After more than 50 years with the Browns, both on the field and in the radio booth, Doug Dieken is retiring.

https://www.clevelandbrowns.com/new...-and-inside-the-radio-booth-announces-hi

Absolute legend.

Tough guy to replace to go along with Donovan.

He did what we all thought about doing last night.

Congrats Doug. Now you have more time to drink with Aaron Shea. Doug Dieken = greatest Browns player who can relate to the average fan.

j/c:

He is a local legend and it will be a weird hearing a different voice, but I think we can easily find a better color guy. And no....not Bernie.

I lived in Cincinnati for a decade and at least he was better than Dave Lapham. That guy is the worst.

Ah, I call him Mr. Grunt/Groan. 75% of his audio is unintelligible noises.

I'm old enough to remember Doug as an LT. He was really good. Really great guy, from what I've heard from people who met him. I wonder if Joe Thomas wants the job?

And he constantly interrupts Dan Hoard w/ the play-by-play. Listening on the radio, one can't even download in their head what is happening because he drowns out the play call. He's terrible.

Doug and his wife = total class when it comes to people. I would walk across hot coles for both of them.

One of my favorite Doug Dieken moments is when a caller calls in and pranks the Browns Red Zone show and Donovan, Dieken and Grossi cannot keep it together, especially Diek.

It's on YouTube for anyone that wants to see the clip.

If Joe Thomas doesn’t replace him then we have no hope in the world.

Enjoy your retirement Doug!

As for Joe Thomas, why would he give up his network gig for a local radio job?

Why are you interested in crushing my dreams?

Also, Thomas does the Thursday games. He can easily do the Browns game on Sunday.

Listened to Doug for 30+ years. He will be missed.

I would love that ! even Bernie would be a blast to listen to with Jim

Brian Brennan used to take part in a local radio pre-game show, and I thought he was great. Articulate, smart, and funny.

I don't remember that, But I sure would have liked to of heard that , Not saying I didn't hear it, Just saying the memory part...lol

I remember back to the Kardiak Kid days, Diek was a great lineman, but so many times the Browns would be marching down field and we'd get a holding on Dieken penalty. I don't know how many times I cussed him out, lol.

But as far as his time in the booth, he was the perfect partner for Donovan. He will be missed.

Legendary browns figure. Well deserved retirement. Hope he still sticks around.

I hope JT is the ONLY choice to replace.

I think it's JT if he wants the job. I'm not sure what Joe wants to do with himself, if he's trying to get into TV/etc. He's great though and would be an awesome addition to the booth.

Donovan is so good he could probably just do it by himself. He calls a wonderful game.

I don't think the booth is big enough for both JT and Donovan. Joe likes to talk too much. Don't get me wrong, I love listening to JT, but Dieken knew when it was his turn to speak....or give the stage to Donovan. I would love Joe to take the roll of someone like Michael Irvin, Terry Bradshaw, Shannon Sharp or Boomer Esiason etc. He would give a lot more intelligent insight than these buffoons.

We definitely want to avoid a situation like Jim Lachey at Ohio St or Dave Lapham on the Bengals radio broadcasts, both of whom step all over the play-by-play calls so you can't even hear the actual play call.

I don't listen to them, but have heard other games where that has happned.

No doubt the color guy needs to know their lane which is to speak between plays, if there is time between plays. At least with the TV guys, it seems too many are auditioning for a OC job or something. If you can't say it between the end of the play and the break of the huddle you aren't doing a good job.

j/c...

Nathan Zegura replacing Dieken in the booth. I hope he's not too much of a cheerleader and talking over Donovan.

Je'Rod Cherry to become the sideline reporter.

I'll give him a chance, but the big thing I appreciated about Dieken (and I think a lot of people did as well) was his insights into the intricacies of plays (unsung heroes, underlying strategy, good execution, etc). I have my doubts that Zegura will be able to fill that hole.

I remember I got Doug's autograph when I was a little kid. I don't have it anymore, but it was fun back then to meet a sports celebrity.

I'll give them both a chance but Cherry is very hard to listen to. Good to know he won't be talking as much but mainly statements here and there.

I will place DD on a totally different level. He is much better than Zegura. I will miss you. DD! Thanks for the fine analysis and contributions you brought to the Browns!

Looked and couldn't find it.

Years ago I worked in Beachwood and stopped for a quick taste at Hoolihans. In walks a guy that I worked with. We were talking about the Browns and after a few and he asks me, "do you watch the show "Redzone".

