained that we give too much credit and grief to QBees for games won\lost. Coaching is similar, but not the same. If it is rotten on the field, it is you. From what I have seen in RAC's tenure, we have blamed and fired about everyone but him and made them culpable. Players got cropped, dropped, and traded (or GIVEN away like ugly brides without a dowry just to be shut of them). And yet the improvement is marginal year over year. We did not make the playoffs given multiple opportunities, and that speaks to mental toughness which is shown by nobody much at this time. I think teams resemble their coach, like pets and owners. So onfield says much about RAC, for better AND for worse. If you want the next level, HE is the stumbling block. If Doc Savage and company keep hoping that the right grup of players =SuperBowl without seriously coaching them up and demanding more than we have seen on the field for multiple seasons, we are lying and just trying to sell tickets.
People talk about how we have improved, pointing to stats and records, and they also give reasons as to shortcomings, and many have some validity: weaker player moved to fill injury, PUP list players, illness and injury, experience level, age, and we could go on. But did you win. No "perfect" teams in NFL for a game, far less a season. Cleveland especially. Donovan on Channel 3 had quite a rant about the way we prep, the "country club" practice or conditioning, and suggested it explains much of the quantity and severity of injuries. Seems like I have heard "season ending" endlessly since RAC arrived. His clock management is deservedly suspect. His defensive calling and insistence on a 3-4 regardless of personnel is huge factor in many losses. A 4-3 might have helped. Our worst part of last year is arguably te D secondary with whom no lead was safe; so who gets promoted to DC? Do we still have problems as far as calls? Press coverage and cushions? It may not all start with RAC, but it all ends with RAC for better or worse, no matter how ugly the spouse. If he is not in jeopardy, he should be soon. We have drafted with an eye to his system(s). As I look around the NFL, some other coaches have forced their will on clubs, made demands, and results occur. The most damning thin for me is this attitude. Edwards always mentions it" "we looked at film; we really (still) want (need! NOW!) to fix it, BUT WE JUST PUT IT BEHIND US and go forward. HOPE to get the next one." Says a lot about the HEART of club. Nobody dwells on screwups; we will see them game after game, all season, and season after season (coverage, tackling, blitz, Pass rush, etc). More of the same and it doesn't seem to matter, or at least doesn't seem to matter much.
I look at how we improve; I would be concerned if I was winless no matter how many "chapters" are in a book of seasons. I would be more concerned if I managed no wins, no matter how inconsequential they might be in preseason. I have won and lost; winning is better. And if I look backwards to the season previous, with everything on the line when we could not win in, even graciously given multiple chances, yeah I have a problem with a coach who changes little week to week. I would be concerned, light some people up, and demand, with consequences that they produce. RAC is the man; it is what it is.

This team needs a new voice and scheme.

It's time to move on from this.

I vote Go.

GOD you guys have me almost convinced. Now after this game I am beggining to agree wholeheartedly.
I sooooo do not want to start all over yet again but it is looking that way.
By that time the players we do have will have all moved on or just be content to collect an easy paycheck.

Na..Na..Na..Na....Na.Na..NA...Hey...hey GOODBYE..

he should be sent to the hell where all you do is watch tape of the guy you wont replace at QB

Geesh....here we are again.

I am telling you, as long as Romeo is on the sidelines, this team isn't going anywhere.

Bank on it

I thought that from day one. I do not recall a team that was rebuilt the same way we were and have the first HC take the team to the super bowl. It doesn't happen unless I missed someone, but I can't see him lasting too much longer.

The more I watch and see this year the more I realize that last year was a fluke. This team needs a drastic change to happen if it wants to be at least competitive this year.

Savage and RAC should be shown the door in tandem.

I don't exactly see a cavalcade of stellar players out there drafted by Savage!
Thomas is still his gem pick (jury may still be out though) and we have a traded first pick backup QB to bookend that!

