THERE ARE TWO GUYS WE NEED TO CANONIZE IN CLEVLAND

By STEVE KING

Sashi Brown has a new job.

The former Browns executive director of football operations – that’s a fancy name for general manager – has been hired for a front-office role by the NBA’s Washington Wizards, which just goes to show that some teams refuse to learn the hard but crucial lessons from other teams’ mistakes.

Speaking of GMs – which, in the Browns’ case now, should stand for good man – they indeed have that in John Dorsey. He is, fortunately so, the anti-Sashi Brown.

But enough of dancing around the issue. I have only 300 words or so to work with here, so let’s cut right to the chase: The people of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio and beyond – those who are Browns fans, which includes most of them – want to canonize Baker Mayfield for what he has done in a very short period of time for their football team.

I’m among those leading the charge on that initiative. Football is all about the quarterback, and the Browns have one – a franchise one, at that – now. Finally. At long last. I’m convinced of it. I would bet money on it.

And, as y’all know because y’all know football really well, is thzt when a team has a good quarterback, then it has a chance. And when it doesn’t, then it doesn’t.

It really is that simple, and don’t let anyone – ANYONE! – tell you any differently.

But, in all this hoopla about Mayfield – and again, I’m at the head of that line – let’s remember one aspect of a good football that’s more important than even the quarterback.

It’s the GM. Yes, the GM. And that’s Dorsey, because he was smart enough to draft Baker, and then smart enough to begin putting game-changing pieces around him.

Without Dorsey, there is no Baker. And without Baker. There is no joy, no hope –or, as the great Sam Rutigliano likes to call it, the audacity of hope.

So, yes, canonize Baker Mayfield, but we need to canonize John Dorsey, too.