Denver's busted Broncos reinforces wisdom of Cleveland Browns' restructured front office

[BernietheKid]

Denver's busted Broncos reinforces wisdom of Cleveland Browns' restructured front office

Published: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 7:28 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 08, 2010, 8:13 PM

Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer


Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer
The apparent improvement of the Cleveland Browns this season is a testament to the wisdom of a front office of shared responsibilities between (from left) team president Mike Holmgren, coach Eric Mangini and GM Tom Heckert, says Terry Pluto.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It happened again.
A team handed over the steering wheel of the franchise to a coach, and he crashed.

This time, it was Josh McDaniels, who was fired by Denver this week.
There will be much discussion about McDaniels, a Bill Belichick disciple, and how more of those guys fail than succeed after leaving New England. There also will be a very fair debate about hiring an 32-year-old to coach an NFL team.

But Denver's real problem was the business model: The Coach As King. McDaniels made the trades, orchestrated the draft and controlled the roster. A year ago, the Browns' Eric Mangini was in the same position as McDaniels. He was the Coach Who Does Too Much, which often produces the Coach Who Doesn't Do Anything Well.

McDaniels won his first six games in 2009. Since then the Broncos are 5-17, along with two years of poor trades and bad drafts. This is not to dismiss the former quarterback at Canton McKinley and John Carroll as someone who has no coaching future.

It's to insist that it was asking for a disaster to hire McDaniels to run the Broncos, just as it was a huge mistake for the Browns to set up Mangini as the ultimate power in 2009.

Perhaps the best move by Randy Lerner since taking over ownership of the Browns from his late father in 2002 is the hiring of Mike Holmgren as team president. Holmgren wisely imported Tom Heckert from Philadelphia as general manager.

Then Holmgren kept Mangini as coach, giving him a chance to work with a front office.
These three experienced football men are why the Browns have their best shot of success since they returned in 1999.

A smart coach knows he needs help

Consider what Denver CEO Joe Ellis said after McDaniels was fired: "It's very likely that the plan will not empower the next head coach with the kind of authority that Josh probably unfairly had put upon him."

Their plan is to first hire a general manager, then a coach.

It's believed that there are only six coaches who control their teams: Andy Reid (Eagles), Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Pete Carroll (Seahawks), Mike Shanahan (Redskins), Gary Kubiak (Texans) and Belichick with the Patriots.

Lewis could be out of a job after the season. Only Belichick and Reid have had sustained success, and they had real help. For years, Scott Pioli had a major influence in the Patriots' draft and personnel decisions. Reid relied on Heckert.

Yes, the coaches had enormous influence, but they also knew they needed help.

Mangini learned that lesson the hard way in 2009, when his draft was a major disappointment after he grabbed center Alex Mack in the first round. He tended to make trades with his former team, the New York Jets. The Browns hired George Kokinis as general manager, but that was after he was picked by Mangini -- and that relationship soon crashed.

Pittsburgh and Baltimore have dominated the AFC North this decade. The Ravens have a strong president in former Brown Ozzie Newsome, who hires the general manager and coach. It was only after Bill Cowher retired as Pittsburgh's coach in 2006 that Steeler fans discovered that General Manager Kevin Colbert means just as much to the team as the coach.

In Indianapolis, team president Bill Polian has kept the Colts in contention for more than decade.

Three heads, better than one

When it comes to the Browns, you can see the benefit of the alliance between Heckert, Holmgren and Mangini. This trio had a strong draft with Joe Haden, T.J. Ward and Colt McCoy in the first three rounds.

It's believed Heckert was sold on Haden, while Ward impressed Mangini. In the third round, Holmgren told his two football men that he wanted that McCoy kid from Texas. Yes, they missed when trading up for running back Montario Hardesty, who re-injured his knee.

But this draft appears to have produced at least three starters. They added Ben Watson, Scott Fujita, Peyton Hillis, Chris Gocong and Sheldon Brown in trades and free agency. Some -- such as Hillis -- were liked by Mangini, others by Heckert. Holmgren played his self-proclaimed role as "Big Boss and Chief Tiebreaker" as he helped his football men come to an agreement on drafts and trades.

Holmgren admits he doesn't understand everything done by Mangini and others who worked for Belichick. No doubt, some of Holmgren's ideas aren't the same as how Mangini views the game. Heckert is out of the Andy Reid school, slightly different than the backgrounds of Mangini and Holmgren.

