DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Shurmur and Heckert expected to be fired Monday

Let the heads begin to roll...

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2012/12/cleveland_browns_vs_pittsburgh_2.html

Pat Shurmur, Tom Heckert expected to be fired by Monday after Cleveland Browns take on Pittsburgh Steelers

By: Mary Kay Cabot
The Plain Dealer

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - It's become a Browns tradition over the past several years: Close out the season against the Steelers and then watch heads roll within 24 hours after the game.

Coach Pat Shurmur and general manager Tom Heckert are expected to either be fired or part ways with new owner Jimmy Haslam and new CEO Joe Banner by Monday, league sources told The Plain Dealer.

It's reminiscent of 2008, when former Browns coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage lost their jobs following a 31-0 loss in Pittsburgh. Former Browns coach Eric Mangini suffered the same fate after losing 41-9 to the Steelers in 2010.

When Haslam agreed to buy the team in August and Banner took over in October, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the two would want to hit the ground running with their own people. Banner made it clear in an interview with The Plain Dealer in November that he had excellent candidates in mind at all positions to take the Browns to a championship level.

He also stressed that he wouldn't be one to stock the Browns with people he's worked with before, and that he'd rely on all the relationships he'd developed over the years.

Heading into today's game, Heckert and Shurmur both knew they'd be gone afterward even though they hadn't been informed yet, sources said.

"Listen, I get this, and my concerns are for my team and making sure that we do all the right things during the game to give our guys the best chance to win,'' said Shurmur, who heads in with a 9-22 record. "That’s where I’m at. We have not won enough football games, and I know that’s the way this things works, but in our situation I see improvement and I’ll leave it at that.''

In a conference call earlier this month, Banner vowed to make his decisions swiftly after the season. Shurmur and Heckert will either be informed after the game, or sometime Monday morning. That way, Shurmur won't be put in the awkward position of conducting the customary exit interviews with his players.

“I know what I want to do with the players on Monday from a scheduling standpoint, but nothing has been set as far as any official communication (with the higher-ups) or whatnot,'' Shurmur said Thursday. "Again, my thoughts right now are getting our team to Pittsburgh, playing the game and then getting our team back. Those are the thoughts that I have right now.”

Shurmur stressed the great job his staff did in developing all the young players on the roster -- 26 with less than two years' experience.

"We came into a less than ideal situation when we got here,'' said Shurmur. "I’m proud of the work that the guys that I hired did in terms of inspiring the players to improve. It’s a little different thought process when you’re working with so many young ones. There are certain things you’ve got to keep hammering home that when you’ve got a veteran crew, you know you talk about other things.''

With the ax falling on Monday, the Browns will quickly begin interviewing candidates for both their head coach and GM vacancies, and might have to compete with more than a dozen teams for the hottest candidates. It's not yet known if any members of the coaching staff or personnel department will remain.

Some of the most coveted coaching candidates include Oregon's Chip Kelly and the following NFL offensive coordinators: the Patriots' Josh McDaniels, 49ers' Greg Roman, Colts' Bruce Arians, Denver's Mike McCoy, Falcons' Dirk Koetter, Bengals' Jay Gruden, Redskins' Kyle Shanahan and Seattle's Darrell Bevell. On the defensive side, two anticipated popular coordinator candidates are former Browns assistant and Cleveland native Mel Tucker of the Jaguars, and the Giants' Perry Fewell, who interviewed here when Shurmur was hired.

Kelly, the offensive genius with the high-powered scheme and 45-7 record in four years at Oregon, will be coveted by the Panthers and Eagles, among others.

Then there are always the big-name candidates such former Bucs and Raiders coach Jon Gruden; and former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, both of whom have some ties to Haslam. Alabama coach Nick Saban has been linked to the Browns, but sources have told The Plain Dealer that he's staying put. Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt, a former Browns assistant, is also expected to become available.

From a GM standpoint, multiple reports say Banner will turn to former Browns personnel executive and current NFL Network analyst Mike Lombardi, who worked here with Bill Belichick, to replace Heckert. Others have said Lombardi might have an opportunity with another team.

Former Browns pro personnel assistant Scott Pioli might be let go in Kansas City along with Crennel, and would be an intriguing prospect. He interviewed here with Randy Lerner for the job that went to Mike Holmgren, and loved his Cleveland days. He's also still close to McDaniels from their Patriots years. Other sought-after GM candidates are the Falcons' David Caldwell, the Giants' Dave Gettleman, and the 49ers' Tom Gamble.

