Browns Banner and Lombardi are out

[Maynard]

Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi to leave Browns; Ray Farmer to be GM

In yet another completely believable move by the Browns organization, the team announced that team CEO Joe Banner is stepping down and that general manager Mike Lombardi has been fired after just one season.

In Lombardi's place, Ray Farmer, the team's assistant general manager, has been promoted to Lombardi's old spot.

"First of all, we wanted to capitalize on the knowledge, experience and character we're fortunate to have in Ray Farmer," owner Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. "Ray has a tremendous football IQ, he's compelling, and he understands the types of players we need to acquire and develop in order to win in Cleveland. He embraces his partnership with Mike Pettine, which is critical in helping build the right team. Ray will provide excellent leadership in our front office.

“We appreciate Joe's contributions to the Cleveland Browns, especially in helping us as new owners. He was committed to creating a successful organization and bringing in talented individuals. We thank him for his work and dedication. We wish him and his family the best ...

“We're also grateful for Mike Lombardi's efforts and commitment since rejoining our organization. He is an experienced and creative NFL executive with a unique ability to see the big picture. He has tremendous instincts and I know he'll be a valuable addition to any NFL organization. We simply wanted to give Ray this opportunity that he's earned. We wanted to move forward under his leadership and capabilities."

These latest moves come on the heels of the team deciding to fire coach Rob Chudzinski after just 16 games. That was followed by a debacle of a coaching search in which Josh McDaniels, Todd Bowles and Adam Gase all pulled their names out of consideration for the job. The team eventually hired Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine -- a man who wasn't considered a head-coaching candidate of any kind before the Browns made him one.

There also was optimism in Cleveland early in the season when the team got off to a 4-3 start and was tied for the AFC North lead. Yes, the team lost 10 of its last 11 games, but midway through the season, the front office said it was happy with the transition to Chudzinski.

But after quarterback Brian Hoyer got hurt, the Browns had to turn to Brandon Weeden -- a quarterback who was drafted two front offices ago -- and from there, the season caved in. Firing Chudzinski seemed like a ridiculous move, but now, it makes a little more sense. Because Haslam apparently was ready to hit the reset button ASAP.

"It is bittersweet leaving the Browns organization. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Jimmy Haslam and helping him set the infrastructure for this franchise," Banner said in a statement. "I am proud of the talented individuals we brought in to help lead this team and feel that the Cleveland Browns are in good hands moving forward.”

Farmer was up for the Dolphins general manager job, but last week, he opted to stay in Cleveland. Now, we know why.

"I think Cleveland is primed and I think we're in a position to redefine the history books,'' Farmer told cleveland.com last week. "I think change is on the horizon and I didn't want to miss what's going to happen in Cleveland ...'

"I didn't finish the process [in Miami]. I assume they would've given me the job. That's the way it was articulated to me. If I took the job, I would've reported directly to [Dolphins owner] Stephen Ross and it was a tremendous opportunity. It still is a dream of mine to become a general manager and run my own program and put together my own team, but it wasn't the right time for me.

A week later, it was the right time.

Said Haslam: "The purpose of these moves is to unify our team with one, unequivocal goal: Provide our fans with the winning organization they have long deserved.”

 

[Glenbino]

:lol4:

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[NAHSTE]

 

[Maynard]

i like the first line of the story
In yet another completely believable move by the Browns organization

its just insane how piss poor this team is and has been starting from the top down

 

[ryne candy]

How many resets till they have a winning season?

 

[MVPete]

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/

 

[Youk]

How many resets till they have a winning season?

How many refreshes until the Cleveland Browns post some real news?

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

You just can't make this shit up.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

You just can't make this shit up.

Makes you wonder if he knew this in advance and that's why he rebuffed Miami. Would be quite shitty of Haslam if he went to Banner, and said that his job depended on letting go of Lombardi for Farmer, and with Banner refusing, he just fired both.

 

[Maynard]

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/02/12/cleveland-browns-jimmy-haslam-fires-joe-banner/

The Cleveland Browns interviewed Ken Whisenhunt for their head-coaching job in each of the past two Januaries, first after he was fired as Arizona’s head coach, and last month when he was employed as San Diego’s offensive coordinator. When Whisenhunt entered the room this year for the interview, he was one of the hottest commodities on the head-coaching market, and the Browns were very interested in him.

Whisenhunt said, “Why didn’t you guys hire me last year?’’

The Browns’ CEO who was in both interviews, Joe Banner, told Whisenhunt he didn’t think the staff he was putting together at the time was “a championship coaching staff.”

Whisenhunt, one NFL source said, was peeved that a man who had never coached and who’d been involved in football mainly on the business side would sit in judgment of his potential coaches.

“Who are you to tell me what makes up a championship coaching staff?” Whisenhunt said, with an edge in his voice.

That scene, another source told The MMQB, illustrated a big reason why owner Jimmy Haslam made the bombshell announcement he made Tuesday, firing Banner and general manager Mike Lombardi after their first full seasons on the job. Haslam became dubious about Banner’s football acumen and during the coach-search process following the firing of rookie coach Rob Chudzinski saw what a potential roadblock to success Banner would be. Add in Banner’s brusque and sometimes confrontational style that rubbed many around the NFL the wrong way, and you’ve got a good read on why Haslam stunned the NFL with the late-morning announcement.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

 

[buckeye]

Finally... a good move is made. Now if they just follow our Mock draft here....