But they seem to be able to work together, even if they don't have complete agreement on everything.

That's why it would be wise if Holmgren retains Mangini, who has learned to appreciate an active front office after his painful solo flight in 2009. Holmgren must see that many of Mangini's theories on discipline, defense and character do pay off. Both men have to know that Heckert has a real plan when it comes to player personnel.

So let's hope that Holmgren stays with Mangini, and the coach continues to work well with the front office.

That's really what it takes to build a strong organization, something that can finally transform the Browns into a playoff contender in the near future.

Denver's busted Broncos reinforces wisdom of Cleveland Browns' restructured front office: Terry Pluto | cleveland.com

[OzDawg]

It's believed Heckert was sold on Haden, while Ward impressed Mangini. In the third round, Holmgren told his two football men that he wanted that McCoy kid from Texas. Yes, they missed when trading up for running back Montario Hardesty, who re-injured his knee.

But this draft appears to have produced at least three starters. They added Ben Watson, Scott Fujita, Peyton Hillis, Chris Gocong and Sheldon Brown in trades and free agency. Some -- such as Hillis -- were liked by Mangini, others by Heckert. Holmgren played his self-proclaimed role as "Big Boss and Chief Tiebreaker" as he helped his football men come to an agreement on drafts and trades.

that miss isn't solid yet.. Hardesty got hurt...I'll reserve judgement till after he plays.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by OzDawg

It's believed Heckert was sold on Haden, while Ward impressed Mangini. In the third round, Holmgren told his two football men that he wanted that McCoy kid from Texas. Yes, they missed when trading up for running back Montario Hardesty, who re-injured his knee.

But this draft appears to have produced at least three starters. They added Ben Watson, Scott Fujita, Peyton Hillis, Chris Gocong and Sheldon Brown in trades and free agency. Some -- such as Hillis -- were liked by Mangini, others by Heckert. Holmgren played his self-proclaimed role as "Big Boss and Chief Tiebreaker" as he helped his football men come to an agreement on drafts and trades.

that miss isn't solid yet.. Hardesty got hurt...I'll reserve judgement till after he plays.

Good points Oz! Unless these guys were mic'd for sound - I don't believe Mangini wanted someone other than Haden where we picked. First, Mangini was Secondary Coach before a DC. Second, If anyone listened to Mangini describe Haden after the draft - it sounded like he thoroughly studied the guy. He even knew his dad was a pesonal trainer and you can archive some of the post draft videos/conference on clevelandbrowns.com. But he was talking about the desirable skillset, work ethic and character of Haden as well. A lot of the people that don't like Mangini like to bring up he was only interested in the draft picks that didn't turn out well. He's not the guy that brought the FA land mines such as Shaun Smith and Donte Stallworth as well as the oft-injureds creating even more holes where considerable monies had already been budgetted. The formula in mind seems consistent with what Mangini helped bring to NY: Corner(Darrelle Revis), Oline(Mangold & Ferguson) LB(David Harris), TE (Dustin Keller). Those are key guys in the core of young players the Jets rely on today.

BTW, here's some players that were added in 2009: Matt Roth, Evan Moore, Marcus Benard, Reggie Hodges, Alex Mack, David Bowens, Kenyon Coleman, Derreck Robinson, Chansi Stuckey, Pork Chop Womack, Brian Schaefering, Blake Costanzo, Jason Trusnik, Eric Barton (not my favorite but he's starting because Jackson is hurt again). Considering Savage left us only 4 draft picks for 2009, we could have done a whole lot worse.

Did Mangini ever treat the NY media to a 45-3 loss? Come to think of it, did Cleveland play that same NE team this year when the Browns were just a weee bit healthier? They've already put the engagement ring on Rex Ryan after the final 2 opponents of the 09 regular season took a knee to give them wins #8 and #9. Not exactly an upgrade from the 2008 record of 9-7. Before the arrival of Santonio Holmes, they were exclusively Dustin Keller and RB position for big plays.

Keep in mind, as much as a NY Shakespeare ADORES the perfect Rex Ryan - I'm not even so sure he's BETTER than his brother. Hear me out. Just be cause Rex could call defenses as well as Marvin Lewis and Dick Nolan could when Ray Lewis was his MLB and Ed Reed was the designated playmaker - doesn't mean he could do the same without the star studded lineup. It's like Brian Billick calling offenses in Baltimore without the 5-7 Pro Bowl players. He just handed off to a 2000 yard rusher and had Shannon Sharpe bail out Dilfer when they had to throw. On top of that, the baltimore Defense allowed under 10 points a game while they usually score points themselves in the process.

