Huey, Louis, and the news

As much fun as it’s been so far – and seriously, folks, watching the Browns for the last two decades has been nothing but one big, continuous belly laugh – it has become abundantly clear that I have a few questions that require some answers. 

First and foremost, how did Jimmy Haslam ever persuade John Dorsey to come on board as the Browns GM with Hue Jackson remaining as head coach? Even with the significant talent upgrade Dorsey has provided Hue for the upcoming season, the deer-in-the-headlights persona that has defined Jackson in his tenure with the Browns remains.

I mean, every time the guy looks up at the scoreboard during a ballgame, he acts like he’s just awakened from a 20-year coma (which, for most fans, accurately portrays Browns football over the last two decades), but it’s not a good look for a head coach. Especially a 1-31 head coach. 

Jimmy Haslam has said throughout training camp that with this year’s talent upgrade, in 2018 Browns fans would “see the real Hue Jackson.” That has to be a step in the right direction, as the results up to this point have been epically “unreal.” 

Speaking of unreal, when the Browns announced early in training camp that last year’s leading receiver, Ricardo Louis, would be out for the season following neck surgery, there was talk in the media of the (implied dire) need to “replace” Louis, the team’s leading receiver in 2017. Because we obviously wouldn’t want to take a step backward from glory-filled 2017, right? We had a parade, remember. 

Let’s hang on a second, gang. Ricardo who? Oh yeah, the guy whose clutch receiving helped us to that lofty 0-16 record, that Ricardo? Then yes, by all means, let’s get another Ricardo-esque receiver before other teams figure out what we’re up to and try to stop us. Hurry! 

Everyone is familiar with the old business adage that “it starts at the top,” right? The implication being, of course, that you need the head honcho to be competent since the rest of the organization will eventually follow the lead of numero uno. 

That brings us to Jimmy Haslam. It is hard for me to believe that the reason he has stayed with Hue Jackson is because Jimmy was so hurt by the (deserved) criticism after the way he plowed through front office personnel that he vowed he wouldn’t “blow it up” again. After he canned Sashi Brown, Jimmy knew there would be more heat if did the logical thing and canned Hue Jackson. So he stuck with Mr. 1-31? Great strategy, General Custer, you got ‘em just where you want ‘em. 

People forget that Haslam was a minority owner for the Steelers for five years before buying the Browns. When Haslam purchased the Browns, I was certain that his Pittsburgh experience would translate to a big plus for his new gig in Cleveland. How could he have been with such a successful organization for five whole years and learned absolutely nothing? It defies logic.

The Browns will be considerably better in 2018, which is not exactly a bold statement considering where they finished in 2017. Any success they achieve, however, will be in spite of Jimmy and Hue, not because of them.