Poor Cleveland

[dejeanneret]

Are some franchises just destined to suck horribly forever?

Sources tell the Cleveland Plain Dealer that some Browns players are "concerned" about the possibility of Jaguars OL coach Doug Marrone replacing Mike Pettine.
Marrone earned a miserable reputation during his two years in Buffalo, something highlighted by the fact that he couldn't even get a coordinating job after quitting on his team following last season. Bills players openly celebrated his resignation, and derided him as having too much of a college mindset. However, ESPN's Adam Caplan reports Marrone is a big believer in analytics. The Browns are going all in on numbers this offseason. They'll have to decide if Marrone's apparent lack of human touch is worth it.
Related: Browns
Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/8368/doug-marrone

Now, aside from the question of whether a strict "analytics" approach works in football like it might in some other sports, doesn't that whole notion get blown to hell before it can even be tested when the person at issue is so despised that you can't attract good players or keep the ones you have?

An article from the local Cleveland paper gives a glimpse of just how terribly this could go for the franchise, even before Marrone would be able to hold a single practice as the Browns coach. For example:

Word gets around in the NFL, and some of the Browns are concerned that Marrone -- who interviewed with the Browns on Thursday -- isn't a players' coach, sources told cleveland.com. The club has confirmed the session.

Some Browns players, in fact, might just decide they don't want to deal with it, unless the club can assure them that Marrone has changed.

Browns left tackle Joe Thomas has made it clear that he'll ask to be traded if he doesn't like the new coach, and Marrone's methods -- described by Bills players as more college-oriented than pro -- might not fit him. If Thomas asks out, center Alex Mack, who can opt of out his contract in March, would possibly bolt too.

That could have a ripple effect, with right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, set to be a free agent in March, possibly opting for greener pastures if his two Pro Bowl buddies leave.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/inde...rview_dou.html

For a team that runs through coaches like nobody's business (what is it, like 4 different HC's and counting in the past 5 or 6 seasons?), this just screams of a looming train wreck if Marrone is hired.

[Bomm Bastic]

Oh man, I just caught this. Who the eff is Marrone's agent? I need to hire that cat.

How many ex-coaches contracts are they currently paying out? ...and now they want to hire a coach BEFORE hiring a GM.

Sure...what could possibly go wrong?

[PenguinHunter]

I saw reports they are giving up on Johnny Football... any truth to these?

[2014olympicgold]

I’d be floored if they didn’t. He was a 22^nd overall QB with off-field issues that didn’t take over the team. If it wasn’t for his name, people would be calling for his dismissal way before. I think he’s got the talent, and the Browns organization did nothing to help him, but he needs to leave the organization and go be a QB somewhere else.

The team has just had terrible luck holding their high end talent at a high end production level for consecutive years. They did have some of the better d players in the league last yr (2014) with Haden, Whitner, Danby, Sheard. And with Gordon, Mack, and Thomas on Offense they have some decent players.

Their O-Line is actually pretty good across the board. If they get Gordon back, a good QB, a healthy Haden, and maybe even a competent RB they could be a good team. So literally they need their playmakers back (Gordon, Haden), and a couple of other pieces. They had a very good defense in 2014 if I remember correctly.