A few thoughts on the hiring of John Dorsey as general manager of the Browns:
*I feel even better about the Browns now than I did on Thursday. A day after announcing that they had fired Sashi Brown as executive vice president of football operations – a fancy name for general manager – they introduced John Dorsey as his replacement. And oh, by the way, his title will be general manager.
Then Dorsey’s first official move on he job was to undo an egregious error by his predecessor by waving wide receiver Kenny Britt, who turned into one of the worst free-agent signings in club history after he arrived last offseason. Getting rid of Britt is not going to sway the balance of power in the AFC North, but it did send a signal that things are going to be run differently now – hopefully very differently.
The move came not long after owner Jimmy Haslam made it clear that finding a quarterback, a task that Brown virtually ignored for some unexplainable reason, will be Dorsey’s No. 1 priority. Until the Browns locate their guy, their total rebuild won’t really begin to take shape. And after two years with Brown calling the shots, it should have started taking shape long, long ago.
*Dorsey called the Browns “a sleeping giant” and talked about the need to awaken them. Brown never realized any of that because he wasn’t “a football guy” and didn’t get it – didn’t understand the history of the NFL. The Browns were once “the flagship of the fleet,” as former head coach Sam Rutigliano has so eloquently stated.
*In addition to being a football traditionalist, Dorsey is a laid-back guy. The man with whom he will be working, head coach Hue Jackson, is a traditionalist who is laid back. Hmmm. Everything points to them getting along and being able to work together like the professional marriage the GM-coach pairing has to be.
*So, have the Browns taken big steps in the right direction the last two days? Why, yes. Yes, they have. But this is like a marathon in that they still have all but about 100 yards of the 26-mile, 385-yard trek to go.