Furthermore, even GOOD organizations make mistakes in the draft almost annually. There's gonna be some mistakes made along the way; so if we keep Mangini - the haters can continue to assign every one of them to Mangini. Practice makes perfect. I'm not in as big of a hurry to prematurely send Mangini packing to start over from scratch again. I've witnessed that shit for almost 20 straight years to believe in it any more than UFOs. Speaking of which, we once had a DC (Bob Slowik) that called his one of his pass defense schemes the UFO. Why? Because that's exactly what a forward pass looked like against the 20 yard cushions he wanted our corners to give opposing receivers. I wish I could say I was only kidding but unfortunately I can't. That's what happens when you change for the mere purpose of changing. It's been like swinging at a pinyatta with blindfolds on after several getting spun around several times. 1 more time and I almost have to begin questioning how much time I've wasted...
- Tom F.

[hiwaygal]

Great article!

I have to say I'm loving this "Power of Three" we have in Heckert, Holmgren, and Mangini.

The fact that they come from essentially three different coaching trees is a HUGE bonus in my mind. We wanted a dynasty. We wanted a unique BROWNS dynasty. And I think we are well on our way with this group.

THAT'S why I want Mangini to stay (we all know Holmgren and Heckert aren't going anywhere soon).

Another benefit is that Mangini and Heckert are so young. With Holmgren to pass on his knowledge and expertise, they will learn from him too. They are the future of the NFL.

We can't stop the momentum we have going now. I think we are going to see some "power shifts" in the NFL. Years of drafting last are starting to hurt teams like the Colts, Stoolers, and even the Patriots. Many of the star players are getting older and starting to slow down. They are lacking depth in critical areas (look at Peyton Mannings current struggles) and they have been so focused on one type of game that their lack of versatility is starting to show.

Right now, the Browns are young (for the most part - there's still some work to do). We have a wicked running game, and maybe will get a comparable passing game in the next season or two. And a couple of more drafts will continue to build depth and youth and strength.

God it's good to be a Browns fan right now!!!!

[Alo]

Yep, McDaniels' draft strategy is what sunk him. He didn't get good value in '09, and he made the mistake this year of drafting players who couldn't contribute right away (Tim Tebow, to a certain degree Demaryius Thomas).

Ironically, Mangini was fortunate to lose his personnel powers. Without the immediate rookie contributions from Haden, Ward, and McCoy, the Penguin probably would be spending his time looking for a DC job somewhere else.

[Danamal]

Establishing a front office with a solid business model for success is much more apt to bring a winner than the complete dismantling of the whole thing every two years,very few have ever made that work.
If after a season or two you see a coach who isn't up to par when you boot him your not losing as much because the plan is the same,it's just a different messenger,that's the big difference between sustained growth and the shit sandwich we have been watching since 99.

The Key to making this work is the right people and it seems that we have a good core.I like that they don't all see eye to eye on every decision and that they are OK with it,great things can come from civil debate but nothing can come from the clueless hire and fire model that has been a huge part of our suffering.
In conclusion quit bitching and enjoy what you see,the Browns are on the rise.

[Greythan]

Sorry Alo, but I have to disagree.

Expecting a 32 year old to have the wisdom and maturity required to have such consolidated power over an NFL franchise is what "did him in". There's a reason that it works with Belichick and Reid. Both are older, mature men with YEARS of experience.

The McDaniels thing was doomed from the start and I know I said as much. The decision makers in Denver are the ones who should be shot (yeah, I know, can't expect an owner to fire himself).

[Alo]

Originally Posted by Greythan

Sorry Alo, but I have to disagree.

Expecting a 32 year old to have the wisdom and maturity required to have such consolidated power over an NFL franchise is what "did him in". There's a reason that it works with Belichick and Reid. Both are older, mature men with YEARS of experience.

The McDaniels thing was doomed from the start and I know I said as much. The decision makers in Denver are the ones who should be shot (yeah, I know, can't expect an owner to fire himself).

