Billy Manziel
CLEVELAND, Ohio Is it any wonder Jimmy Haslam is looking for ways to reduce the Browns" margin for error?
Having erred on coaching searches, erred on drafts, erred on free agent signings, erred on being "directionally correct."
(Feel free to add uniform re-designs if you want. That"s so far down the list, I have no opinion.)
Browns hire Paul DePodesta of "Moneyball" fame
Haslam is looking for a smarter way to operate. At least that much is understandable.
So is the desire to put intelligent people (Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta) in high positions.
Those two will qualify as the smartest people in most rooms where the Browns leadership team will conduct head coaching interviews.
But the most important person is still the head coach.
It"s one thing if the fan base doesn"t get Haslam"s new structure. And, judging by social media, the structure is viewed as only slightly less bizarre than a "Billy" Manziel sighting in Vegas.
It"s quite another if layers of organizational input (coaches tend to think of it as interference) scare prospective candidates away.
That"s the concern that can"t be allayed until we see the result of the coaching search.
The Browns are competing for talent. What makes Cleveland a good job for a head coach is that it"s one of 32.
Beyond that, there hasn"t been much to recommend it without the additional uncertainty attached to ceding authority over the roster to a former lawyer and a former baseball executive.
People who know Brown and DePodesta say they have terrific analytical minds, can solve problems and are men of vision.
This search will involve coaches who don"t know them in many cases. Some will be coaches coveted by other teams.
Will they see the new structure as cutting-edge, or simply more complicated?
We are told DePodesta will be involved in the search along with the Haslams, consultant Jed Hughes and Brown.
It will begin in earnest this week.
That might not give the Browns enough time to hire what they could really use for this portion of their latest reboot: a salesman.
Source: http://www.cleveland.com/budshaw/index.ssf/2016/01/cleveland_browns_flow_chart_cu.html
