I'm on record as saying I believe it will be a huge mistake for Joe Banner and new Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to get rid of Tom Heckert. I believe he is an excellent General Manager, I believe he has an excellent eye for talent and I believe he's set this franchise on the proper course for maybe the first time since they've been back. His overhaul of the roster he inherited from Eric Mangini is probably one draft and offseason away from being complete, and there are few who can honestly say that this franchise isn't on the way up.
However I also stated when Jimmy Haslam took over that I understand if he wants to put his people in place. If a person spends a billion dollars on anything, they should have it they way they want. Heckert has not been perfect, I can't think of too many GM's that are. But he is the absolute best one the Browns have had since they've been back, by a LOT, and probably the best since Ernie Accorsi. Jimmy Haslam has all the respectability in the world right now with the fans of the Browns, it would be a shame to see that diminish in his first major decision as an owner.
I think the general consensus on the Browns is that they're moving forward. This long suffering fanbase, the best in the country, have been punching bags pretty much since the franchise returned in 1999. We suffered through Carmen Policy and Dwight Clark, Butch Davis and Pete Garcia, Phil Savage, and Eric Mangini while the team was owned by the Lerners, first Al, Art Modell's buddy, on who's plane the deal to move the Browns out of Cleveland in 95 was brokered. Following his death, his son, Randy was forced into ownership. He had no desire nor interest in owning the Browns, he was a soccer fan. He rarely spoke about the team, it's direction, and actually paid Mike Holmgren ten million dollars a year to act as the owner for him. Holmgen took Lerner's cash, kept a coach (Mangini) that had no future here for a season for absolutely no reason, hired his buddy's nephew, a guy that probably had no business being a head coach (Pat Shurmur), rarely spoke to the Cleveland media or it's fans but had a weekly call in show in Seattle, and is now publicly clamoring for a head coaching position for the Cowboys. If anyone outside of Cleveland wants to know why the Browns have been so bad over the past 13 years, there it is. For all his ineptitude though, it appears Holmgren found the right GM for this team in Tom Heckert. Heckert undertook the task of rebuilding the Browns, who at the time he was hired in 2010 had one of the oldest rosters in the league under Eric Mangini (who still went 5-11).
In 3 years he has transformed a roster devoid of talent as well as youth into a young, talented team. He has fortified the offensive line, which has long been a problem spot for the Browns. Their oldest starter is Joe Thomas, who is
Offensively at the skill positions, the Browns have their best playmaker in years in Trent Richardson. The supplemental pick of Josh Gordon looks like an absolute steal as he has been outstanding and is only getting better. Both of those offensive cornerstones are 21 years old. Greg Little looks to be a legit starting NFL wide receiver, he's in his second season. Rookies Travis Benjamin and Josh Cooper have shown flashes at times, as has second year tight end Jordan Cameron. And while the jury is still out on rookie Brandon Weeden, he has an NFL arm and is an upgrade over Colt McCoy.
We've examined the drafts of the guys before he got here right here,
and Heckert's draft history before this past draft here.
The results are starting to speak for themselves on the field, as the Browns have won 2 straight and 4 of their last 7. The team is not the less talented team on the field everyweek, like they have been for what seems like forever. They are young, talented, and winning. And their architect is Tom Heckert, who it appears won't be around to see the fruits of his labor. To me, that's sad, frustrating, maddening, and flat out wrong. Because the future seems bright finally.
This is a young team without too many glaring holes. They are growing together and gaining confidence. They could easily have 6 wins and be in the playoff conversation if not for some curious decisions by their head coach. The light on the horizon that Browns fans have been waiting to see is getting brighter and brighter. But all indications are that Joe Banner and Haslam want to go in a different direction, for whatever reason. I don't know much about Joe Banner and his role in Philadelphia, I do know that in the war room on draft day I'd much rather have Tom Heckert making the calls than Banner. And while I believe Heckert has made a strong case to remain with the Browns as GM, Banner has yet to give any positive signs about his future here. And in the past few weeks, the rumor mill has been churning regarding his possible replacement, Michael Lombardi.