Meanwhile, the Browns players were bracing themselves for the looming changes.

"You try not to bring it up,'' said linebacker D'Qwell Jackson. "If anything, you want the day to go by a little slower. You want to enjoy these last few days if that’s the case. It hasn’t been talked about, but you can tell it’s a sense of urgency there. And our coaches do a great job of not wearing their emotions on their sleeve. If they are down, and they’ve got a million things to think about. They’ve got kids here that go to school, they have a house here. It’s a tough transition for the family, let alone themselves. So you try not to talk about it, you just try to continue the day as normal.''

Jackson said he hopes the current staff remains intact, but understands if Haslam decides to start over.

"Once you change the owner, he's been successful at what he's done in his career and he has a way of doing business and he's going to bring that mold here, and whatever it is, whether it's change, whether it's keeping the guys in the building, I'm on board for it,'' said Jackson. "My job is to lead the guys in the locker room and do the best of my ability with that. If change happens and he feels like it needs to happen, you have to be on board with it.''

There's been some speculation that defensive coordinator Dick Jauron might stay, especially if the Browns hire a young offensive coach.

"He deserves some consideration to stay in the building,'' said Jackson. "He's a great coach. He understands the game, he’s given me the keys to the defense, he trusts players that put in the time. Not to have him in the building . . . I don’t even want to think about Dick not being here. I honestly don’t.''

Unfortunately for many in the building, the time has come to start thinking about not being here.

I hate this team.

Letting go of Heckert will go down as a huge mistake.

Time to move forward I guess.

With a dude who spent $1.1 billion on a new team, it's fully expected he'll want his own people.

Wait how can we let Heckert go!! Isn't 14 wins in 3 years enough to retain him???
the problem in Cleveland is that its always next year....never this year.
Thats the culture Haslam wants to grind to a pulp.

While this wouldn't be a surprise at all, I think getting rid of Heckert is a mistake.

Don't go getting ahead of yourself. This team is going to be under many changes in the next few days. I was a proponent of keeping Heckert here but came around to the realization that he wasn't the answer and that when a new regime takes over, they're going to bring in who they want.

Heckert gave his approval to some really boneheaded decisions, maybe even making those decisions himself and he needs to be held accountable.

I hope that they not only get rid of Heckert and Shurmur, but every one of the coaches. I don't want a remnant left of the last regime in the front office or coaching staff.

I've been expecting this since the sale was announced.

Good riddance to Shurmur.

Kind of liked Heckert, but I don't get the doom and gloom over his departure. He had no proven success record here. He hit on some, he whiffed on some, and the team didn't win enough to justify consideration.

They should've canned Heckert when Walrus was let go. There was nothing he could do to save his job. At least Shurmur could win some games to save his job, Heckert was gone once Banner was hired. I have nothing against Haslem for bringing his own guy in, but I thought they could've handled this better.

I think the cleansing will include Weeden. I am not quite ready to give up on him, but I really do think that if the new GM and decision makers fall in love with a QB in the draft they will pull the trigger.

The name I think they could fall in love with is... Mike Glennon, North Carolina State

I wouldn't mind giving Washington a call about their backup though.

Yea, they're going to want their own quarterback, I agree with that. Glennon has a big arm, he could be like Tannehill, and sneak in the top 10 behind Geno Smith.

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PITTSBURGH, Pa. - It's become a Browns tradition over the past several years: Close out the season against the Steelers and then watch heads roll within 24 hours after the game.

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Time to break tradition.. Lets play the Steelers the first and fifth game on the schedule

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Once you change the owner, he's been successful at what he's done in his career and he has a way of doing business and he's going to bring that mold here

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I will admit his success has been in truck stops or what ever term you would like to use....I do believe the NFL is a huge difference...Hope his way of doing business isn't the mold of porcelain...

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Meanwhile, the Browns players were bracing themselves for the looming changes.

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Forgot the Browns fans along with the players...

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Jackson said he hopes the current staff remains intact, but understands if Haslam decides to start over.

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Do these guys really mean this.. or do they say it to cover their asses if the staff really does remain intact ?

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Unfortunately for many in the building, the time has come to start thinking about not being here.

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Referring to game day at the stadium ? Sort of how I fely many of times beiong there...

Sorry Pat ... the battle is over.

