Jim Zorn downplayed the comments, which was the right thing to do.
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Bud Shaw of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the Browns would only essentially be applying a band-aid fix to their soon-to-be head coaching vacancy by hiring Marty Schottenheimer.
In fact, it sounds exactly like something Lerner would do if he can’t land Cowher and that’s what should concern you. It would be taking the easy way out. Hire a coach with experience primarily because the last one you hired had never been a head coach and it showed.
But with Schottenheimer, all you’d be doing is rinsing and repeating two or three years from now.
Maybe Lerner wants a quick turnaround so he can sell. But that kind of short-term thinking doesn’t do Browns fans any good.
If you make the right choice based on a wide knowledge of the coaching talent around the league, it makes it easier to ride out the bumps. In picking Crennel from New England and Savage from Baltimore, Lerner was intent on borrowing from successful organizations. But within a year he was ready to fire Savage and had serious concerns about Crennel.
Getting the right people is what’s most important, not taking one from Column A and one from Column B as if you’re ordering in Chinese.
This next hire demands foresight. Sorry, that’s not Marty Schottenheimer, whose time here came and went 20 years ago.
What’s ironic about Shaw’s criticisms of Lerner “borrowing from successful organizations” is that Shaw goes on to note that the Ravens were wise in taking a chance on John Harbaugh, who came from Philadelphia…a successful organization.
As I wrote when the news first broke, the Browns could do a lot worse than Marty Schottenheimer – a lot worse. Would he be a band-aid fix? Yeah, probably. It’s Lerner and Savage’s responsibility then to make sure that Schottenheimer’s eventual replacement is already on staff so when it’s time to move on, you already have someone familiar with the organization and the direction it wants to go in. Don’t just write off Schottenheimer because he’s not a long-term answer. Bring him in to establish structure and to get his players to believe in a system and then make a transition to one of his coordinators that could be a long-term solution.
I say this assuming the Browns can’t land Cowher. Because if they can, than clearly he’s the ideal choice.
Now that CC Sabathia is set to become a Yankee, the attention will start to turn to finding Manny Ramirez a home. According to YAHOO! Sports, there’s no market for Manny at this point.
The Dodger offer, the only known offer, is for $45 million over two years.
“Was for $45 million over two years,” one Dodgers executive corrected.
It’s off the table, along with the third-year option that, if exercised, would have brought the contract’s worth to $60 million.
The Dodgers are still in on Ramirez. Their offer could be reheated and reserved. But, they could in the coming days or weeks re-sign Furcal and find themselves up to their credit lines in Sabathia, and quickly turn away. So, what of the others out there?
The Angels? Teixeira comes first, Sabathia second. Manny?
“It’s not a likely scenario,” Angels GM Tony Reagins said. “We think there are opportunities we see that are more important at this time.”
The Red Sox? Please.
The Yankees? Sabathia first, then Burnett and Lowe, then more pitching, then Teixeira, then Manny. GM Brian Cashman believes nearly all the problems of recent seasons can be fixed on the mound. They could eventually turn to Manny, but it sounds like a distant priority.
The Mets? GM Omar Minaya loves Manny. But he’s just added Francisco Rodriguez and he needs at least one starting pitcher and his owner is cutting payroll, not adding, say, $75 million over three years.
I thought for sure that the Yankees would lose out on Sabathia and turn their attention to Manny, but obviously it’s a long shot that Ramirez winds up in the Bronx now. A potential sleeper candidate could be the San Francisco Giants. They’ve got plenty of pitching both at the big league level and in the minors, yet absolutely nothing in terms of bats. (Unless you consider Randy Winn, Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand has heavy hitters.)
Buuuuuuuuuut, I don’t know if the Giants will come up with the money. And compared to their needs in the infield, the Giants need another outfielder like Barry Bonds needs another federal charge filed against him. But if no market is established for Manny in the upcoming weeks, maybe the G-Men will make a move and finally get a true cleanup hitter back in the lineup.
Adam “Pacman” Jones’ season is officially over. No, not because he spit in a woman’s face or had one of his friends shoot a woman in the ear. This time it’s because of a neck injury.
Sources close to Adam Jones have informed Fanball.com’s Ryan Houston that the turbulent CB / KR / PR suffered a neck injury and will miss the rest of the season.
Our View: What started out as a promising “fresh start” ends with more controversy and an injury. It’ll be interesting to see if Jerry Jones allows Adam Jones to come back in 2009. Regardless, neck injuries are always serious concerns and we should know more as test results are released later today.
This is good – Pacman with free time. Yikes.
The 2008 Heisman Trophy Award will be handed out this Saturday and FOXSports.com ranks their top three candidates after Week 15 of the season:
1. QB Sam Bradford, Soph. Oklahoma
Bradford completed 34 of 49 passes for 384 yards and two touchdowns in the 62-21 win over Missouri in the Big 12 Championship.2. QB Tim Tebow, Jr. Florida
Tebow completed 14 of 22 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran 17 times for 57 yards in the 31-20 win over Alabama in the SEC Championship.3 QB Colt McCoy, Jr. Texas
McCoy completed 23 of 28 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran 11 times for 49 yards and two scores in the 49-9 win over Texas A&M to end the regular season.
Considering the Heisman is supposed to be awarded to college football’s best player, this might be the closest race ever. With a little help from the broke ass BCS system, Bradford led his team to a Big 12 Championship and a national title. (I said a little help Oklahoma fans – don’t rip my face off.)
Outside of failing to pick up that one yard at the end of the loss to Ole’ Miss, Tebow has been damn near perfect in leading the Gators to a national title appearance, while McCoy’s numbers are off the charts, but he never got the opportunity to lead his team to a title berth.
I would have to go with Tebow at this point. He lead his team to convincing wins over LSU, Georgia and Alabama this year – three SEC programs with tough defenses. Nothing against Bradford because the kid put up unbelievable numbers, but the defenses in the Big 12 just don’t compare to the ones in the SEC. And when he faced the best defense in the Big 12, Texas, he lost. That said, nobody should be up in arms if Bradford, Tebow or McCoy won the award because they’ve all been sensational.
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