I hope the people in Berea are paying attention.
Though the Browns are 0-12, no one is crying for head coach Hue Jackson’s job. That’s because the team is in the first year of one of the most complete rebuilds in pro football history, and it’s also because Jackson is in his first year here.
But if the Browns are winless at this point next season, all bets are off. It will be Year 2, and the honeymoon will be off. You’re supposed to make progress in that second year.
We say this because there is speculation in some corners that Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh may be in some trouble. The Ravens, coming off a 5-11 finish, are 6-5 and tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for first place in the AFC North. But 6-5 isn’t wowing anyone, which is why Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin isn’t going to get nominated for AFC Coach of the Year. His club has won just one playoff game since 2011.
Then there’s Cincinnati Bengals heads coach Marvin Lewis, who can’t be feeling good. He’s never won a playoff game since being hired in 2003, and his current team, a nightmarish 3-7-1, doesn’t look like a candidate to end that drought.
If you’re an NFL coach, then you’ve got to keep winning. It’s not all what you’ve done. A big part of it is what you’re doing.
The guys in Berea had better keep that in mind. The well of patience is not a bottomless but.