I don't care about the loss of Shurmur but i wish they would keep Heckert. I just hope they hire somebody good cause if they hire some of the names that have been tossed around i may just have to give up watching NFL football after 46 years.

No one should be surprised by these firings. Haslam paid over $1 billion for this team and I can't blame him for wanting to have his own guys. Whether they deserve to be fired is a different story.

Schneider,Elway,Grigson and Lewis have drafted better than Heckert and made better trades.
Heckert hit on some,missed on some. But he failed to get the Browns out of the AFC North cellar.

Just for the love that is all good and holy, please, no Lombardi in the next reiteration of what we call the Cleveland Browns . . . please . . . I'm beggin' ya!

So you're saying he should want people he is comfortable with running his billion dollar business?

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Heckert wont be without a job for long and that is telling when the guys that they have been talking about have all failed more then once.
Heckert didnt come here because he failed, he came here because he was successful.

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I would argue that Heckert came here because he had the same agent as Mike Holmgren.

I think several teams have CEOs.... some teams the owner is the CEO, but there are several teams that have a seperate CEO. i think every team has a different set up in terms of their FO.

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I dont know but someone should look up how many NFL teams have CEO's. Perhaps its common I just cant recall ever hearing of 1.

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Buffalo Bills - Russ Brandon
Miami Dolphins - Mike Dee
New England Patriots - Robert Kraft
New York Jets - Woody Johnson
Houston Texans - Bob McNair
Indianapolis Colts - Jim Irsay
Tennessee Titans - Bud Adams
Denver Broncos - Pat Bowlen
Kansas City Chiefs - Clark Hunt
San Diego Chargers - A.G. Spanos
New York Giants - John Mara
Philadelphia Eagles - Jeff Lurie
Chicago Bears - Ted Phillips
Green Bay Packers - Mark Murphy
Atlanta Falcons - Rich McKay
San Francisco 49ers - Jed York

Most of those guys are also owners, but seven of them are not. So it is not all that unusual.

I think Heckert will land in San Diego. His drafts did improve year by year when he was GM. He should only improve as a GM. His experience in Cleveland will only help him become a success elsewhere.

J/C


I still can't understand why so many think it is automatically going to be bad as soon as the new regime takes over. It is looked at as if any move they make will be bad. That Banner is the wrong guy, and anybody he hires will be wrong. I just don't get it.

Nobody knows for sure who will be hired, yet everyone seems to know it will fail. Man this team has ruined many a persons optimism. I don't know what to expect, but I can't see a guy spending a billion dollars and not being concerned about getting the best in place to run it. Many here seem to think that since Banner is the CEO we are doomed, yet he was successful prior to this.

They bought a gutted and restocked team. It has a good young core to build on. I like Heckert's drafts, but he did nothing in FA and I think that had a lot to do with the teams failures. The players are young and talented, but only a few veterans to accent the team. IMO, if we would have had a few good FAs in some needed positions, the team could have won a few more.

All in all, I got a feeling that things are going to be better. Lerner didn't have the zest that Haslam has. Plus, Jimmy has worked with the Rooney's and I sure he learned how to do it properly from them. I can't understand all the doom and gloom at this point. I will have to at least wait to see who the coaches are, because to me, no matter who runs the FO, if we don't get a good coach in here things will remain the same.

The only thing that does bother me is the fear of switching back to the 3-4. The personnel changes will have to be big if that happens, and that will take time.

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IMO, if we would have had a few good FAs in some needed positions, the team could have won a few more.

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If we had a coach that wasnt an idiot we would be in the playoffs.

I think I have to agree. I gave him plenty of chances to convince me, but this offensive scheme and his play calling are putrid. There is no attack in this scheme, and that is what he said it would be when he got here.

Pat Shurmur is the only coach I've ever seen that actually looks surprised when his team has a lead. And completely loses brain functioning.

There is a new Sheriff in town and he's going to want his own deputies.

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.and why not?? We have people around here who feel they could make good picks.

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Yeah, but half of those guys wear aluminum hats.

Seriously, if your sense of optimism comes from the fact that Jimmy Haslam will make the picks and he's probably just as good as the dopes on this board then I really don't know what to say.

I'll just say that if they do hire Lombardi to be the "personnel director" then it will be Banner and Haslam acting as the GM. If you think that is the road to success then more power to ya.

I just don't see it leading to anything that we haven't already seen here in the past. That being varying degrees of failure. Time will tell.

The future starts Monday.