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[Maynard]

i think getting rid of both these guys is a good move. the 8 hour interviews have been a topic since Chip Kelly. its like to many chiefs running things.

sidenote...Flying J has 3 top execs who cut a deal. JH has always claimed he had no knowledge of the Flying J scam and no direct dealings with these top execs.

yesterday Jimmy said that something to the effect that having the top execs report directly to him is a dynamic he is used to having with Flying J....im sure the FBI was listening

 

[Youk]

yesterday Jimmy said that something to the effect that having the top execs report directly to him is a dynamic he is used to having with Flying J....im sure the FBI was listening

That's going to be the real interesting story coming up for the Browns this season. I do wonder how much of an effect that will have on the team going forward. Seems to be a real shame, since I thought Haslam would be the guy to finally turn the franchise around.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

That's going to be the real interesting story coming up for the Browns this season. I do wonder how much of an effect that will have on the team going forward. Seems to be a real shame, since I thought Haslam would be the guy to finally turn the franchise around.

And I thought the same, especially since he got Banner and Lombardi in on things. I have to wonder, if those two really were the problem, or if Haslam is expecting instant gratification a la Snyder.

Any reports of vanilla ice cream ending up at the office of either coordinator this year? Snyder did that twice with Mike Nolan.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

It gets better......

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam pulled off one of the most surprising NFL moves in quite a while on Tuesday, announcing that the team no longer needed the services of CEO Joe Banner and general manager Mike Lombardi -- both of whom had been in their respective jobs for about a year.

Naturally -- and deservedly so -- the Browns were blasted for their decisions to continue to hit the reset button on the franchise.

Now, however, here's another strange twist to the story.

According our old pal Mike Freeman at Bleacher Report, Haslam contacted Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells and, though a job offer never materialized, Haslam supposedly wanted Parcells to run the Browns organization.

Parcells said he talked with Haslam but told Freeman it was "only about how I believe organizations succeed and others fail."

Wrote Freeman: "I'm told Haslam saw Parcells as a way for the Browns to regain the credibility lost from the recent string of embarrassing moves the team has made. The problem with possibly pursuing Parcells is that he's 72 years old and clearly done with football. But it would have still been an interesting coup."

Parcells clearly is one of the smartest minds in NFL history, but his last stop in Miami didn't go well, and though the Saints thought about consulting with him a couple years ago after Bountygate, it appears that the chances of anybody hiring Parcells at this point -- or him wanting to be hired -- is rather slim.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...-wanted-bill-parcells-to-run-browns-franchise

 

[Maynard]

the way i heard that report was that jimmy only talked will parcells. im just assumed coaches, GM, execs and players all looked to each other for advice from time to time. not sure how this became a story.

what would be interesting is if parcells directly influenced jimmy to dump banner

 

[ThomasTomasz]

This is truly bizarre........just wow.

The Browns have been in the news a lot lately for the dysfunctional nature in which they've reorganized their coaching staff and front office over the last few weeks. It might've been worse than anyone ever knew.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer has a revealing piece Thursday (which is well worth your click and full read) in which she details how things went down in Cleveland, with the end result being the dismissal of Michael Lombardi and the "phasing out" of Joe Banner with the Browns.

In that profile is an interesting nugget about would-be candidate Josh McDaniels, who's still the offensive coordinator of the Patriots after withdrawing from the candidacy. Cabot reports that "within about 24 hours" of withdrawing, McDaniels called the Browns and tried to get back in the coaching search before they ultimately ended up hiring Mike Pettine.

Unsurprisingly, it was Lombardi who pushed for McDaniels as a head coach, believing he could succeed in his second stop much like Bill Belichick. (Who, ironically, was fired from the Browns in his first stop as a head coach.)

Cabot reports, despite the team's public statements to the contrary, that McDaniels could've been their last-minute "mystery candidate." According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, McDaniels was in the mix and was considered the Browns "last-resort, safety-net option."

The McDaniels issue created, Cabot reports, controversy between Lombardi and Banner. As did the candidacy of Greg Schiano, who received recommendations from Belichick for the Browns job.

According to multiple reports, Banner wasn't remotely thrilled about the possibility of hiring Schiano and his lack of interest in Schiano -- when his boss Haslam was clearly interested -- apparently created friction between those two men.

So, to sum up ... Banner and Lombardi were at significant odds with one another and, reportedly, Banner was ready to fire Lombardi. But Banner and Haslam were also at significant odds and Haslam was gearing up to fire Banner.

Ultimately Haslam simply cleaned house. There's nothing functional about it. The whole process was a pretty big embarrassment. It's entirely possible when the smoke clears that Cleveland will be in a better place. It just might be a while before the smoke gets out of the way.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...s-tried-to-get-back-in-browns-coaching-search

 

[Youk]

Even more interesting is the fact that the reports now say McDaniels declined a second interview in that same time period

A couple of intriguing reports emerged on Thursday regarding Josh McDaniels’ candidacy for the coaching job in Cleveland. And now there’s a third.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer got the ball rolling with a report that McDaniels was a candidate until the end, and that he wanted the job. We then reported that he was a safety-net candidate, and that the Browns didn’t necessarily want to hire him.

In response to those reports, he’s another key piece of information we’ve obtained from a source with knowledge of the situation — shortly before hiring Mike Pettine, the Browns made a formal request for permission with the Patriots to interview McDaniels a second time. And he declined.

On the surface, that cuts against the notion that he wanted the job. Unless, of course, McDaniels wanted a wink-nod commitment that he’d also be getting an offer.

Regardless, the Browns wanted to interview McDaniels a second time. For whatever reason(s), McDaniels wouldn’t do it.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...aniels-declined-second-interview-with-browns/

 

[Napt0wn_S1ayer]

:suicide: