PITTSBURGH: Owner Jimmy Haslam’s face was red, but perhaps no redder than after any other Browns loss.
He was obviously somber as he left the locker room and strode down the hallway at Heinz Field after a 30-9 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Browns had just lost their fifth consecutive game to fall to 2-8 — and 3-14 including the collapse at the end of last season. They are one of six teams with two victories, fewest in the league.
Back in Northeast Ohio, fans on Twitter wanted someone to pay during this week’s bye. Anyone. Everyone. A sacrificial lamb or three. Coach Mike Pettine, General Manager Ray Farmer and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil for starters. One disgusted supporter suggested firing Pettine and making 36-year-old quarterback Josh McCown the coach, an indication of just how hot emotions ran.
Instead, Haslam said he’s standing pat.
Asked if he was contemplating any change at the bye, Haslam said, “No, no change.”
Even as I tweeted those words, I could hear the howls from 125 miles away.
Already the laughingstock of the league, the Browns’ embarrassing play continued. Twelve penalties for 188 yards, tied for the second most in Browns’ history. A dropped touchdown pass by Travis Benjamin. A holding penalty on rookie offensive lineman Cameron Erving nullifying an Isaiah Crowell TD run. A fumble by quarterback Johnny Manziel when he lost his grip on the ball on his first pass. Coming away with no points after a first-and-goal at the 1.
There are plenty of reasons to fire someone. But now is not the time.
Interim coaches like Jim Shofner, who went 1-6 in replacing Bud Carson in 1990, and Terry Robiskie, 1-4 after Butch Davis’s panic attack in 2004, have shown that accomplishes nothing.
But a housecleaning at the end of the season looks likely, even if Manziel continues to improve.
Haslam pledged continuity on Aug. 1 and may find himself torn. He knows the franchise’s constant coaching changes and front office upheavals have forced the Browns to keep starting all over. Poor drafting has left the team bereft of talent. Since he officially took over in 2012, Haslam’s already fired a president, a CEO, two general managers and two coaches, one after one season.
Before the last two games, Haslam has had lengthy conversations on the field. On Sunday, it was with legendary hall of famer Jim Brown, seen pointing several times during their talk. At Cincinnati, Haslam spent 45 minutes with the injured McCown.
Not long after that Nov. 5 game at Paul Brown Stadium, Pettine said he and Haslam had a “good meeting,” their normal one scheduled for the middle of the year. They talked “by unit, by player,” going over the program from “A to Z.”
“Where we are right now isn’t good enough,” Pettine said Sunday. “We’re challenged as a staff to do a little soul-searching and come up with some answers and make sure that when we come out of this break, that we’re ready to go and ready to snap this streak.”
That made it sound as if Haslam gave him some sort of ultimatum.
For Pettine to save himself, he needs to stick with Manziel the rest of the season. He probably needs at least three more victories. Two in the division would give the Browns a 3-3 record in the AFC North, equaling their best in the expansion era (2002 and 2007). Pettine might be able to defend himself with that, even if the division is weaker than expected.
But a Marty Schottenheimer-like scenario could be brewing. After the 1988 season, Browns owner Art Modell reportedly wanted changes to the coaching staff, which may have included Schottenheimer’s younger brother Kurt, and the hiring of an offensive coordinator, a role the coach took on after Lindy Infante’s departure. The rift caused Marty Schottenheimer to resign rather than agree to Modell’s demands.
Pettine could find himself in the same situation with O’Neil, whom he considers like a brother, and other assistants. Would Pettine side with his coaches or save himself? I don’t know him well enough to guess. He might have had enough of the dysfunction, or he could believe he can win with more talent.
I see no way Farmer survives after the underperformance of his four first-round picks in the past two years and the team’s glaring lack of playmakers on both sides of the ball, especially at wide receiver. I don’t care if the Browns only have three picks next year, I don’t want Farmer running the draft room.
He might not be the only one in the personnel department to go, because the Browns clearly need a new philosophy and new scouting strategies. They also need a CEO.
Haslam did the right thing Sunday in saying there would be no knee-jerk reaction, no bye-week firings. There are no successors to Pettine or O’Neil waiting in the wings, anyway.
But until Haslam gets the right people in place, the right structure in his organization, the right culture in Berea, his goal of continuity may have to be filed away with his other good intentions.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.