I'm not sure we disagree all that much. His poor draft strategy was symptomatic of the consolidated power and overloaded responsibilities you mentioned.

Clearly, he wasn't prepared to handle coaching and personnel authority. And while he was a great offensive coach -- look at how he developed Kyle Orton -- his defense fell apart.

I don't think it's any coincidence that Mangini struck out with his 2nd round offensive players and McDaniels missed on his defensive guys like Robert Ayers. They were out of their element, especially when drafting guys outside of their defense/offense specialty.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Alo

Yep, McDaniels' draft strategy is what sunk him. He didn't get good value in '09, and he made the mistake this year of drafting players who couldn't contribute right away (Tim Tebow, to a certain degree Demaryius Thomas).

Ironically, Mangini was fortunate to lose his personnel powers. Without the immediate rookie contributions from Haden, Ward, and McCoy, the Penguin probably would be spending his time looking for a DC job somewhere else.

What specifically sucked about Mangini finding Reggie Hodges? Matt Roth? Evan Moore? Brian Schaefering? Marcus Benard? Abram Elam? David Bowens? Alex Mack? Pork Chop Womack? Blake Costanzo? Kenyon Coleman? Derreck Robinson? Chansi Stuckey? And there was an article stating that Mangini was the one that kept asking for Peyton Hillis in exchange for Quinn; but how convenient would that reality be? Before anyone laughs at the Elam mention take a look at his last 4 weeks when he hasn't been overtaxed by Eric Wright. He's geting us 1-2 turnovers a game and I call 4 weeks a trend.

Come to think of it - what sucked about him drafting Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold, David Harris, B'Brickashaw Ferguson, Dustin Keller, Alan Faneca, and Brett Favre for the Jets? Sound like the dumb personnel guy you and the NY media want to portray him as? I'm gonna disagree wholeheartedly.

You act as if coming to a team loaded with expensive FAs to shitcan after a 2008 draft that only netted 1 keeper was a wonderful situation. Then, he only inherited 4 FREAKIN draft picks for 2009 and I don't feel like sayin FREAKIN. 4 of those guys went through the NFL potty training in a 4-3 defensive scheme that Savage felt would be great 3-4 guys. Aside from that, Stallworth did his thing and created 1 more big hole to fill. Meanwhile Braylon Edwards was dreaming about life anywhere that didn't include Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn. Savage already soured Winslow on the thought of spending 1 more day in Cleveland.

How'd the Head Coach upgrade look on the NY sidelines Monday Night? I heard that looked like the most intelligent football team the NY media has ever had the priviledge of watching. And good for them...

[Greythan]

I'll switch to Alo's side now, Flugs.

I think what you'll hear Alo say isn't that Mangini is awful at talent evaluation but rather that he wasn't good at being President/GM/Head Coach all at once. I, for one, don't think Mangini was prepared for all that responsibility. Again, too young and consequently not enough experience/wisdom for that type of expanded, executive role.

I think the division of labor is key here. As the article stated, guys like Belichick and Reid who seem to do it well don't do it all themselves. They must become Head Coach and administrator. That's a tough gig for a young coach. I think its a tough gig for most coaches. More often than not, the consolidated power thing seems NOT to work.

So, and I think we all agree on this point, we're in a much better spot (I'd argue we're in the "cat bird's seat") with the trinity currently in place: seasoned, connected, wise President; experienced, great track record GM; and an intelligent, high potential Head Coach.

Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I feel better about this front office now more than at anytime post-expansion.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Greythan

I'll switch to Alo's side now, Flugs.

I think what you'll hear Alo say isn't that Mangini is awful at talent evaluation but rather that he wasn't good at being President/GM/Head Coach all at once. I, for one, don't think Mangini was prepared for all that responsibility. Again, too young and consequently not enough experience/wisdom for that type of expanded, executive role.

I think the division of labor is key here. As the article stated, guys like Belichick and Reid who seem to do it well don't do it all themselves. They must become Head Coach and administrator. That's a tough gig for a young coach. I think its a tough gig for most coaches. More often than not, the consolidated power thing seems NOT to work.

So, and I think we all agree on this point, we're in a much better spot (I'd argue we're in the "cat bird's seat") with the trinity currently in place: seasoned, connected, wise President; experienced, great track record GM; and an intelligent, high potential Head Coach.

Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I feel better about this front office now more than at anytime post-expansion.

