BEREA, Ohio — Scribbles in my Browns notebook Monday while listening to Owner Jimmy Haslam and General Manager John Dorsey talked about all the changes on the coaching staff:
1. “Internal discord.” That was the theme for this press conference explaining why Browns head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were both fired. Apparently Haley and Jackson clashed during training camp, and it just continued during the season.
2. Rather than pick one over the other, Haslam fired both Haley and Jackson. That reminds me of early in 2014 when CEO Joe Banner and General Manager Mike Lombardi were at odds. They both were around when Mike Pettine was hired as coach. Then two weeks later, Haslam fired both Banner and Lombardi — promoting Ray Farmer to general manager.
3. In that case, I’d have fired Lombardi. Of course, I never would have hired Lombardi. I wrote two columns saying as much before Banner made the decision. Anyway, both were wiped out. Farmer was attached to Pettine even though Farmer had zero to do with Pettine being hired. The two men barely knew each other.
4. This time, Haslam did the right thing by firing Haley and Jackson. No heroes in that picture. The truth is Jackson never wanted to surrender the playing calling duties to anyone. He agreed to hire Haley as a way to keep his job as head coach.
5. A former head coach at Kansas City, Haley soon made it clear he had little respect for Jackson. And Jackson subtly second-guessed Haley for weeks in press conferences. That was long before Jackson erupted in his “I’m the head coach” speech. That was on October 21 after an overtime loss in Tampa. That’s also when the “internal discord” went very, very public.
6. When Haley was hired by the Browns, several NFL executives told me that marriage was destined to fail. Hue/Haley were two strong-willed guys. They also were not about to give an inch to the other . . . i wasn’t their personalities. When things went bad, fingers pointed. Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield suddenly learned why the Browns have been the Browns for so long.
7. Here’s why I brought up Banner/Pettine/Farmer: Because that set up internal discord. And hiring John Dorsey as general manager but insisting he retain Jackson also set up internal discord, although it was more between Haley and Jackson, rather than Jackson and the general manager.
8. Remember there was “internal discord” between former V.P. of Football Operations Sashi Brown and Jackson last season. Brown lost that power struggle.
9. I asked Haslam if he regretted retaining Jackson: “Hue was put in a difficult position in the first two years,” the owner said. That was true. But this season also shows Jackson created a number of his own problems.
10. In the end, the issue has been Haslam’s decisions when it comes to making major hires. He bought the team in 2012, then fired coach Pat Shurmur after that season. I won’t hold that against Haslam. New owners have the right to bring in their own people.
11. But since then, it’s been Rob Chudzinski (2013), Pettine (2014-15) and Jackson (2016-eight games through 2018). So interim head coach Gregg Williams becomes the fourth coach this ownership group has hired in the last four years. And odds are, there will be a fifth in 2019.
12. “The message today is we’re not going to put up with internal discord,” Haslam said. I’m all for that. But Haslam has to prove he can make it happen. That’s why I desperately want Dorsey to lead the coaching search. He comes from Green Bay and Kansas City, two stable organizations. He has a clue how to make it work.
13. Dorsey has a huge stake in making sure rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield can succeed. Mayfield is Dorsey’s first pick with the Browns. It was a gutsy choice and most draft experts (other than analytic types) didn’t rate Mayfield as the top quarterback in the draft. Dorsey talked about putting “players in the best environment going forward,” as he kept stressing there are eight games remaining.
14. Running backs coach Freddie Kitchens will call the plays. He has been in the NFL since 2006, but never called plays before. During his long college and pro career, Kitchens has been a quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach along with being in charge of running backs. Haslam mentioned Kitchens did call plays in the fourth preseason game this season.
15. I have no clue if Kitchens can be a good play-caller. I do know there probably will be more peace in the coach’s room as they draw up their game plans for Mayfield. That’s part of the reason this move was made.
16. Quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese was with Jackson in Cincinnati when Jackson called the plays. When Jackson took the Browns job, Zampese became the Bengals offensive coordinator. He lasted one year and two games into 2017, calling plays for the Bengals. He was let go after the season then joined Jackson with the Browns. So Kitchens and Zampese will probably formulate game plans. Dorsey said they’ll use the same basic schemes. You really can’t junk an entire offense at mid-season.
17. I did write a column about not wanting to fire Jackson during the season. I don’t like the interim coach setup. But I sense Jackson not only lost the respect of Haley, but others on the coaching staff with his outburst in Tampa. And Haley’s personality rarely helps his own cause.
18. Interim coach Gregg Williams is going to remain in charge of the defense. That means Kitchens and Zampese will have a lot of room to work with the offense. Williams will have to keep both hands on the defense in order for the Browns to have any chance at success.
19. Haslam said the firing was about a lot more “than just calling plays.” Dorsey explained: “There were certain things that happened from an offensive production standpoint.”
20. Haslam and Dorsey didn’t want to elaborate, but they obviously were alarmed by the regression of the offense. It has scored only six TDs in the last four games. That led to the big changes.
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