The fact the Browns are doing their homework on Robert Griffin III – they reportedly had the free-agent quarterback in for a meet-and-greet on Friday and Saturday – is a painful reminder of Mike Holmgren’s tenure as president of the club.
Then owner Randy Lerner, who wanted a credible football man to run his club and went out and paid a king’s ransom to lure Holmgren out of retirement to fill that role, turned over the day-to-day operations of the Browns to the former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks head coach. With Lerner hardly ever around, Holmgren was basically the owner, coming and going when he pleased, how he pleased and why he pleased.
So when the Browns got into a bidding war with the Washington Redskins to trade with the St. Louis Rams so they could get the right to take Griffin in the 2012 NFL Draft, Holmgren was making all of the decisions.
The Browns were willing to deal a lot to the Rams, but the way St. Louis saw it, the Redskins were willing to deal more and as such it accepted their proposal.
Holmgren complained – he was spitting and moaning – that his offer was just as good as that of Washington. That may or may not be true. So, too, may be Holmgren’s claim that the only reason St. Louis accepted Washington’s proposal was because top execs on those clubs were tight.
But in every single instance that something he tried didn’t work out – and almost everything he tried didn’t work out – Holmgren had an excuse. It was never, ever his fault. He was always being victimized by someone, something, or both. It simply wasn’t fair.
It got tiresome and boring listening to the same, old tune.
What didn’t help the situation was the perception – actually, much more of a reality than just a conjecture or an opinion – that Holmgren was lazy, uncommitted and irresponsible. He came in to work later than anyone else, and he left earlier than anyone else. Sure, he worked a full eight hours, but it’s just that you had to put several days’ work together to get those eight hours.
He had free reign to pull off this charade because there was no one of authority – that is, Lerner – to step in and stop it. The inmate was running the asylum.
All that mattered to Holmgren was getting paid – getting a wheelbarrow full of the aforementioned king’s ransom.
It was highway robbery – white-collar crime.
No wonder the Browns floundered.
Holmgren was given a pass shortly thereafter – by some people , but not all – after RG III blew out his knee and his career crashed and burned.
“Thank goodness the Browns didn’t make that trade to get him,” was the off-repeated mantra.
Yeah, right.
The Browns’ offer to the Rams included both of their 2012 first-round picks, their 2013 first-rounder and, if coerced, also their 2012 second-rounder.
The Browns went ahead and used their 2012 first-rounders on, in order, running back Trent Richardson and quarterback Brandon Weeden, their 2013 first-rounder on linebacker Barkervious Mingo and their 2012 second-rounder on right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.
The Browns have gone 5-11, 4-12, 7-9 and 3-13 in the four seasons since that trade wasn’t made, causing three head coaches to get fired. And only one of those draftees – Mingo – is still around, and it remains to be seen how long much longer that stays the case as new head coach Hue Jackson cleans house and starts over.
Meanwhile, RG III took a mediocre Redskins team and led it to the playoffs in 2012 en route to winning the Rookie of the Year award.
Indeed, thank goodness the Browns didn’t make that trade.
Now the Browns are circling back to RG III for whatever reason, whether it is a real interest or simply a way to make the San Francisco 49ers think they’ve moved on from any interest in quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Who knows?
But this much we do know: The Browns aren’t going anywhere – even in this transitional, rebuilding period – with Josh McCown at quarterback. Jackson is a quarterback maker, and if anyone can get RG III back on track, it’s him. So while McCown, as his advanced age, is certainly not going to get any better and in fact may be at the end of the line, there is at least a chance that RG III could be resurrected. As such, don’t be so quick to pooh-pooh it.
We also know this: If Mike Holmgren were still here and everybody knew RG III would be a good fit, he would find a way to mess it up and then blame everybody and everything but himself.