Those rumors have exploded in the past week or so. And while Banner has said nothing either way, there appears to be too much smoke to not have a fire somewhere. And that rumor, true or not, has people in this town on edge.
I don't know anything about Michael Lombardi, except this
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=149&f=1547&t=10938553
and this
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2012/08/22/bill-belichick-had-an-erection-for-warren-sapp-in-1995-but-michael-lombardi-wouldnt-let-the-browns-draft-him/
and this
http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&action=blog&r=17&post_id=9031
and this from the OBR (small sample size but GEEZ)
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=149&f=1547&t=10971295
or this (BLAINE GABBERT IS THE BEST PLAYER IN THE DRAFT????????????????)
http://blogs.nfl.com/2011/03/08/lombardi-mock-draft-3-0-newton-to-bills/
Oh and this guy, also.
I also know he treated two of the Browns most popular players in Bernie Kosar and Kevin Mack like garbage, before releasing Kosar, with rumors that he selectively edited gamefilm to sell Modell on Kosar's "diminishing skills". I know he trashed the Browns for the Josh Gordon pick, and called the trade up for Richardson a panic move. He had Kyle Wilson rated higher than Joe Haden. Those are three of the Browns best players, cornerstones of this team, that Lombardi is on record as being critical of. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for his talent evaluation skills.
I know that he's been at NFL Network for a few years because no one, not even his pal Bill Belichick, thought highly enough of him to give him another job. And after his failures at his previous stops why would they? Going from Tom Heckert to Michael Lombardi would be yet another step back, and a major one in my opinion, when it looked like the Browns were moving forward.
But people like Jason La Canfora have the audacity to go on Cleveland radio and talk about how he thinks Lombardi is being personally attacked. It's not personal Jason, it's BASED IN FACT. First of all it's in Jason La Canfora's benefit to have a colleague in a position like Lombardi could be. That's how reporters gain a reputation, by breaking stories leaked to them by people inside NFL facilities. So there's that. Ok Jason, maybe Michael Lombardi is your friend and colleague and you want to defend him. But know who you're defending and to whom you're defending them. IF ANY FANS IN ANY NFL CITY KNOW BAD PERSONNEL PEOPLE IT'S CLEVELANDERS. HELL WE'VE LIVED THROUGH THEM FOR YEARS. WE'VE SEEN SOME OF THE WORST OF THE WORST. AND LOMBARDI WORKED HERE. AND HE WAS BAD. AND TONY GROSSI COVERED THE TEAM WHEN LOMBARDI WORKED HERE, AND HAS NO AGENDA AS FAR AS I CAN TELL. And I'm not a huge Tony Grossi fan, but the man knows what he's talking about in this case.
La Canfora can say what he wants but Lombardi's track record speaks for itself. And it might not even be Lombardi that fans are upset about. Fans are upset because when it finally looks like we have a good GM and talent evaluator who is building something promising, we're going to get rid of the guy. There wouldn't be this outrage if Heckert was doing a lousy job. Cleveland fans are upset because when the skies appear to be clearing, another storm looks to be rolling in. Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner are taking a huge risk with the fans in this town. Especially if the team continues to win this season, which we all hope. That's all we want. We want a winner. We want to see exciting football. We want our kids to understand why we love a team that has done nothing but crap on us since they left. We don't want to see this thing get blown up again. We don't want to go backwards, which appears where we're headed should Heckert not be retained.. If Haslam and Banner decide that Heckert isn't their guy, rest assured the honeymoon's over. The apathy in this town towards the Browns was heading towards levels that were unfathomable to anyone who knows what a great football city this is before Jimmy Haslam bought the team. He'd better hope his first major decision is the right one. And in this fan's mind, the right one is keeping Heckert and letting him finish what he started.
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