Me: "Never missed a show".

Him: "ya know that guy that calls in and pranks them, etc"?

Me: Yep

Him: "eyeyeyeyey".

Rest assured it was him. Absolutely spot on.

His names is/was Nick. Can't remember his last name.

After that as I watched the show and when he called and pranked em I'd enjoy a short self chuckle.

Couldn't find it on youtube..

If you could copy the youtube link and send it to me or put it in here I'd appreciate it.

Are you saying you know who "Eye-Eye-Eye-Eye-Eye-Eye Guy" is? He is legendary on local sports talk radio.

Love Jerod!

Baker?

I listen to Zagura on CBD podcasts while I walk every day. I listen because my Browns radio info options are limited. Nathan brings a lot of stats to the show so I assume he works hard but he is way too "excitable" to go along with Jim D. I hope Zagura doesn't act the same way as he does on his show. I think Beau Bishop reminds me of a Dwight Schrute or Andy Bernard to Zagura's Michael Scott. Both of them repeat 2-3 times the same thing. It is irritating but I will give him a chance. I enjoy Jim D a lot, but DD was very mild and a nice compliment. Time will tell.

I wonder if they had a couple of trial runs where they watch a game or two , mute out Diekens voice and see how Nate does.


I'm pretty sure Jim has a lot to do with who is sitting in the booth with him.

I didn't think of that, but I think that makes a ton of sense. I know the national networks do that.

I apologize because this is mean, but how in the hell did Aqib Talib get a gig as an analyst of Fox? I can talk city black talk as good as anyone, but damn, Talib is so hard to listen to. He was a great player and obviously has knowledge of the game, but damn man, his vocab and sentence structure is distracting. I caught myself saying "What" so many times while watching his calls on games. I finally got to the point of not tuning into games where he was the analyst. Or, if I did........I would mute the audio.

Seriously?

It was just a cheap shot. Ignore it, and him. He's as agenda driven as some others.

Actually, it was a joke. Did you and arch question guys like Pit, Purp, steve, and others when they threw in Watson's name to threads that had absolutely nothing to do w/him. For example, remember bone's thread about Wood's defensive scheme and someone was talking about the defensive lineman from Michigan State and Fate said something about him running naked in the streets. Then, Pit brought up something about Watson and massage parlors or when a Georgia DT was accused of domestic violence and Purp made a crack about given recent events, we will draft him in the second and Pit liked that post.

I get you like Baker and I respect that, but please, my joke wasn't even close to being as offensive as the aforementioned posts. Play fair.

Wow, do you keep a list by your computer so you can .................eh.

No arch. I am intelligent and possess a great memory. These things occurred recently. Hell, on the Bake Show thread, steve trashed our head coach and the entire organization while defending Baker. But, no one said he has an agenda. Double standards.

And again, it was a joke w/my "Baker" comment. You can let it go or not. If you want to fight, I'm out.

who else ? that was fun humor !

Damn you all need to eat some gummys and chill !!!

Seriously !

Thank you. It was a joke.

Hell yes it was !

Fair enough. But, you've been anti Baker for a long time. Your jibes don't sit well with me. dude's gone, or will be. Just like you left, only to come back to give it to others once we all knew he was gone.

DW better put up phenomenal numbers, IF he can play. You've asserted and insisted that Baker was the problem and DW is the answer............we'll find out. THis year, or next year....

Arch, my friend.. This was done by the FO and coaches, not us fans for or against Baker... It's football bro..every team since the game started has dealt with this kind of stuff.

Not coming out of your pocket book...

I can work w/this. Thanks for no insults. You are right in that I did not like Baker from the start. Some folks try to make it about the flag planting and I am an OSU homer. That' did not really didn't bother me at all. I thought it was immature and classless, but I was not offended in the slightest. If you noticed, I have started a thread about DPJ and Ojabo, both Tun guys. I could care less about what team guys played for in college. It's a freaking game!

What I did not like was how Baker behaved and how others thought of him. The throwing into the TCU guys entering the field was so chicken-[censored]. Surrounded by your teammates and you try and hurt someone? Gross. Then, the Kansas players refusing to shake his hand. I ask "why?' Then, in the same game, he grabs his crotch on national TV. He, and his father rip Texas Tech's coaches because Kingsbury wanted him to compete for the starting job. He comes to the NFL, rips Duke, slanders Hue, rips guys like Daniel Jones, the Texas qb who is still in college, etc, etc. Reports are out there that he refused to throw to an open OBJ because he wanted to be the center of attention, etc, etc. His wife says our receivers suck on twitter, but all ignore that and instead focus on OBJ's dad's comments. Teammates have spoken up for OBJ. They have not spoken up for Baker. Folks on here said OBJ was washed up and yet he went to LA and balled. Landry digressed w/Baker. So did Hooper.

