Tag: Browns rumors (Page 2 of 6)

      Report: Mangini could be out if Holmgren is hired

      December 17, 2009 /

      NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora reports that if the Browns hire Mike Holmgren to run the football operations in Cleveland, head coach Eric Mangini would likely be shown the door.

      Holmgren, retired for a year and nearing the end of his football career, likely would want a fresh direction for the team and his own coach. Specifically, he is likely to reach back to his Bill Walsh/West Coast family tree for his coach, seeking someone who shares the same philosophies, terminology, vernacular and football ideology.

      Mangini comes from the Bill Belichick/Bill Parcells tree, which is the inverse as Walsh’s tree in many ways. Mangini also has been a controversial figure in Cleveland during his one year there, making it all the more likely that a new president might want to start from scratch with the coaching staff.

      When Parcells got to Miami, he immediately fired Cam Cameron, who had only been the Dolphins’ head coach for one brutal season. It didn’t make sense for Parcells to retain Cameron when he wanted one of his guys (Tony Sparano) to run the team. The same could be said for Holmgren. If he doesn’t think Mangini is a fit, there’s no sense wasting another year to see if the two could work together. Cut bait and move on.

      Since Holmgren is a West Coast guy, some of the names being thrown around as an eventual replacement for Mangini include Jon Gruden, Steve Mariucci (meh), Jim Zorn (ugh), Dick Jauron (ugh!) and Marty Mornhinweg (ugh!!). If I were a Cleveland fan, the only person that I would want to see walking the sidelines in that group is Gruden, although Mariucci wouldn’t be a horrible choice. The other three – Zorn, Jauron and Mornhinweg – have proven that they make better coordinators than head coaches.

      NFL

      Report: Browns offer Mike Holmgren a contract

      December 16, 2009 /

      According to WKYC-TV in Cleveland, the Browns have offered Mike Holmgren a contract in the $8-10 million per year range to be their football “czar.”

      From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

      Holmgren has indicated he’d like to speak with the Seahawks about their vacant general manager position, but the team is in the process of evaluating its own situation and has hired a search firm to come up with possible candidates.
      While Cleveland might be content to wait some time for an answer, the Browns can’t be put on hold indefinitely. So it will be interesting to see if Holmgren’s situation there — and a leaked pronouncement that he’s been offered a job — will prod the Seahawks into action.

      Seems like this one could go one of two ways. Either the Seahawks will grow tired of being publicly pushed into a quick decision on Holmgren and eliminate him from consideration, or decide they need to move quickly to secure their man.
      Meanwhile, Holmgren must decide whether he’s wants to take the first job offered to him in Cleveland, or hold out on the Seahawks or other potential openings when the season concludes in January.

      Unless it’s a money issue, I don’t know why the Seahawks wouldn’t act quickly to bring Holmgren back to Seattle as their general manager. The position is open with the departure of Tim Ruskell, so unless Seattle expects to land Mike Shanahan or Bill Cowher, it’s perplexing why they wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to bring back Holmgren if he indeed wants the job.

      That said, I don’t blame them for not wanting to make a snap decision. But if Holmgren does go elsewhere, the Seahawks better land a capable GM, because Jim Mora isn’t a miracle worker. He’s not the type of head coach that gets the most out of his players; he needs talent in order to succeed or else he’s an average NFL coach at best.

      Kudos to the Browns for being aggressive by offering Holmgren a contract. They realize they have a problem at the top and need someone with credibility to come in and rebuild the organization from the ground up. It’ll be interesting to see if they land Holmgren.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Report: Browns met with Mike Holmgren

      December 15, 2009 /

      According to the Akron Beacon-Journal, the Browns held a meeting with former Seahawks and Packers coach Mike Holmgren on Monday. The meeting was to gauge Holmgren’s interest in becoming a football “czar” for the Browns next season.

      It’s not known if Holmgren would accept a job immediately; he’s a thoughtful guy who probably would want to think things through. But team owner Randy Lerner is working hard to convince Holmgren the Browns would be right for him.

      As for Mangini’s future, many rumors and reports have trickled out of Berea that the win over Pittsburgh guarantees that Mangini will be back in 2010.

      What the win did was make the Browns 2-11, and Randy Lerner has to be aware of that reality.

