The Next Cleveland Browns Coach

I was asked by Rory from Bleacher Report to share my thoughts on new Cleveland Browns Coach Eric Mangini. Well, lets be honest, I don't known enough about the man and I believe we should not judge him until he has finished one full season as head coach of the Browns.

May I also say that the performance of the team does not rest on the coach alone, but on the teams' front office and the players themselves. The Cleveland Browns dismal performance this past season lies with the poor choices the front office made in the picking of its last coach and team members - it turned out to be horrid.

Watching them play was painful to say the least. But lets let last season rest, and go forward from here. Head Coach Eric Mangini must be very involved with the front office in picking its new players.

Truth is, most of the players from last season should be cut. They are for the most part damaged goods as is Romeo Crennel - he should have been let go after the second season. Research is key to picking players.

The front office needs to do its homework (dig really deep you guys) to find potential players - especially among the rookies. I would say to look backwards at a potential player, all the way back to his junior varsity days in high school, to potentially junior high school days to look not only at team stats, but the individual performance of the player himself.

What one needs to look for is consistency in delivery on the field, intellect, perseverance and of course performance. My bets are the top teams are already doing this - if the Browns have been, then they've obviously been doing a bad job at this.

We need players who are professional in their work habits, that means showing-up on the first day of training. It almost seems, especially with the previous head coach and players, that they were only showing up for their paycheck, and little else. Crennel didn't seem to have a lot of energy in his performance, making me feel he spent a great deal of time in his office, rather than on the practice field. Makes one wonder?

Cleveland Browns fans as are Cleveland fans of all professional sports have been uber patient to cheer on their teams. But there comes a point when if they know their team will consistently lose, why pay the big bucks for those season passes and the plethora of Browns gear and mementos - seems ridiculous, doesn't it? Don't get me wrong, I really am a big fan of the Cleveland Browns. Back in the late 1970's, KNBC TV asked me to do a voice over on a very snowy Cleveland Browns field.

Towards the end of the interview the KNBC TV news anchor made a very bad mistake in asking who I was rooting for? I didn't hesitate, I said the Cleveland Browns, of course. I could practically see the KNBC TV news and sports directors tearing their hair out in frustration - this was going out live on the KNBC TV station evening newscast.

While I'm sure Browns fans in California cheered and laughed, I'm sure many more Californians were dismayed. But hey, I'm a Clevelander and a Browns fan, what would you expect me to say? Look, the Browns fans deserve a front office that puts a lot more thought into their product, this is always important. But in a recession economy, it's crucial.

Disappoint the Cleveland fan one more season, and you'll see an increased number of Browns fans cheer for the Pittsburgh Steelers - hey, its happened! - Andrew Boggs, MALL727.net -