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It’s been a few days, but it appears the Cleveland Browns’ signing of Robert Griffin III is still making waves. The acquisition was the first thing discussed in Peter King’s latest edition of Monday Morning Quarterback, where he weighed in on the process Griffin went through with new coach Hue Jackson before the signing and whether or not he feels this move can pay off.
Lost in all of it, though, was the note he made to open the piece. King was quick to mention that Jackson has completely bought in to Cleveland’s new analytics-based strategy and all the moves that’ve come with it so far. All in all, it’s safe to say Jackson’s quotes on the matter were quite revealing.
“I wouldn’t trade our process for any I’ve seen since I’ve been in the NFL,” Jackson told King. “All of us in the process here are joined at the hip.”
For outsiders, this is just more fuel for jokes, quotes which will be referenced as the Browns likely endure a rough season ahead. However, for Cleveland fans, I imagine a different reaction came from Jackson’s comments.
Personally, I hear these things and see what finally appears to be a completely aligned front office.
In the past few decades, the words “Browns” and “toxic” seemed to go hand in hand. Spats between general managers and coaches, various members of the regime going power-hungry or moves being made out of spite. These types of stories have all occurred at least once since Cleveland football returned in 1999.
In fact, you really don’t have to go too far back to get prime examples of this. The last front office alone had ten season’s worth of drama packed into a two-year span.
When previous coach Mike Pettine was hired, the staff which interviewed him was fired just a couple weeks later. Ray Farmer was promoted to general manager, despite the fact he had no input in Pettine’s hiring. Owner Jimmy Haslam essentially forced the two to work together, and the results were overwhelmingly terrible.
Farmer reportedly made an incredible push to get the Browns to draft Johnny Manziel, a move which couldn’t have backfired much worse. Cleveland’s former general manager also got caught texting complaints to the coaching staff during games in the 2014 season, a violation so ridiculous only the Browns could ever actually pull it off.
Things got so ugly within Cleveland’s front office that Haslam had to hold a retreat just to clarify everyone’s roles. It didn’t help, and the Browns got decidedly worse as a result. Needless to say, by the time Pettine and Farmer were cleared out last January, the team had dysfunction down to a science.
Cleveland fans are way too used to this kind of disjointed mess. General managers and coaches who don’t see eye to eye, people given way too much say, terrible moves which blow up in a hurry. That’s Browns football in a nutshell.
This is why Jackson’s comments are such a relief to hear. Sure, it’s easy to say everyone’s getting along perfectly. For all we know, it could be a completely different scene behind closed doors.
However, hearing a coach praise a process which is getting openly mocked around the league, listening to him say everyone is on the same page and working together towards the same goal is a big deal in Cleveland. It adds a level of comfort, indicating that despite how the Browns’ offseason moves have been received, they are all serving a greater purpose. Based on Jackson’s comments, it’s a purpose everyone agrees with.
Again, who knows if this is the regime that finally drags the Browns’ name out of the mud. Still, I hear Jackson’s quotes and hope that maybe, just maybe Haslam has set up a front office which can work well together.
It goes without saying odds are obviously stacked high against such an outcome. Still, after the chaos Browns fans have had to endure for the past couple decades, I think some optimism is definitely welcome.
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