Look arch.............I have not been in favor of many moves the Browns of have made over time. However, when I am wrong, I admit it. I forget the name of the safety who lit up Chad Johnson and Leon attacked afterwards, but I said that was an awful move when we acquired him. I changed my mind when I saw him play and he wasn't all that great. I hated the Shanny hiring because I was uneducated about him. I thought he got his first job due to nepotism. I rapidly changed my mind and to this day, I think he is the most brilliant mind in football. I did not like the Stefanski hire, but this guy is from the Shannahan/Kubiak tree and is a great schemer. I loved Dorsey and still am appreciative of all of his good moves. I was almost ready to move on, but Berry has won me over. He's very good. I changed my mind.

Some folks blame everyone else but Baker and refuse to accept they were wrong. If Stefanski was so bad, the talent of the Browns offense was so lacking, and the FO was so stupid..................why in the hell are not other teams w/intelligent football minds not jumping all over Baker? I think I know why. He isn't all that great as a qb and he is polarizing in the locker room. Not much of a team guy and teams are reluctant to go down that path.

I don't know. I think Zegura will be just fine.

The color guy is fill. The play by play guy is the "show". The color guy talks for about 15 seconds between the end of the play and the break of the huddle.

Like anything Zugura will grow in to the role as he and Donovan gain their mojo together.

The first sentence of your reply answered the question I was asking - literally. I don't typically need purple font or winking emojis, but I was on low wattage from waking before 5 am yesterday morning. It was a dumb question on my part, but your response was a bit overreactive.

I was actually interested in speculation about who the players were that turned it down. My thought was we already know Joe Thomas was one on them. My other possibilities are Bernie Kosar, Tim Couch, Hanford Dixon, and Brian Brennan. Very curious about which one of them turned it down because of Watson.

Yes, my post was an overreaction because I clicked on your name. I didn't like the "agenda" comment that followed your post. I should not have went off and temporarily derailed the thread. I was wrong. I'm sorry.

No worries.

Congrats to Nate and to Kaila. He has wanted this job for a while now and worked his ass off for a chance to get it, and Kaila is over the moon happy for her hubby.

Congrats to Zegura. I hope he dials his cheerleader/positivity act down a few notches and really focuses on being a color analyst. We’ll see how he transitions!

I agree. The guy has worn several hats in his effort to work up the chain. He deserves the job.

This. I'm NOT a Zegura fan for this reason, but I'll give him an honest shot. It's also not really fair to him (for lack of a better word) to be viewed as Dieken's replacement. That's a tall order. I do give him respect for working his way up the chain, though.

Man of all the people they could have picked, they went with Zegura..man I can't stand more than 5 minutes listening to him, I can't even imagine he has enough football insight to be a color man. Doug was great because he knew what he was looking at and could talk to it. They def. should have gotten a football guy to do color

Almost sounds like Trump's stable genius BS.

It's nice you are going to give him an honest shot...lol....not making fun. What we think probably doesn't matter a whole lot. I doubt the radio ratings are going to move a whole lot one way or the other no matter what people think. Either you want to listen to the game or you don't.

And for that matter, how many people here actually listen to games on the radio all that much? That is a honest question. I don't live in radio range...I have tried to listen via streaming while watching games, but you can't get things synced up. It's annoying to hear things before or after you see them. It seems the days of blackouts are over. It's not like when I was young and living up there when home games were never on television.

Also, more a rant I suppose, I don't like that games went over to 92.3 some years ago. When heading home after games early on Monday mornings, it seems the signal fades down a little past Medina. I know there is a network of stations that if planned you could still find the game broadcast, but you don't get the Monday morning coverage.

Is there a way to stream the station through your phone? I run into the same problem heading back to PA

92.3 and 850 both have terrible signals.

lol, yeah... I am well aware how much weight my opinion carries on this.

I do sometimes have to fall back on the radio (being here in Cinci). I don't have cable and I will not shell out money to NFL for their piss-poor streaming package.

