If not Bill Cowher, then who? I'm going to go out on a limb here, call it a gut feeling, I don't see Cowher on the Browns sideline.
I'm not saying, I don't want him, which is quite the opposite of how I feel on hiring him. I just can easily see one of two scenarios happening, Phil pretty much still having his gig and hiring his own man, or Randy offering Cowher the job and him quietly declining it.
That being needed to be said, what qualities should the Browns look as a new coach of this storied franchise, which is a shell of its former self, and who fits the mold.
Romeo Crennel is a good coordinator/position coach, just not a head coach. He's quite successful at being a player-friendly coach, while the headman be it Belichick or Parcells gets to play the general.
As a head coach, this doesn't work for a number of reasons. The nice guy doesn't win ball games as a head coach, it takes a man with passion and fire for the game, a man that will win at all costs.
Romeo seems afraid to bruise a player's ego by telling him to get it in gear. This doesn't work. That being said here are some things that I and fellow Browns fans want to see.
A Passion to Win
“You play to win the game”, so said Herm Edwards, it echoes what every football fan across the planet and especially in the Buckeye state, feels in their veins.
Romeo just sits with this grimace across his face and a “We'll get 'em next time” type of attitude. This doesn't sit well with a group of fans who have a fiery coach like Woody Hayes or a stoic one like Paul Brown who did whatever it took to win and put this as the most important thing when running their team.
No one individual was above the rest on those teams, and they were all united in one common goal and that was to win.
”Must play well with others”
An underrated quality in a head coach. You can't have the head coach, GM, players and president all locking horns and bickering all the time. Common sense, really.
Defense wins championships
The last time Cleveland has had a great defense?...even just a GOOD defense. The Dawg Defense is the lone that stands out since the Super Bowl Era. You can't win the division with a sub par defense, let alone the one that currently stands in at the current positions.
With teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore being built on the aforementioned philosophy, you can't get by them with an offensive powered team. We need to at least get a Good defense, and make it able to last for years on end much like our inter-conference rivals.
Understand what football and this team means to this city.
Sports and especially football in the state of Ohio and Cleveland means a lot to people, we're somewhat Blue Collar when it comes to sports, and expect the same type of attitude from our teams.
We can tell when someone exhibits that attitude or when they half-ass it. Lately its been the latter. Also when you talk about the Browns, you're not talking about your average run-of-the-mill franchises.
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about 1 month ago
Bill Cowher will never go to Cleveland, although your point is well taken. Of all the free agent coaches out there, he is the best. You might laugh at me for saying this, but I honestly think anyone could benefit from giving Lane Kiffin another shot. As a former member of the almighty Raider Nation, I think that Lane got the short end of the stick in Oakland, just as Shanahan and Gruden did, and I also think that he was on the verge of making a huge break through there. Shanahan went on to build an incredible program in Denver, Gruden has done well in Tampa Bay (although some would disagree with me). When Davis first hired Kiffin, I thought it was a stupid move, but I really feel he was on the verge of proving himself. Beyond that, I'm not really sure who else is out there worth giving a shot. One other idea, and it's a long shot, but Jason Garret might be a viable option. He has done well in Dallas and understands offense at a very high level. His only thing would be finding a stud defensive coordinator to accompany him there. I don't know if Crennel would go for it, but if they could hire a head coach and get him to step down to Defensive Coordinator, it might be a winning combination.
from about 1 month ago
The problem is (mainly) defense, so Jason Garrett doesn't solve anything. Besides, he's just waiting for Wade to get the ax. RAC is not going to get fired and then move to D.C. He's never provided the kind of defense he was supposed to and it would be an internal nightmare. Lane Kiffin belongs in college. Back up the truck for Cowher and don't take "No" for an answer.
about 1 month ago
Has RAC been fired? There is still only a 50/50 chance that the Browns will be looking for a new coach next year. Personally, I'm all for ousting the guy. The team has been inconsistent and sloppy, if not outright fundamentally unsound for RAC's entire tenure. But, it seems that the fans want his seat to be a little hotter than it may be.
IF he is gone... and the Browns can't convince Cowher to come in... you have to hope the organization brings in someone with a resume including prior NFL head coaching experience. Kiffin? Billick? Who knows. Just not a college guy... or another untested coordinator. PLEASE!
about 1 month ago
$9,000,000 a year to coach. I wouldn't say Cowher will never coach the Browns. He started there and he will have considerable say-so in the organization (aka POWER).
about 1 month ago
The fans have called for Quinn. He is starting. They are calling for Cowher and the owner's pockets are deep. Cowher knows how to win and, arguably, Savage knows how to pool talent. He is still putting a talented team together. They need some one who can manage the team. Cowher CAN be that guy.
about 1 month ago
I'm with you, no chance Cowher comes here. Other than cash, which I'm sure he has plenty of, what incentive is there for him to take the job? The team is a mess. Sure, they have SOME talent on the roster, but the organization has more drama than than "CSI:"
Still, coaching-wise, I do think he would make a great fit, for just about all of the reasons you mentioned. You did a great job of isolating those characteristics that are so important in a coach, especially for this organization.
That said, I'm really not too keen on giving a coach the type of power that Cowher would demand. Remember Butch Davis? Ok, so maybe that's an unfair example, but you get my point. There's a lot of examples of coaches out there whose "absolute power corrupted absolutely," as my 8th grade history teacher would say.
Do not forget that, as successful as Cowher was in Pittsburgh, he did not get over the top and win the Super Bowl until Kevin Colbert was brought in as a GM / player personnel executive.
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