An Open Letter To Mike Holmgren: Please Don't Turn Your Back on Former Browns

Dear Mr. Holmgren,

Congratulations on your first year as team president of the Cleveland Browns.  I cannot begin to imagine the difficulties you encountered when you got there, nor would I ever want to assume the massive amount of responsibility you did when you first accepted this position.

I would like to also applaud what may have been a very tough, and not necessarily popular, decision to terminate the contract of Eric Mangini at the end of the season.  I myself must admit that, after the way last season ended and the surge that Cleveland showed midseason, I was not fully convinced that showing Mangini the door was the right thing to do. 

However, there were two things that ultimately swayed my opinion toward firing Mangini. 

The first was his team's performance during the latter half of the season, where they would finish 2-6 (including a four game losing streak that started with losses to Buffalo and Cincinnati).  Many of Mangini's supporters would argue that the inconsistency was due to lack of depth and injuries, but I do not agree.  I think that this was a team of role players and that no one player (Scott Fujita, D'Qwell Jackson) would have made an impact that changes the team's final record. 

I also understand that you and coach Mangini had philosophical differences on how the offense was run and as cliche as it sounds, I understand the need to be on the same page.

Good luck with your hiring of Pat Shurmur as new head coach.  I hope he makes you look like a front office genius, if for no other reason than it will give me something to cheer for on Sunday.

But more to the point: please do not turn your back on former Browns greats, such as Jim Brown and Bernie Kosar.  I understand the need to do things your own way, but I also believe that in order for the Browns to become a contender once again, they must get back to playing Cleveland Browns football. 

No one knows more about Cleveland Browns football than legends such as Jim Brown and Bernie Kosar, two of the more successful players in Cleveland Browns history.  I think that part of the reason the new version of the Browns weren't successful under Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark was that neither individual really understood this concept. 

Because they could talk all day about "getting back to a winning tradition in Cleveland," but when it came down to it, they had nothing to show for it. 

And it's nothing personal against you, but when Randy Lerner first began the general manager search that landed you, I was hoping he would hire someone such as Ozzie Newsome, not only because of what he has accomplished in Baltimore's front office, but also because, as one of the greatest tight ends in Cleveland history, he knows what it means to be a Brown.

I bring this issue up because I recently read an article in Cleveland.com that suggested Bernie Kosar was looking to return to the NFL, in a coaching role perhaps.  I myself think that Kosar would make a great coach, as I was even prepared to write an article on how Kosar could be a great mentor to rookie quarterback Colt McCoy. 

Cleveland does not seem to be among the choices for Kosar at the moment because, according to his words, you wanted him to be more involved as a spokesperson than actual day to day operations.  I would hope you might change your mind, because I think Bernie Kosar could be the right fit as the Browns' new quarterback coach.

At the end of the day, it is still your call and the Browns may be better off for it.  As I said, I would not want your job and your resume cannot be questioned.  But for what it's worth, I still say that it could only help the franchise by bringing a former great into the fold.

Respectfully,

Jarrod Argobright