Cleveland Browns' Offseason Job No. 1: Stability at Quarterback

As Mike Holmgren took the stage today, reporters asked the question that is burning in everyone’s minds: What are you going to do about the head coaching position? 

The question they should have asked was: How are you going to fix the Cleveland mess at quarterback?

I am not just talking about the ever-so-popular debate of Brady Quinn versus Derek Anderson.  I am talking about the position of quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, a position that has seen 13 different starting quarterbacks in 11 years, and produced only two winning seasons.   

Our starting quarterback position has been riddled with the likes of Ty Detmer, Tim Couch, “Stormin” Spergon Wynn, Doug Pederson, Kelly Holcomb, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey, and Bruce Gradkowski since our illustrious return to the NFL in 1999.

I don’t know about you, but that list makes me sick to my stomach.  I can’t believe that over the past 11 years of my life, the longest tenured quarterbacks the Browns have had are Tim Couch (59 starts) and Derek Anderson (34 starts).

It would benefit Mike Holmgren to take a look at that list as well. 

While other teams were winning Super Bowl Championships with franchise quarterbacks, the Cleveland Browns were spinning on a carousel of NFL castoffs and draft-day busts.

If you take a look at the Super Bowl Champions since the 1992 season (don’t ask why I picked that year it was random), only ONE team featured a starting quarterback that played less than four seasons with them.  That quarterback was Trent Dilfer of the Baltimore Ravens.  Even Brad Johnson quarterbacked Tampa Bay for four seasons in his time as their starting QB and won a Super Bowl.

Since every team’s goal is to win a Super Bowl, Holmgren needs to build our team in these teams' molds.  To win a championship in the NFL, you need a franchise quarterback.  Who that person is is Mike Holmgren’s job to figure out.

Now don’t get me wrong, the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns has never really featured the best the NFL had to offer.  I mean, we honor and praise a quarterback that barely had a career winning record in Bernie Kosar.

In fact, the only QB we had during the NFL era that was more than two games over .500, with more than 50 starts, was Frank Ryan from 1962-1968, and he was 52-22.  Other than him, we idolize such “winners” in the NFL era as Kosar (53-51) and Sipe (57-55).

These players provided some of the greatest moments that Browns’ fans hold dear to their hearts, but they were just average winners in the NFL.  This is why it is time to find that winner, the man who will lead us to the promise land.  Because let’s face it, without the winner, leader, the face of the franchise; our chances of winning the Super Bowl aren’t that great.

Where Holmgren will find this person is hard to imagine.  This best of this year’s draft class features Jimmy Clausen, Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow, Tony Pike, Colt McCoy, and potentially Ryan Mallet.  Clausen and Bradford are the only two sure to be chosen in the first round, and even they have their question marks.  Bradford has been injury prone and comes from a spread offense while Clausen lacks arm strength. 

The only person of interest, to me, out of that entire list is Ryan Mallet from Arkansas.  Nobody knows if he is coming out, but I’ve watched him throw the ball and he has pretty good decision making ability, he is accurate, and he has a cannon.  Is he the future leader Browns’ fans crave? I have no clue.

Time will only tell what is to come of the Browns' quarterback position.  Fans will take sides in the Quinn-Anderson debate, we will grasp at the hope of one of these unproven college quarterbacks to finally sure up our unstable leader of the offense, and we will even discuss the possibility of some free agent castoff from another team. 

In the end it is Holmgren’s job to solve this era of the “revolving door” at the quarterback position.  It should be his primary job to finally instill some sense of stability in the leader or our offense.  And maybe, just maybe the Browns will find constant success in the wins column.