I don't think they live stream game broadcasts, but you can hear pregame, postgame, and day-to-day station broadcast content on their app at:

https://www.audacy.com/923thefan/listen#schedule

Thanks Dave

I listen to the Browns Radio Network every game with the TV volume off, if their is a delay or the timing's off I deal with it. Have done so for years. I'd rather hear the Browns game from the "Browns guys" no matter if it's Jim Nantz, Al Michaels or the #5 network broadcast team.

My biggest complaint with the radio network is that they've pretty much written off the Warren/Youngstown market in recent years. I know the last two seasons the sole station in the market is AM 1200, which, on a sunny day without a cloud in the sky, can be heard several hundred feet around courthouse square in Warren. Thankfully I can pick up 97.5 out of Akron clearly.

Yeah, I can't pick up 92.3 in Champion, which is a whopping 40 miles from their station.

Try 98.5 WNCX. They broadcast the game along with 850 and 92.3

Wow. That's a go-to and a preset for classic rock but I had no idea they broadcast the Browns!

Thanks!

I wish the Browns organization would have hired a ex player instead of Zegura.
Zegura is too much of a homer, ra-ra guy for my taste. Every player on the the Browns
Is awesome , the Browns are a SB contending team blah blah blah
He can exclaim all the analytics and fantasy stats all day long.
But I want to hear from a ex players perspective, not a football poindexter.

That was his job. This job is different.

That's what I was thinking. I don't know that he will be any better about it but I'm certainly not going to jump to the conclusion that he will be the same either. The role he has held is being a paid spokesperson for the Browns. Bought and paid for. His new job description is totally different. I think a wait and see approach is best.

Agreed. And if he's like most of us at a new job, his first year will be a learning year, and each year after he'll get better and better.

I agree. His old job was to be a rah-rah guy. This should (hopefully) be a much different gig.

There will likely be some hangover from the old job as he transitions, so folks can probably expect some rah-rah early on, but I'd expect that by mid-season he'll find more of his own voice... pending what the producers want, of course.

He's a local announcer so what producers will probably want is the full homer.

Dieken was a homer, because that's the gig. Same for Donovan. All the broadcasters know who their employer is (it's the Browns).

LOL.........no doubt.

I know I am in the minority here.....[shocker] but I like to listen to national broadcasts over local ones. I prefer a more objective take on things than the homer driven calling of games. I came to that realization a long time ago whenTommy Heinsohn was calling the Boston Celtic's games and was such an obnoxious, whining, one-sided color man. OMG!!!

In a related note, I will watch a game on national TV and think the announcing was fair and then come on here and view a dozen or more posts about how biased the announcers were for the other team. It's comedic relief.

It is ironic how people complain how the Browns get no love, then complain when they do.

Not sure I understand your post. Is it directed towards me and if so.........how so?

I was agreeing with you.

As long as he isn't like Bengals' color guy, Dave Lapham, we are off to a good start!

I've listened to Zagura and Bishop and the others on CBD Cleveland Browns Daily for about 1 year, and I only remember one complaint. They talk too much golf.
I'm going to miss hearing Dieken, I'm going to miss hearing Dieken.
I'm not sure I'd much rather hear another former playrers perspective, and I don't mean Joe Thomas, because
Zegura has a style, and it's like the same as Donovan's
and you need 2 oppisites that feed off each other, (shoot!) Jerrod Cherry opposite Donovan would sound better than Zagura opposite Donovan,
Oh Well, somebodys' going to call games, and I'm sure they'll eventually make it sound fine.
I'm going to miss Dieken,
You need to have somebody who will get mad, somebody has to make the tough contrary points, not just yes men.

My biggest complaint is that he interrupts the play-by-play guy, Dan Hoard, so you can't tell what is happening on the field.

I listen to Zegura & Bishop a lot on podcasts during my daily walk. Zegura and Bishop sound like each other's agents. They fawn over each other, to the point where Bishop sounds like Dwight Schrute & Andy Bernard to Michael Scott from the office. Everything Zegura says Bishop acts like it was a brilliant pearl of wisdom. I mentioned this earlier in the thread. I also strongly agree with your point that 2 really enthusiastic guys in the booth at the same time would just be too much. Jim D seems authentic, Zegura seems like an act.

Makes perfect sense to me, Dave.

I’m in an area where we get Bills games on the radio, and their announcers are insufferable. Such homers (and I get it, they should be) … but it makes the game so skewed for the listener

I seem to remember a year or two back we had a game on NFL Network with them and the replay was all the Bills announcers. It was SOOOOO BAD. It was like if you wanted to hire a couple of guys to parody what a bad, 2nd-rate, broadcast sounded like, those were the guys you'd use.