The Browns are obviously at a crossroads – one of the most significant ones in their history and certainly THE most significant one in the expansion era.
They’re at the lowest point in their history, coming off a franchise-worst 1-15 finish in 2016 that was their ninth consecutive losing season, which is their worst such streak ever.
But they’ve got a great opportunity to fix it – quickly and dramatically. They’re at their most advantageous spot, NFL Draft-wise, in franchise history, with picks at Nos. 1, 12 and 33 and five selections overall in the top 65. If they make wise choices, then they could set themselves up for years to come.
Not surprisingly, the Browns are in the biggest rebuilding effort in their history. It is a complete makeover, and then some.
But this rebuilding doesn’t really begin in earnest until they get a franchise quarterback. They’ve been looking for one since the end of Bernie Kosar’s time in Cleveland midway through the 1993 season. That’s a long time – an extremely long time. It seems like a lifetime ago, really.
When the Browns went looking for a head coach after thankfully firing Mike Pettine following the 2015 season, they wanted someone who could turn the team around and also knew quarterbacks inside and out.
They ultimately decided upon Hue Jackson, who has the reputation of being the quarterback whisperer – a quarterback guru.
Now it is time to go back to the reason why they hired him, and as such rely on Jackson heavily – if not almost exclusively – to figure out the quarterback situation.
You wouldn’t hire a plumber to fix your leaky pipes and then turn the project over to a flooring installer.
You wouldn’t hire a flooring installer to put in your kitchen flooring and then turn the project over to a plumber.
Sure, a plumber may know something about flooring, but he’s not an expert. And a flooring installer may know something about plumbing, but he’s not an expert.
An expert is an expert only when he’s in his field of expertise.
The Browns have a lot of people evaluating the talent in the draft, including Jackson, Sashi Brown, Paul DePodesta, Andrew Berry and any number of scouts.
But only the first guy – Jackson — is considered an expert on quarterbacks. The other guys know something about quarterbacks, but not nearly as much as Jackson. He’s the guy. That’s why they brought him in.
If I’m Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, then I’m going to make sure that, when it comes to quarterbacks in this draft, Jackson has the final say. Period.
And if I’m Brown, DePodesta, Berry and those scouts, I’m going to make sure that Jackson has the final say. Period. It’s the Browns’ best chance – by far; it isn’t even close – to succeed in this regard.
For if the Browns mess up this draft, especially at quarterback, which is the most important position in team sports and the key to getting this team back on track, then everybody is going to get fired sooner rather than later.
How much does Brown, who, according to his contract, has the final say on the draft, like his job?
And how big of an ego does he have?
We’ll soon find out.
