Cleveland Browns - An Unstable Sports Franchise

Thoughts after the 2013 NFL season.

The number of Super Bowl appearances for the Browns: zero.

For the 2014 season, the Browns will have its 3rd head coach in 3 years.

Now compare Cleveland to two of the Browns' divisional opponents: the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Baltimore Ravens

The Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens in 1996. Over the past 18 Ravens seasons:

• 3 head coaches
• 2 Super Bowl appearances
• 2 Super Bowl wins

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seems like a fairly stable and successful organization.

• 3 head coaches since 1970 (44 seasons)
• 8 Super Bowl appearances
• 6 Super Bowl wins

Pitt and Balt

Since 1970 for the Steelers and Ravens combined:

• 62 total seasons
• 6 head coaches
• 10 Super Bowl appearances
• 8 Super Bowl wins

Average head coach lifespan: 10.3 years.

Cleveland v2.0

In the late 1990s, the NFL granted Cleveland a new Browns team which began play in 1999.

With the firing of Chud earlier this week, the Browns have already digested 7 head coaches in the past 15 seasons.

Average head coach lifespan since 1999: 2.1 years.

I think being unstable works for pro wrestling but not for pro football.

For the Browns since their return in 1999, it's been too many years now for this to be attributed to simply bad luck.

Jan 22, 2014 News

Browns hire a new head coach, the defensive coordinator from the Buffalo Bills. Will he last more than two years? Or even one year?

The Browns coordinators from this past season, Turner and Horton, have taken jobs elsewhere, so that's good news.

My 2014 pre-season rankings for the four teams in the AFC North:

1. Bengals
2. Steelers
3. Ravens
4. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. Browns

I think the battle for the division will between Cincy and Pitt, but I think the Bengals finish first again. Baltimore, not quite. Cleveland, way back.

But the 2011 49ers and the 2013 Chiefs surprised the league with new coaches and amazing turnarounds after dreadful previous seasons.

Feb 2014 Browns Changes

On Feb 11, 2014, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam fired CEO Joe Banner and GM Mike Lombardi, adding to the unstable tag that has been assigned to the Browns. It's bizarre, considering that when Haslam bought the Browns in the fall of 2012, Haslam discussed building a franchise for the long-term.

#browns - #nfl - #football - #sports - #blog_jr