      Lerner, though, will not force his will on the new football leader. The team’s owner will have input into the coach, but he will not force a decision on someone he hires to run his football operations.

      Holmgren would absolutely be a great fit for Cleveland. He would bring credibility to the job and a proven track record, which are two things that are incredibly valuable to an organization like the Browns.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Is Parcells interested in joining Browns?

      November 23, 2009 /

      According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Bill Parcells may be interested in leaving the Dolphins taking a position with the Browns next season.

      What sounds unthinkable is actually gaining a little credence. There is chatter initiated in NFL personnel ranks that Parcells would be agreeable to leaving the Dolphins midway through his four-year contract to take on his next rebuilding project in Cleveland.

      “The one thing about Bill is he’s unpredictable,” said a league source, who would not discount the possibility.

      Parcells has an escape clause in his contract to leave the Dolphins at any point and still receive the remaining money owed him. Further, the new team would not be required to compensate the Dolphins with money or draft picks.

      Parcells is always looking for a new challenge, they say, and he feels the organization he has set up in Miami will carry on fine without him.

      Wooing Parcells would have to wait until Miami’s season is over. There’s the very real possibility of him playing one suitor against another. He has left the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the altar on separate occasions twice each during his illustrious career.

      There is also the realization that Parcells, 68, is not going to preside long over what he builds.

      “You just have to find the steady hand [to oversee] after he gets bored,” a source said.

      Even if Parcells came to Cleveland for two years it would still be worth it for the Browns, because he would build a coaching staff that could succeed once he bolts. The key would be to get him for those couple of years to point the ship in the right direction and get it moving forward. Then when he decides to move on to greener pastures, the organization will hopefully be filled with competent people.

      As the article notes, Parcells is always intrigued by a challenge. He has a massive ego and wants to see his name mentioned in the headlines. He has to be getting a little complacent in Miami and Cleveland would be the ultimate reclamation project.

      We’ll see if the Big Tuna bites if Cleveland offers.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Browns considering signing LeBron James

      November 18, 2009 /

      …okay, not really. But LeBron did say recently that he could succeed in NFL if he put in the time and Browns head coach Eric Mangini has a helmet waiting for him if he ever wants to give it a try.

      From ESPN.com:

      “If I put all my time and commitment into it, if I dedicated myself to the game of football, I could be really good,” he said Tuesday night, “no matter what team I was on.”

      Mangini agreed, calling James “a freak athletically” and said the 6-foot-8, 260-pounder could be dangerous at tight end, wide receiver or even outside linebacker.

      Quarterback Brady Quinn also heard about James’ football fetish. He would love to have a target to throw to like James in the red zone.
      “That’d be great,” Quinn said. “Tell him to suit up and let us know, we’ll get him working. Obviously he’s an incredibly talented athlete. If he wants to try to play a little bit now, we’d be more than willing to pick him up.”

      Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers isn’t convinced James, as great as he is, could step into the NFL and be able to handle the pounding.
      “I heard that comment,” Rogers said. “I have mixed emotions about that. A great athlete? Yes. A football player? No.”

      Rogers then looked into TV cameras.

      “Yeah LeBron, I said it,” he said. “It’s a punishing game. I just don’t think you can step off the basketball court after not going through this year in and year out and just play football. From that standpoint, I just don’t think it’s possible. You have to weather and condition your body to take this punishment.”

      That’s all the Cavs and the city of Cleveland needs: For LeBron hurt playing for a 1-8 Browns team going nowhere fast.

      Given how gifted an athlete James is, I could see him succeeding in the NFL if he put in the time. But I agree with Rogers in that he couldn’t just step onto the field this Sunday and have an impact. For starters, he’s never run a pro route and he’s never read a defense. If he was told to just run straight down the field and then look for the ball, I could see him making a play or two. But he’d be lost if he were to start a game without practicing and I could only imagine him getting laid out going across the middle.

      The front office for the Cavs would rather die than see this come to fruition, but I would love to see LeBron play for just one game to see how he’d do – even if it were just for a couple of plays.

      Of course, that would require Brady Quinn to throw a pass longer than three yards in bounds, which is something I seriously doubt he could handle.

      NBA, NFL

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