Cleveland Browns' Problems Start at the Top

Obviously, the Browns face an off season full of changes.

The hiring of Mangini may, or may not, be a positive. Only time will tell. However, not hiring a GM in a timely fashion may very well be a terrible decision. The Browns are full of roster changes waiting to happen with no one to pull the trigger.

The one constant through this is Randy Lerner. I'm forced to believe that he may very well be the biggest problem in an organization full of problems. I do not believe that Lerner's knowledge of NFL football qualified him to hire Mangini. This doesn't mean that he'll regret it, but it does mean that an unqualified person made the decision.

Lerner has shown me that he makes a decision and then tries to rationalize it. He isn't honest with the fans in his reasoning.

A few days ago, Lerner was quoted in the Akron Beacon Journal as saying that the most important thing to him was to create an organization that has "checks and balances." There's nothing wrong with this aspiration but I don't believe Randy possessed that opinion until he had to rationalize the hiring of a coach before a GM.

Everyone knows that he went after Bill Cowher first. Had Cowher accepted the position, Lerner would have allowed him complete control; the opposite of his most important "checks and balances."

This shows me that I can't believe Lerner's sincere when speaking to the media. Perhaps he'll get a good GM and the team will turn around.

Still, if the team does get on track, I can't help but believe that it'll be in spite of Lerner not because of him.

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