OF BUD, THE BILLS, BILL AND BALTIMORE

By STEVE KING

We’re almost to the bottom of this horrid list, but not quite.

I’m talking about the list of good Browns seasons that inspired hope for the following year, then things not working out – at all.

Here, then, is Part 3, the next-to-last edition on the list:

*1989-90 – In 1989, the Browns qualified for the playoffs for the fifth year in a row, won the Central Division title for the fourth time and made it to the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos for the third time in four years. They lost – once again—to Denver, but neither the Browns nor their fans were dissuaded – dejected, certainly, but not dissuaded. All that needed to be done, it was thought, was for the Browns to keep trying to knock out the Broncos, and if they could do it, then the road to the team’s first Super Bowl berth would be clear. They were wrong. It was the Buffalo Bills, whom the Browns host on Sunday, and not the Broncos who would be dominating the AFC for a while. The Browns won their opener 13-3 over Pittsburgh and then lost three in a row and 11 of their next 12 to fall to 2-11. Head coach Bud Carson, a defensive guru who was brought in specifically to beat Denver and get the Browns to the Super Bowl, was long gone by then, having been fired after the Browns were blown out 42-0 by the Bills at home. Offensive coordinator Jim Shofner took over on an interim basis, but nothing changed as the Browns kept losing en route to a 3-13 finish. New York Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick was brought in as Browns coach, and two years later, Shofner was hired as quarterbacks coach of the Bills.

*1994-95 – Belichick in 1994 guided the Browns to an 11-5 record and, as a wild card, their first playoff appearance in five years. It seemed to be the beginning of something special for the Browns. What happened was indeed special, but not in a manner that anyone could imagine, and definitely not in a happy way. After being picked before the 1995 season to qualify for the Super Bowl for the first time and lose 34-13 to the San Francisco 49ers, the Browns didn’t make it. And neither did the 49ers, for that matter. Halfway through the season and with the Browns barely hanging on in the playoff chase with a 4-4 record following an emotional 29-26 overtime win at Cincinnati, news broke of their impending move to Baltimore following the season. With all the disruption, the Browns won just once more in the final eight games, finishing 5-11 in the franchise’s 50th – and final – season in Cleveland.

To be continued.