Perception, as it has been said, is 90 percent of reality, and the perception is that this new Browns regime is on a little bit of a positive roll.
Sure, there are some questions about the youth of the Harvard trio of Executive Vice President Sashi Brown, Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry and Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta, and their ability to make sound football decisions, but the presence of head coach Hue Jackson, assistant head coach/offense Pep Hamilton, running game coordinator Kirby Wilson and defensive coordinator Ray Horton – as good of a staff, on paper at least, as the club has had in some time – has given fans hope that they can get the club turned around. They have said and done the right things thus far — things that make sense, which is a far cry from the dysfunctional, disjointed and disastrous tenure of The Lollipop Twins, former General Manager Ray Farmer and ex-head coach Mike Pettine, whose actions left the franchise in total disarray.
Jackson has even convinced future Pro Football Hall of Fame left tackle Joe Thomas, who is tired of waiting to win, that things are going to get better.
Indeed, then, there is reason for just about everybody to be cautiously optimistic, especially with the fact the Browns, holding the Nos. 2 and 32 overall picks in the NFL Draft, have a chance to build on these positive vibes.
But now that regime is facing its first real test. It comes with the fact the Browns are on the verge of losing three key players in free safety Tashaun Gipson and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, both of whom have contracts that are up, and center Alex Mack, who has opted out of his contract. All are set to go into free agency.
The Browns don’t have enough talent as it is. They can seemingly ill afford to lose any of those players, let alone two of them or, worse yet, all three.
Can they sign any of them?
Fans are watching and waiting to see what happens.
The Browns have a plan, and it’s not clear whether or not Mack, Gipson and Schwartz are part of it.
If the Browns let them walk and it backfires on them, then it will be a bad look – a very bad look. Just the perception of it at this early juncture of the offseason, long before the season starts, would be ugly.
The Browns can do what they want, but they had better be right. For while there is some optimism now, it won’t take many mistakes to turn that into pessimism for these long-suffering fans.
Stay tuned.
