Paul Brown started it all - Browns Daily Dose

Paul Brown started it all

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the sixth in a series of stories about the Mount Rushmore-worthy people, places and things in Browns history. Today we look at head coaches.

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By STEVE KING

Head coaches are like quarterbacks.

That is, everybody knows who they are and as such, they are lightning rods, getting praise thrown to them when things go well, and having barbs hurled at them when things go sour. That happens – both good and bad, it doesn’t matter – even if they had absolutely nothing to do with it.

They are the CEOs of the team, and so the buck stops at their desks. It’s part of their jobs.

With that, then, just as it was with the quarterbacks, the men on the Mount Rushmore of Browns head coaches are no strangers to anyone, nor was it a difficult task to put together the list. They are Paul Brown, who coached the team from its inception in 1946 through 1962, Blanton Collier (1963-70), Sam Rutigliano (1978-midway through 1984) and Marty Schottenheimer (midway through 1984-88). No other candidate even came close.

But the really interesting aspect of it, and something that’s never been mentioned as a link between the men when they are discussed as a whole, is this:

*They started as friends in groups of two, Brown and Collier, his most trusted assistant, who coached together from 1946-53, and then again in 1962, and Rutigliano and Schottenheimer, who coached together from 1980 to midway through 1984.

*Collier immediately succeeded Brown, being hired just a couple days after Brown got fired, and Schottenheimer immediately succeeded Rutigliano, being promoted from defensive coordinator and then given the job on a full-time basis — no interim tag – at the same time Rutigliano was being fired.

*Before accepting the job, Collier went to Brown and asked for his blessing, which Brown gave. There was no such meeting between Schottenheimer and Rutigliano, and no need for it, really. Because it was mid-season, the replacement – at least for the rest of that season — had to come from within, the staff. Schottenheimer was on the staff, and the most logical replacement. It was a no-brainer to give him the job. It was Browns owner Art Modell’s decision to give Schottenheimer the post for the long term because, first, he believed in him, and also because the failure to do so would have served only to fill the last half of the year with conjecture from the media as to who would get the job in the ensuing offseason. With Schottenheimer firmly ensconced in the job, the players on the team were able to spend the rest of the 1984 season playing for, and trying to impress, the man who was also going to their coach in 1985, and Schottenheimer in turn was able to begin making evaluations and installing the attitude and atmosphere he wanted.

Paul Brown, though, for whatever reason, turned on Collier, labeling him as a traitor to their relationship, both personally and professionally, for taking the job. Collier tried everything to talk to him about it, but Brown refused to respond. They never spoke again, and it broke Collier’s heart because he valued that friendship and was upset that Brown was upset. The two finally coached against each other in a regular-season game, on Oct. 11, 1970 when Brown brought his Cincinnati Bengals to Cleveland Stadium to play the Browns after the two teams were placed into the new AFC Central as part of the completion of the NFL-AFL merger. Cleveland won 30-27, and as the final gun sounded, Collier charged onto the field to find Brown and shake hands with him, only to have Brown wave toward Collier without looking at him and then race toward the entrance to the Cincinnati locker room. The look of pain, disappointment and, most of all, incredible sadness, on Collier’s face after realizing he had been stood up – jilted, as it were – told the whole story, a very unfortunate one indeed. As for Schottenheimer and Rutigliano, a war of words started between them a couple years later on several topics, including the Inner Circle substance abuse recovery program that Rutigliano helped institute for anonymous members of the team, and it just grew from there. The two are still not on speaking terms and likely never will be. Rutigliano, who lives with his wife, Barbara, in the same house in Waite Hill in the eastern Cleveland suburbs that they had when he coached the Browns, remains in good health even though he will turn 89 in about a month. Schottenheimer, now 76, and his wife, Pat, live in North Carolina as he continues to battle Alzheimer’s disease. His son, Brian, who was a quarterback at Strongsville High School when his dad coached the Browns, is the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.

Anyway, here’s a little more about the men on the Mount Rushmore of Browns head coaches:

PAUL BROWN

In his first 10 years with the team, the Browns made it to 10 straight league championship games, with seven titles. The Pro Football Hall of Famer had a record of 167-53-8 (.750) in 17 seasons, having just one losing record.

BLANTON COLLIER

His teams qualified for the playoffs five times in his eight years, winning the NFL title in the second season of 1964 and making it to three more championship games. He never had a losing record, and finished with a mark of 79-38-2 (.675). Had his hearing problems not forced him to retire prematurely, he might be in the HOF with Brown.

SAM RUTIGLIANO

He built, and oversaw, one of the most exciting periods in team history with the Kardiac Kids, who went 11-5 in 1980 and won the AFC Central title for the first time in nine years. They also made the playoffs in 1982 and just missed getting into the postseason – on tie-breakers – in 1983. His overall mark was 47-52 (.475).

MARTY SCHOTTENHEIMER

The Browns went to the playoffs in each of his four full seasons, something that only Brown was able to match. They won three Central Division titles and made it to the AFC Championship Games in back-to-back years, giving him a final mark of 46-31 (.597). His best coaching job, though, was in 1988 as he took a team riddled with injuries at quarterback and guided it to a 10-6 record and a spot in the postseason as a wild card.

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