WHAT IF BELICHICK AND ORIGINAL BROWNS HAD STAYED?

By STEVE KING

So, then, what would have happened had the original Browns franchise remained in Cleveland and Bill Belichick remained its head coach?
Would all of the success that he has had with the New England Patriots have occurred instead with the Browns?
I asked these — and a few other similar — questions at the end of my last post in lieu of the fact that Belichick turned 69 last Friday. He was 38 when Art Modell hired him on Jan. 5, 1991, and 43 when the owner fired him on Feb. 14, 1996.
Sure, it’s interesting to think about, and stuff like this is what drives plenty of good conversation in sports, but I’m not sure that it’s aa cut and dried as that. I’m not saying it wouldn’t have happened — or that it would have happened — because there are some mitigating factors, both positive and negative.
For instance, the Browns, just five days before news of the move broke on Nov. 3, 1995, had improved to 4-4 with an emotional 29-26 comeback victory in overtime over the Cincinnati Bengals. It broke a three-game losing streak, with two of the defeats coming by just three and eight points. They also lost the opener by three points to the Patriots. Their first three wins were pretty convincing.
As such, then, and with the fact they were coming off an 11-5 finish and playoff appearance in 1994, it was reasonable to believe that the Browns were back on their feet again heading into the second half of the season, which began with a visit to Cleveland the following Sunday by a horrible Houston Oilers team that had lost three straight times to the Browns over two years, including a 14-7 decision at the Astrodome seven weeks earlier thsat wasn’t nearly as close as the final score might seem to indicate.
But when the move turned from a rumor to a fact — Modell confirmed it Friday night — the Browns faced a distraction the likes of which may never have been witnessed before in pro football history. Football — and the preparation to play games — was no longer the focus. That got shoved into the background and was replaced by a fireball of controversy.
So, it should not be surprising that the Browns got walloped 37-10 by the Oilers and lost the next five after that. Even Belichick, as meticulous as he was in his preparation, couldn’t keep his team from getting caught up in all those negative vibes. He might have asked some of his coaching contacts around the NFL for advice, but there was no one to ask because something like this was a first. There was no protocol.
The Browns finished 5-11 — a complete reversal from the year before — and Belichick, who was praised for arriving as a head coach in 1994, was out the door, having to go back to being a defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells to get his head right again.
And he did. He figured out some important things such as delegating and listening to the people around him, both of which he didn’t really do in Cleveland. He came out of it being a much better coach, and his time in New England shows it.
He had to do this. He had to learn this. And the only way for the education — and the tessons — to take hold was for him to fall on his chin and get banged up a little.
But — and this is crucial — if the move hadn’t happened, crushing his 1995 season — then perhaps he would have figured it out in Cleveland.
We’ll never know for sure, but the Bill Belichick of today is a lot different — and a lot better — than the one who exited Cleveland a beaten man.