Playing with Savages: What Is a GM to Do?

When Phil Savage came on board as the Cleveland Browns' GM in 2004, the entire Browns Nation let out a huge sigh of relief.  Phil Savage had been ordained the next great general manager in the National Football League.  What Theo Epstein was to Major League Baseball, Phil Savage was to the NFL.

There is no question Savage had been a slam dunk success in Baltimore.  Phil had taken a mediocre (at best) Browns expansion team in Baltimore and quickly turned the team into a force to be reckoned with.  The 2000 Ravens were not only Super Bowl champions, but also the stingiest defense in NFL history.

As successful as Baltimore had been for Phil, when the time came, Savage left for “browner” pastures, and everyone believed that Cleveland had stolen Baltimore’s golden boy. 

I think you can say that Savage has been a success in Cleveland.  He has brought talent to the Browns every season without fail.  In just the past few seasons he has added Braylon Edwards, Joe Thomas, Brady Quinn, Donte' Stallworth, and Shaun Rogers, and the list goes on.  The question is what will our savior do now?

Romeo Crennel may not be the answer.  Derek Anderson is a huge question mark.  So where does that leave a GM when your team is 1-3, and you have the toughest schedule in the NFL over the next six weeks?  As much as it pains me to say it, he has no other choice but to let the season play out.  That’s right, I’m advocating Romeo finish out the year and see if he can redeem himself.

Does anyone know how many interim coaches have made the playoffs?  How many teams who have fired their coach prior to week eight have ever made the playoffs?  The answers are zero and zero. 

Now, it’s a given that when a coach is fired it becomes an automatic rebuilding year for the team.  The towel has been thrown in, the white flag is run up the flagpole, and the funeral dirges are played on Sunday afternoons.  But maybe there is a way Phil and Romeo can turn this thing around.

His name is Brady Quinn.  The fans are screaming for him.  The team knows he is the future of the organization.  Let’s face it, he’s the most recognizable player on the team and he doesn’t even play on Sunday.  Signs and posters fill the stadium cheering him on.  Yet his role is nothing more than a clipboard holder.

Brady would be an instant injection of adrenaline into a team that is slowly heading toward life support.  The fact of the matter is even if Quinn fails, it will be somewhat acceptable because he will be starting his first games.  We don’t expect him to come in and look like Tom Brady from the first pass, but we do expect him to be a confident leader for years to come.  And he is capable of doing that.

So Phil, don’t throw in the towel, let Romeo hold onto the reigns for the rest of the year, but please, gives Browns Nation some hope.  Give us a glimpse of the future of Cleveland Browns football.  Give us Brady Quinn.