Cleveland Browns fans were probably hopeful that Hue Jackson's installation as head coach would lead to a new era of Browns football. Unfortunately, the new Browns sound a little too much like the old Browns. According to a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, franchise owner Jimmy Haslam is at the Senior Bowl in Alabama this week, eyeing up potential future Browns prospects, part of Haslam's plan to take a more "hands-on" approach with the team going forward.
Haslam, of course, is the owner under whose rule a "toxic" culture has reportedly proliferated. Haslam has presided over an era of Browns football that has now seen five head coaches fired since 2007, three of which were dumped in the last four years. Pat Shurmur was dropped after 2012, when Haslam first bought the team. Rob Chudzinski, the first head coaching hire of the Haslam regime, lasted the 2013 season. And Mike Pettine was given two years and a boatload of underperforming draft picks with which to get the job done.
Haslam's time at the top of the Cleveland franchise has been marked by rumors not just of that "toxic" culture, but of his own penchant for meddling. Haslam reportedly wanted Johnny Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft and pushed former GM Ray Farmer to select him.
This isn't to say that Haslam's presence at the Senior Bowl is a sign of further frustrating and ultimately negative things to come for Browns fans. Cole suggests that Haslam traveled to Mobile in order to ensure that his new team, led by Jackson, is working cohesively.
But if there's one thing a man with millions of dollars at stake is generally bad at, it's keeping his nose out of big decisions. As the owner, Haslam holds ultimate say. But things in Cleveland won't start to improve unless and until that owner realizes he needs to hire top NFL people, let them do their job without injecting himself in the process and, for the love of god, give them time to get it right.
