McDermott could have gone to the Browns

[Mr. Scot]

ESPN's Seth Wickersham recently wrote an article completely deconstructing the Cleveland Browns in general and Jimmy Haslam's ownership in particular. Bits and pieces of the article have been highlighted in several places.

They contain some utterly ridiculous things, including a supposed admission from Haslam's wife that she and her husband basically don't know what they're doing and wish they would have never bought an NFL team (both deny this, but several sources have reportedly affirmed that it's true).

The most interesting part from our perspective though is that a few years back, the entire Browns leadership team wanted to hire Sean McDermott as their new head coach.

Well, all except Jimmy Haslam. Turns out his vote was the only one that really counted.

Browns execs wanted Sean McDermott but Haslam hired Hue Jackson

Smooth move, Jim.

[Snake]

Seeing as we have a new owner we could face some challenges like this moving forward. Richardson was a player and knew football. Not so much for Tepper.

[JARROD]

“Life is pretty tough, and it’s even tougher when you’re stupid.”

John Wayne

[LinvilleGorge]

25 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

They contain some utterly ridiculous things, including a supposed admission from Haslam's wife that she and her husband basically don't know what they're doing and wish they would have never bought an NFL team 

Seems plausible. Also seems like an easy enough thing to fix. They could definitely flip it for a handsome profit.

Honestly, he should've never been approved to buy the Browns in the first place with that fraud case. The man should absolutely be in federal pound you in the ass prison for that poo. Anyone who doesn't have fug you money many times over would be.

[Mr. Scot]

Next it'll come out that he had to be talked out of hiring Kevin Costner as their GM.

[cookinbrak]

"Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see." Read some of the comments-

Quote

I know it is fun to run with all the stuff about the Browns, but based on prior stories, Believe nothing that comes from ESPN and less that comes from Seth Wickersham.

Quote

The same ESPN Wickersham that tried to create drama about the Patriots dysfunction last year with anonymous sources? Who’s next?

And then there's something more familiar-

Quote

The thing is, Haslam was a part owner of the Steelers for years. He supposedly “learned how it’s done” from being involved in that organization. The Steelers (as much as I hate them) are a highly successful organization, and part of that success has been due to organizational stability.

 

[LinvilleGorge]

3 minutes ago, cookinbrak said:

"Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see." Read some of the comments-

And then there's something more familiar-

 

That last one is nothing short of horrifying.

[trueblade]

I found this section to be a cautionary tale for the Panthers : "When he first bought the team, football friends warned him that new owners inevitably struggle to understand how the NFL truly work"

[SuperBowlBound]

Haslam has had his paws over Tennesee’s football program and it’s been disastrous. Haslam will find a way to ruin the good fortune Cleveland has stumbled upon. 

What gives me hope with Tepper is that he hasn’t come out and told us that he’s the smartest man on the planet. I know people are already upset with him on not getting rid of Ron or Marty, but he’s going to be the constant around here and I don’t see the Haslam/Snyder qualities that would doom a franchise. 

[Mr. Scot]

From Wickersham's article...

Haslam next called Banner and asked if the two of them could grab dinner on Feb. 10. That day, Haslam asked to meet at the office before dinner. Haslam and Banner chatted in Banner's office for half an hour about free agency. Banner said he was hungry and asked if they could continue the conversation at the restaurant. Haslam replied by praising Banner for building a strong team.

It was so strong, in fact, that he said he was going to let him go.

Banner was stunned. He asked for a reason. Haslam wouldn't give one, allowing only that Lombardi would be fired too and that he wouldn't change his mind.

Haslam then left Banner's office to meet his new executive team, which was waiting for him at dinner, some of whom knew ahead of time that Banner wouldn't be in attendance. Haslam told associates he was tired of all the negative press and felt the league office had tacitly married him with Banner, even if he had decided to hire him. Later that week, Haslam held an all-staff meeting to announce the firings, the first time he used now-routine language about regime change, learning and hiring the right people. Before that meeting, Haslam dropped by Farmer's office and told him he was being promoted to GM. At age 39, Farmer was suddenly the second-youngest GM in the league. Both Farmer and Pettine would report directly to Haslam. Farmer later told associates he was shocked.

He never interviewed for the job.

Inside the Cleveland Browns front office

Seriously, what the... 

[Mr. Scot]

8 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

That last one is nothing short of horrifying.

You're probably not gonna like this either...

They set out to build the NFL's most modern football operation, combining analytics, traditional scouting and psychological methods.

[Mr. Scot]

Marketing executives wanted employees to see how fans were engaging with the Browns on social media, so they projected the Browns feed onto a giant wall at the facility. It was like broadcasting talk radio over the entire building, and one day in particular, it was worse than that. One of the marketing staffers entered a search for #dp -- for Dawg Pound. The problem was, that hashtag carried a few different meanings, one of which triggered an array of porn to be broadcast onto a wall for the entire office to see for more than 20 minutes, until a tech employee killed the feed.

[Toomers]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

Marketing executives wanted employees to see how fans were engaging with the Browns on social media, so they projected the Browns feed onto a giant wall at the facility. It was like broadcasting talk radio over the entire building, and one day in particular, it was worse than that. One of the marketing staffers entered a search for #dp -- for Dawg Pound. The problem was, that hashtag carried a few different meanings, one of which triggered an array of porn to be broadcast onto a wall for the entire office to see for more than 20 minutes, until a tech employee killed the feed.

Forget Hard Knocks. This could have been a great Sitcom if anyone would have believed it could happen. 

[Daddy_Uncle]

9 hours ago, Snake said:

Seeing as we have a new owner we could face some challenges like this moving forward. Richardson was a player and knew football. Not so much for Tepper.

I don't think that is true. Tepper is life long huge football fan and spent lots of time with the Steelers organization. He is no dummy. Richardson held us back in many ways where as I think Tepper will be a lot more progressive and aggressive about building a winning team