By: Will Burge
What is it that people actually want? Do fans and residents of Cleveland want the world’s most expensive hug? Would the lack of victories be OK if fans had a warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing Mike Holmgren really loves you and your city?
The fact that Mike Holmgren went on a radio show in Seattle before he talked to anyone in Cleveland does not matter. I hate to break it to you, but in all reality that is what he SHOULD do.
Browns President Mike Holmgren
He has had a relationship with that host for more than 10 years and they did a show together. That is loyalty. There was no underlying shot at Cleveland, just a guy joining a friend on his radio show.
Holmgren made fun of the fact that people were miffed when he used the word “they” instead of “us” when talking about Browns’ fans. He is not a Browns fan. He is the President of the Cleveland Browns.
What is his job as the President of the Cleveland Browns? His job is to build a stable, winning franchise. That does not mean one good season. That means a team that competes for the playoffs year in and year out. That’s what he told you, the fan, through the media on Thursday.
His job is not to ensure you that he will be in Cleveland for 10 years and move his entire family here. His job is not to tell you that Cleveland in a great place to live. It IS a great place to live and you should not need anyone else to tell you that.
I, for one, don’t want Mike Holmgren to be here for 10 years. If he is here for 10 years than that means it has taken 10 years to get the culture, front office, and roster moving in the same winning direction.
I hope he is gone at the end of his five year contract. That would mean the Browns had made the playoffs for at least two seasons and maybe even three. I don’t need a big verbal hug. I need a victory on Sunday from the football team.
Mike Holmgren did not need to talk to the media on Thursday. The fans WANTED Mike Holmgren to talk to the media. There is a distinct difference.
The reality of the situation is that by talking during a tough time in the season it undermines Pat Shurmur. Whether you like Shurmur or not he is going to be here for a while, so why would his boss rip the power right out of his hands.
Holmgren was forced to talk today because of knee-jerk backlash and ridiculous expectations for the team, coach, and organization. Did anyone really think the Browns would be better than 2-3 at this point in the season? If so, how much better did you think they would be? Maybe 3-2?
This is a re-build. The first real re-build since the Browns have returned to the NFL. A re-build built on solid draft picks and not hastily throwing money at free agents just to help “see if a quarterback has what it takes.”
Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert are football minds, I’m pretty sure they can figure that part out.
This is a bottom line business and for years the bottom line was that people came to Cleveland to collect a check. Finally, there is a football “rock star” here giving the franchise some legitimacy. You may criticize Holmgren but that is what he is. Holmgren is a gridiron “rock star”.
Embrace the fact that the last two drafts have been eerily good. Embrace the fact that this organization has one of the best General Managers in the league, you know the guy no one EVER talks about, in Tom Heckert.
Fans have every right to be mad about losses. Fans have every right to be mad when the locker room closely resembles a Barnum & Bailey production. But try and keep everything in perspective.
Teams that lose always have drama. That’s why the Browns have always had drama.
This is a bottom line business and that bottom line will eventually decide whether or not this regime will be a success. Their success will not be measured by the way they addressed the Cleveland fan base or media.
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