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Yes, Browns should give Marty a call
By Terry Pluto
At the very least, the Browns should seriously consider hiring Marty Schottenheimer as an adviser.
Would that make current coach Romeo Crennel nervous?
Probably no more than the fact that Crennel knows his time is short, that 10 of his assistants have been replaced and that the front office is expecting a major improvement from a year ago.
When a coach had records of 6-10 and 4-12 in his first two years, there's little reason to feel secure.
The other factor is Crennel has not done much to inspire tremendous confidence. He has had little talent, but in some areas that he could control, he came up short.
His loyalty to offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon was misplaced, and he refused to back off from the misjudgment until the front office forced his hand.
He also seemed overwhelmed at times with the strong-willed receiver Braylon Edwards.
Finally, there were rather unimaginative game plans.
So why not just replace Crennel with Schottenheimer?[
The Browns should consider that, too. First, they need to get to know the 63-year-old former Browns coach. How is his mental state after the fiasco with the San Diego Chargers? He ended up being fired after a 14-2 season and a first-round boot out of the playoffs, which can shake anyone.
Does he sound like a guy who needs time to chill out?
The stubborn Schottenheimer probably believed that he can coach any team, any time. The jaw-out, grit-your-teeth determination is part of the secret of his success.
It would be wise to check his emotions and his general health before making a commitment for him to coach now.
In the meantime, is there anyone else available who has had more success turning around losing NFL teams? Is there a more miserable situation -- OK, maybe with the Detroit Lions -- in the NFL than the Browns?
If Schottenheimer has just a few ideas that can help this sad state of affairs known as Browns football since 1999, he's worth having on the payroll.
The Chargers were 1-15 and 5-11 before Schottenheimer arrived, and he immediately helped them improve to 8-8. In his last three years, he was 12-4, 9-7 and 14-2.
Before that job, he took over a Kansas City Chiefs team that was 8-23-1 in the previous two seasons. He was 8-7-1 in his first year, 104-65-1 for his 10 seasons.
With the Browns, Schottenheimer assumed head coaching duties in the middle of a 5-11 season, and the next year they were 8-8. Then 12-4, 10-5 and 10-6.
Yes, he's 5-13 in the playoffs, and has lost his past six postseason games. Not a mortal sin for a franchise that has been to the playoffs once since 1999. Especially since Schottenheimer is the kind of coach who certainly has pointed teams in the winning direction for three franchises.
It would be fascinating to listen to Schottenheimer talk about what he thinks the Browns need to do.
The Indians recently hired Buck Showalter as an adviser, and he is an experienced major-league manager. He also is now on the payroll of a team where manager Eric Wedge did not exactly have a glorious season. In the past, former managers Terry Francona and Mike Hargrove have worked for Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro in the same capacity.
If things have gone radically wrong on the field, could one of them end up in the dugout? Who knows? But the point is Shapiro believed that all these men had something to help the team.
The Browns might think it would be unfair to replace Crennel now, especially since they obviously indicated that he would have another year. Assistant coaches have been fired, new ones hired.
All of that happened before Schottenheimer became available.
In sports as in life, things change.
Schottenheimer is waiting for the phone to ring, and the Browns should call him now.
LINK
By Terry Pluto
At the very least, the Browns should seriously consider hiring Marty Schottenheimer as an adviser.
Would that make current coach Romeo Crennel nervous?
Probably no more than the fact that Crennel knows his time is short, that 10 of his assistants have been replaced and that the front office is expecting a major improvement from a year ago.
When a coach had records of 6-10 and 4-12 in his first two years, there's little reason to feel secure.
The other factor is Crennel has not done much to inspire tremendous confidence. He has had little talent, but in some areas that he could control, he came up short.
His loyalty to offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon was misplaced, and he refused to back off from the misjudgment until the front office forced his hand.
He also seemed overwhelmed at times with the strong-willed receiver Braylon Edwards.
Finally, there were rather unimaginative game plans.
So why not just replace Crennel with Schottenheimer?[
The Browns should consider that, too. First, they need to get to know the 63-year-old former Browns coach. How is his mental state after the fiasco with the San Diego Chargers? He ended up being fired after a 14-2 season and a first-round boot out of the playoffs, which can shake anyone.
Does he sound like a guy who needs time to chill out?
The stubborn Schottenheimer probably believed that he can coach any team, any time. The jaw-out, grit-your-teeth determination is part of the secret of his success.
It would be wise to check his emotions and his general health before making a commitment for him to coach now.
In the meantime, is there anyone else available who has had more success turning around losing NFL teams? Is there a more miserable situation -- OK, maybe with the Detroit Lions -- in the NFL than the Browns?
If Schottenheimer has just a few ideas that can help this sad state of affairs known as Browns football since 1999, he's worth having on the payroll.
The Chargers were 1-15 and 5-11 before Schottenheimer arrived, and he immediately helped them improve to 8-8. In his last three years, he was 12-4, 9-7 and 14-2.
Before that job, he took over a Kansas City Chiefs team that was 8-23-1 in the previous two seasons. He was 8-7-1 in his first year, 104-65-1 for his 10 seasons.
With the Browns, Schottenheimer assumed head coaching duties in the middle of a 5-11 season, and the next year they were 8-8. Then 12-4, 10-5 and 10-6.
Yes, he's 5-13 in the playoffs, and has lost his past six postseason games. Not a mortal sin for a franchise that has been to the playoffs once since 1999. Especially since Schottenheimer is the kind of coach who certainly has pointed teams in the winning direction for three franchises.
It would be fascinating to listen to Schottenheimer talk about what he thinks the Browns need to do.
The Indians recently hired Buck Showalter as an adviser, and he is an experienced major-league manager. He also is now on the payroll of a team where manager Eric Wedge did not exactly have a glorious season. In the past, former managers Terry Francona and Mike Hargrove have worked for Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro in the same capacity.
If things have gone radically wrong on the field, could one of them end up in the dugout? Who knows? But the point is Shapiro believed that all these men had something to help the team.
The Browns might think it would be unfair to replace Crennel now, especially since they obviously indicated that he would have another year. Assistant coaches have been fired, new ones hired.
All of that happened before Schottenheimer became available.
In sports as in life, things change.
Schottenheimer is waiting for the phone to ring, and the Browns should call him now.
LINK
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