Went to a press conference today for the Browns. Randy Lerner as expected fired Romeo Crennel. Romeo and Phil Savage were tied at the hip. I did not expect Romeo to make it thourgh this ticking time bomb of a season. Savage was a slight surprise. I thought he may get demoted. Either way, seeing a new regime will please some of the fans who thought that this duo was far from dynamic.
My biggest gripe is with Lerner. This guy is so disconnected with the franchise that he thinks it’s okay to continue to have press conferences off camera. This is not your father’s era Randy. You can’t huddle a bunch of writers and tape recorders in a room and expect to receive good p-r. You just fired the two faces of your franchise and you decide that you’ll just have 30 members come up to a private office with no cameras because you don’t like being on camera. I get it. It’s his money, his team, yadda, yadda, yadda. I understand you’re not comfortable being on camera. TOUGH!!!! You are one of 32 people who are majority owners of an NFL franchise. You owe your devoted fans who buy your team’s merchandise, sell out your stadium, drink your overpriced beverages an explanation on camera about why you’re blowing up your toy yet again. YOU OWE THEM!!!!
This may not be your passion like it was your father’s, but I’m sure you enjoy the comfort that your father’s passion keeps you living in. You don’t believe 10 minutes on camera to tell the fans why you want to go another direction is justified? You don’t think they should hear (and see) you explain why they should keep believing in a franchise that has delivered 2 winning seasons in the 10 years that it’s been back on the lakefront. A franchise that has 1 playoff appearance in 10 seasons!?!?
Randy…Let me level with you. A change needed to be made with the organization. When you hire your next GM and in-turn your next head coach make it count. I know you won’t subject yourself to the public ridicle if you make the wrong decision, but the people of Cleveland deserve better than a reluctant owner AND a bad football team.
