Belichick and Saban – A staff for the ages

By STEVE KING

It sounds funny — so crazy that it’s almost unbelievable — that Bill Belichick and Nick Saban were together on the same Browns coaching staff from 1991-94.

I thought of that — again — the other day with the story about Alan Haller, a defensive back on the 1992 Browns, being recently promoted to director of athletics at Michigan State, his alma mate.

Belichick is regarded as one of the best — if not THE best — head coach in pro football history. Saban is regarded as one of the best — if not THE best — head coach in college football history. And they were on the staff together with the Browns for four seasons, with Saban serving as defensive coordinator.

That’s incredible.

Back then, though, they were both still trying to figure it out. There was nothing to indicate they would be iconic in any way, shape or form — good, perhaps, if the stars all aligned in just the right way for them, but certainly not great in a historic sense.

It just wasn’t there. Belichick had never been a head coach at any level when Browns owner Art Modell hired him on Feb. 5, 1991. Belichick was mediocre overall in his five-year stint with the Browns, going, in order, 6-10, 7-9, 7-9, 11-5 and then 5-11. I’m not going to saddle him with much blame for what happened in that final season of 1995. The team was picked in the preseason to go to the Super Bowl and was 4-4 at the halfway point before news leaked out about the franchise’s impending move to Baltimore after the season, causing the mother of all distractions and torpedoing the Browns to a 1-7 finish the rest of the way. There was nothing anyone could have done — Paul Brown and Don Shula included — to stop that.

Saban had been a head coach for one year before coming to Cleveland, posting a 9-2-1 record at Toledo in 1990.

By the way, another coach on that staff was Kirk Ferentz (offensive line from 1993-95), now at Iowa and the dean of Big Ten head coaches.

In addition, Ozzie Newsome was the pro personnel director of the Browns during that time. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his play as a tight end with the Browns, but he could also be enshrined for his work as a general manager with the transplanted Browns, the Baltimore Ravens.

Wow.

Key dates ahead

Sept. 12: Week 1 at Kansas City, 4:25 p.m.

Sept. 19: Week 2 vs. Houston, 1 p.m.

Sept. 26: Week 3 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.

Nov. 2: NFL trade deadline, 4 p.m.