You're misunderstanding my arguement and that's okay. I'll clarify so excuse the length some. It's important to understand where to place blame. First, I blame Savage for the personnel Mangini inherited here. Then, I blame the owner for lacking a structure above his new Head Coach.

I'm not saying I want ANY Head Coach to be a GM too nor have I ever said that. The reason I would NOT want that is if the Head Coach wasn't proving to be a good coach - you now how have a BIG conflict of interest directly under a novice NFL business owner in the same division with the Rooneys and Ozzie Newsome. It seemed like Lerner RACED to hire a new Head Coach so he only gave 1 guy 1 interview before "you're hired!" In the process, it sent the message to all that Lerner wasn't going to have a stable

Even Mike Holmgren actually found out he could not do both positions in Seattle. Once he stepped down from the GM side - he got that franchise to a Superbowl. Therefore, he sort of excused Mangini for the lack of organization Lerner had in tact making Holmgren necessary. The 4 game game winning streak with 9 new face in the offensive huddle plus plenty of new faces in the defensive huddle didn't hurt Mangini either.

My point about Mangini's personnel decisions was he actually did well even though got dealt the following deck of cards:
4 high paid dlinemen from 4-3 schemes to fit 2 gap schemes of a 3-4
Donte Stallworth's high priced hole
Dave Zastudil was the highest paid FA Punter only to make 3 consecutive IRs
Brodney Pool was always injured and now it seems like Jackson is injury prone
Antwaan Peek and Willie McGinest yielded to wear and tear
1 keeper from the 2008 draft
Only 4 draft picks scheduled for the 2009 draft
The QB choices were Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson
A Supervisor/Owner that knew more about his Pro Soccer team in England than how to compete with the Rooneys here.

THIS is where I argue on Mangini's behalf because the problem is NOT coexistence with Heckert or Holmgren. It's people looking at all the crud Savage left and giving Mangini 100% of the credit for that because it wasn't all completely purged/upgraded within 1 offseason. You can only do so much with 4 draft picks scheduled and just 1 remaining player from the 2008 draft. These were the 1st year transition pieces Mangini added: Reggie Hodges, Matt Roth, Evan Moore, Brian Schaefering, Marcus Benard, Abram Elam, David Bowens, Alex Mack, Pork Chop Womack, Blake Costanzo, Kenyon Coleman, Derreck Robinson, Chansi Stuckey, MoMass, Eric Barton, and Jason Trusnik. For the amount of holes and overpaid FA stiffs to get rid of - it wasn't a bad problem solve whether he was an experienced GM or just a Head Coach. Just being honest. Those are the names behind a 4-0 finish, which included the hated rival Pittsburgh in spite of the piss poor QBs on the roster.

I think SOME of this process people want to excuse Savage the SAME way nobody ever once held Carmen Policy accountable. Might I add that Eric Mangini didn't hire himself any more than Butch Davis hired himself? We're misplacing this frustration at the wrong person IMO; because there wasn't a structure in place for ANYONE. Consequently, everybody's favorite candidates like Cowher and Marty smiled and gave a courteous "no thanks!" THAT is why Holmgren is here more than Mangini being able to tell the difference between a stud and a dud. I think his ability to add Revis, Keller, Mangold, Ferguson, Harris, Faneca, and Favre proved he's a good guy to keep involved with personnel decisions. Having Heckert around helps this. That doesn't mean the additions of 2009 sucked. There's my entire arguement.

At this time, I'm THRILLED Mangini has Heckert to help him with the draft and Holmgren to offer a young Head Coach the voice of experience as his strength of finding/training good young QB prospects and being a consultant for the offensive side of the ball. It's great. I think everyone needs a knowledgeable Supervisor. We know the alternative.
- Tom F.

[Alo]

I give Mangini more credit for coaching up UDFAs and waiver-claim guys than seeing it as a sign that he's an exceptional talent evaluator. My understanding is that the scouting department digs deep for those draft prospects, not the coaches.

Before the draft, Mangini met with Mack, Veikune, and Maiava; Daboll personally worked out MoMass. I doubt Mangini watched tape of Jackson State and decided Benard was worth signing.

As I said, Mangini deserves credit for coaching them up and realizing they deserved to be active on gameday. But there's a reason Heckert was brought in; Mangini wasn't able to handle the Coach/GM job...and I suspect he wouldn't have been awesome in a pure GM role.