If you think this team is as talented as the Steelers or the Cowboys your nuts..sorry. I agree we have more talent than the Rats, but we lost to better football teams in weeks 1 and 2. Savage has invested plenty in the weakest unit on the team (the LBs), and has come up snake eyes it seems. We still have a long way to go as far as talent is concerned, and Savage should be held responsible for that.

That said, I don't want him fired, because he should get 5 years to prove he can put it together. However, looking at the drafts alone he hasn't done as great as many of you guys seem to think he has. BE is a beast when he's mentally and physically into the game, and the only guy left from that draft is Pool. The second year we got Kam and DQ........I doubt anyone would consider them stud picks. The Joe pick was by far his best, but he then trades for Quinn......nice except he then signs DA to a new deal that leaves Quinn on the bench..lol.

Savage has done a good job overall, but he is partly to blame for this mess too.

No offense bro, but who the hell decided to resign him when it was rumored we could have gotten a 1st round pick for him??? DA is a Savage mistake as well. You can't simply point out the positive and say "see there", without looking at the negative things he's done as well. We have a ton of holes still, and only a limited amount of draft picks/ salary cap room to fill those holes. Sorry but Phil takes some blame for that, considering he gave out the contracts and traded away the picks.

We saw the same crap today as we have been, an un-motivated, soft, lazy, undisciplined, un-concentrated football team. They had to have this game, yet all week all we hear is "its another game, but its a divisional game"...it showed!

This team did not show the urgency it should have, no heart at all...and when the first tiny bit of adversity happend...we do as we always have with RAC, run away with our tails between our legs....looking at each waiting for somebody else to make the play.

This team loves RAC??? they play liek crap, he took alot of heat last week, I didn't see a team playing for its coach. I saw a NE team last year play for its coach...I saw a Ravens defense play for its coach today.

The stuff Romeo says, the attitude he shows, is exactly the same attitude this teams shows up with week in and out....until that is fixed, we can execute better, get better players etc......you gotta have heart, you gotta be more intense, play with more heart, be more disciplined than the other team. Thats not a talent issue....its something inside, we dot have it.

I agree with that as well, but he has missed on alot of his picks, and given out $$$ contract to guys that had shown they couldn't stay healthy (DS), or where just too long in the tooth (WM and JJ come to mind rather quickly). At this point, we need at least 2 LBs at the end of this season (and that is ASSuming that the light comes on for Kam and DQ), at least 1 safety, another DE, and some young legs at RB. That is a tall order considering we traded away 3 of our draft picks.

I like alot of what Phil has done, and I admire the fact that he addresses a weakness and attempts to fix it instead of bellyaching about the problem, but he isn't the God some on here like to think he is. Now time may prove he is a Ron Wolfe type of GM, but it might also prove that he's not up to par with the game's greats. We shall see. I just think because of previous regimes total cluelessness (Botch and Carmen) Browns fans put this guy on a pedestal that quite frankly he hasn't earned yet............and the jury is still out on whether he will ever earn it.

Right now, if I'm Savage, i'm thinking of changing the entire team.

I wouldn't be shocked if you saw a lot of offensive skill players *Braylon or Kellen* lost in free agency and we start to build a better defense. Right now, I'd rather have a good QB and offensive line and a dominating defense than a high powered offense and crappy defense.

The Bengals and current Browns have proved that high powered offenses without a defense doesn't work.

I have ripped savage pretty bad for some of his draft choices and some of his entire drafts but this team has the talent to win. This team should be 2-1 right now.

Romeo's incompetence shows with everything he does and says. The guy should just retire and walk away with a little dignity intact. Say its due to health or family or whatever but just get out of the way of this team.

I don't think Romeo and Savage are tied at the hip.

Savage didn't even get to interview Romeo...that was a Randy Lerner move.

I tend to think that Romeo might be a "Paul Silas" kind of coach. The guy who inherits a bad team to hold the fort only to be replaced by someone better once the team is ready. I still see the same garbage stuff too from Romeo and it seems like no matter who we add to this team, the result is the same.

I think that's a telltale sign.