Butch Resigned?

That's the word now. I guess this would mean the Browns won't have to pay him an ungodly a sum of money to go away. And, frankly, it would be a smarter move for Davis in terms of any possible NFL coaching career.

Official Word

"Butch Davis has resigned as head coach of the Browns, team president John Collins has now confirmed." This is most notable that Collins is the guy speaking for the organization. The guy strikes me as a good operator. I'd like to work for a guy like that.

Butch gone

I'm not surprised. Giving up haalf a century of points to the Bengals will get you fired, even had the Browns won Sunday.

It will be mildly interesting to hear what the terms of Butch's buyout will be. My guess is he will get paid all or nearly all his remaining contract; it's not like he's gonna be a head coach in the NFL anywhere else, and Butch's comments last week suggested to me that he was going to wait it out and "count his blessings." He's gonna be able to do a lot of counting.

My money is on Robiskie to be interim HC. I don't think too much of Robiskie as a HC candidate, or even as an OC. But Mortenson's mention that Lerner was going to consult the players on an interim HC would seem to suggest Robiskie will be the guy. He was, after all, popular with Quicny Morgan and Kevin Johnson, so he's probably popular with the rest of the punks on the roster. My vote, if I had one, would still be for Campo; he'll at least get things organized enough to finish out the season in a productive (for next year) manner.

What to think

We can be glad that Sunday's loss to the Bengals was, at least, an entertaining ride.

• Dave Campo's chances of being the next head coach in Cleveland are gone. Last year it was Jamal Lewis' recordsetting day, then 58 points to the Bengals. Maybe
  
• Butch is gone (still). The defense is supposed to be his specialty, and it can't get shredded after the week Butch has had.
  
• Somewhere, Randy Lerner is hoping U. of Florida is pursuing Butch aggressively.
  
• Holcomb is a backup quarterback. Yes, he had a great performance overall, but the team lost again. And Holcomb provided the final nail in the coffin. I still do like him as a backup though, even if it's unlikely he is doing it in Cleveland next season.
  
• Andra Davis is now out for the year. Man, it's hard to believe this team's string of injuries.
  
• Antonio Bryant is obviously a better talent than Quincy Morgan.
  
• Gerard Warren can officially be labelled a bust now. Maybe the Browns will realize it while there is still a chance to pawn him off to another team. Or maybe the next coach is able to light a fire under his butt and turn him into a real player.
  
• Chris Crocker looks no better in coverage than Robert Griffith.
  
• Tell me again why the Browns didn't trade James Jackson?
  
  Get ready for next season:
  
• I hope Sean Jones shows us something at safety next season.
  
• Luke McCown needs to start one game this season. Might as well get that experience while there's nothing to lose, then he can spend the offseason digesting it.
  
• The Browns loss means the Browns would get the #5 pick in the next season's draft if all ended today. It's too early to wonder who the Browns will pick, but I sure hope the new GM goes into the offseason intent on acquiring a lot of new players. Thus, trading down and gaining 2nd + 3rd round picks sure seems like a good idea now.
  
• Note to new GM: Trade Warren, please
  
• If I were the new GM, I'd pursue trading Warren. I'd let Griffith go. I'd probably let Holcomb go on the basis that Garcia and McCown are the present and future, and both are a different style player.
  
• If I were the new coach, I'd consider
  
• This offseason might be a good time to bring back Kosar. At the very least, it would buy the team a year or two to get the organization back to winning football.

The Next Coach

Butch Davis's career as Browns coach is over. Bank on it. Now it's a matter of time, and my money is that all of the statements coming out from the Browns this week are chess moves trying to motivate Davis to resign and go coach elsewhere, maybe Florida. It was obviously a mistake for Lerner to re-up the coach's contract to 2007, but unlike Butch it seems like Lerner has learned something from his mistake. And, jusst judging from a distance, I have to believe John Collins is making the right moves within the organization to push for a structure that if, you know, professional.

Davis, you can bet, is taking a cold look at his situation. How much does he have left on his Browns contract? (around 10 mil) What job options are currently available? What kind of settlement can he extract from Lerner? How much damage to his coaching career would coaching out the year do? I'd have to think that both Davis and the Browns would be satisfied with a 4-6 million settlement (what a deal!) and the guy going off to Florida or another big conference, Southern school. I don't know enough about what college openings are imminent to really judge where he could land, but it should be clear Butch won't be back in the NFL for a while.

As for the Browns, I have a feeling it will come down to Romeo Crennel or Dave Campo. Crennel's resume is impressive and, in one of life's ironies, is associated with two regimes who have exited Cleveland without fanfare. If he's willing, I'd like to see him here. And Campo, IMO, has been excellent as defensive coordinator and he'd do well if paired with a good GM.

Robiskie, I am ruling out based on the offense's horrible showing, his reported closeness with punks on the team like Northcutt and Morgan (that's okay for an assistant, not for a head coach) and his dumb lawsuit about his house that just smacks of sour grapes and a lack of intelligence. Maybe the guy ispopular with the players but it should be obvious that a popular coach is not what these players need.

Jackson a Free Man

Let me get this straight -- the Dolphins offered a 5th round draft choice for James Jackson in the preseason. Davis turned it down, saying he would only accept a 3rd. Fair enough. Then the season starts, and Jackson has been inactive for most of the games. Now at 3-6 the Browns cut him for nothing. NOTHING. So in the past year the Browns have given away a 4th round pick (which is what they could have netted for KJ if they had simply sent him home for the last half of last season) and a 5th rounder. In both cases, the Browns decided NOTHING was better than something. Un-frickin-believable.

I thought there was some hope after the Morgan for Bryant deal cause at least the Browns got some potential there. I thought maybe Butch and the gang had turned a corner and figured out you have to make a deal while you can, otherwise the moment will pass and your assets will lose value fast. But I was wrong. The Bryant deal will remain a slight positive for now until a year or so goes by and we can get some perspective. But these other non-deals are immediately bad deals. The Browns front office is losing in more ways than just on the football field.

More than the poor record, this ront office ineptitude has made me happy this was the year I've been able to stay away from CBS and devote myself to some other, more important things in life. The Browns will be there in 2005. Whether or not they are any good probably has something to do with who is calling the shots in Berea come January.

Endgame

Again, it's been a while since the last entry. New parenthood, a busy job, and generally a happy life will do that to ya. It also makes you less tolerant of putting up with what the Browns have been doing recently.

First off, I won't say that Butch must go, at least not at a screaming-from-the-rooftops volume. But the guy has problems of his own making that he has to solve now, or else he shouldn't be the coach come January. I might also add that it seems unlikely he can rescue this team to 7 wins, though of course not impossible.

Of most pressing concern is the Browns inability to come up with anything resembling an effective offense. We've now put up with well over a season of this, and it is unexplainable as much as it is inexcusable. While the team is not loaded with playmakers, the squad has some talent. We've got gamers at QB, FB, RB. A few solid offensive linemen. TEs who aren't blessed with the most talent but somehow seem to make the most impressive receptions. And a WR group that is probably (let's face it) rather poor but can make big plays in the right situations. And that's just the thing. Robiskie and Davis have not put these players in position to succeed very often. That's not to say there haven't been moments of success, but generally this team has been horrible at gameplanning and adjusting to find ways to use the weapons it has.

Of course, the players are to blame too. Some of these guys just aren't that good. But I blame the coaches for a lot of the penalties and many of the bone-headed actions. It's up to the head coach to set the right tone -- the right mix of discipline, aggressiveness, and smarts. And while a lot of penalties are just inevitable, the number of false starts and improper formations are attributable to lack of preparation. Not to mention needlessly burning timeouts. And, oh yeah, Butch has drafted most of the players making the mistakes too...

At least the defense has been decent. They aren't making a lot of impact plays, but have managed to keep the team in games despite the fact the offense is not staying on the field. Of course, the fact that this team is nearly off the rails in spite of some decent performances just puts the coaching staff more in the crosshairs.

There's no point in firing Butch now. In fact, I really want him to succeed. But he needs to be humbled to the point that he stops thinking he's got it all figured out. And he needs to finish 7-9 to keep his job. Even still, the thought of going into next season with Terry Robiskie still as offensive coordinator is a little scary, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being. Time for Butch to put up or get tossed.

Last Minute Prediction

Baltomore 27 - Browns 22

Though I will be rooting hard for the opposite outcome, of course.

Earl Little Man Syndrom

The guy is a jackass, but you can't cut him right now. In fact, this is the time to light a fire under his butt and tell him he's wedded to the Browns (and the bench) until he picks it up a notch and does his f'n job. Does anyone care if Little plays well soley to show up the coaches? Tell him to leave it on the field and all his NFL wet dreams can come true next year when he plays for a team that wants him (or at least thinks they do).