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February 2, 2012
Mike Holmgren’s interactions with the media weren’t perfect this year. He left everyone with some audio that he could regret some day if he was the type of guy to ever truly regret anything. I don’t get that sense about him, but certain quotes about playoff tickets could haunt a less confident person. Anyone who knows me well knows that I dwell on things I’ve said that were far less important than that on much smaller stages for excruciating periods of time as if it would do me any good to second-guess the things that come off the top of my brain. In that respect, I am guessing Randy Lerner is a lot more like I am than he is like Mike Holmgren.
Randy Lerner has turned things around of late and is letting people inside the giant gates that he’s maintained around him since he was pushed into stewardship of the Browns. We learned from Vince Grzegorek’s amazing profile of Lerner in Cleveland Scene Magazine that Lerner prefers not to be called “owner” of the Browns. That isn’t the most important thing Lerner says in the must-read profile. It seems Randy Lerner can learn a very important lesson about the value of letting his guard down and speaking freely.
You see, if you never say anything, you will never say the wrong things, but you can also never say the right things. Sometimes what might feel like the wrong things at the time turn out to absolutely be the right things. I am talking about a quote at the end of the post. “We are working hard to turn around this f***ing nightmare.”
You know that this site absolutely does not dwell in profane language lightly, but this supersedes site guidelines. It is the most important thing Randy Lerner said in that profile. It takes what Mike Holmgren stated earlier in the year about the Browns not being “business as usual” and gives it evidence that Browns fans can chew on.
Before everyone got to know Lerner between his interview with Mike Trivisonno and this profile with Scene, it took a leap of faith to actually believe that things were different in Berea. We heard that Lerner was living in Cleveland and maintaining his offices in Browns headquarters with Holmgren, Heckert, Shurmur and the rest, but what did that mean? I was still of the opinion that Lerner had outsourced himself with the Mike Holmgren hire. I’ve been accused of being a Browns apologist and even I thought for sure that Lerner was just throwing his hands in the air and telling Mike Holmgren, “Here. You do it.”
I sit here today and think that I was totally wrong. Randy Lerner dropping an f-bomb isn’t anything really, but it is everything at the same time. It doesn’t mean he and this new version of the Browns accomplished anything yet. It does mean that this new version of the Browns is sincerely new, though. It is different than it was. Will it work? Who knows?
Just like you can’t say anything good when you don’t say anything at all, you can’t do anything good if you don’t try new things. It actually feels like the Browns are trying something new this time around. I see it now thanks to Randy Lerner stepping out from the shadows and proving that he is involved, engaged and invested enough to drop an f-bomb to a columnist about it.
Across the entire NFL, that isn’t business as usual. Has Goodell found out about the quote yet? Let’s top off this realization that things are different with a fine for the Browns owner. It can be another letter for him to put on his wall in his office in Berea.
20 Comments
Has the PD found their replacement for Tony Grossi?
Comment on Grossi situation?
I think it’s fine that Lerner is finally serving as a presence in the organization after shrinking away from almost every crisis that has preceded this season.
However, I just can’t take his words too seriously because his consistent failings as owner have created the “f****** nightmare” (I refer readers to the rankings WFNY/Cleveland.com posted earlier this week as exhibit A and B of Lerner’s failures). I didn’t see any acknowledgment of his own mistakes in the article, which was disappointing.
Unfortunately, the reality is that every move our franchise makes is now inflected with Lerner’s past failings (e.g. should we take Blackmon at #4 b/c the Mangini/Kokinis disaster left us totally devoid of receivers after the 2009 draft, etc). For me, it’s a question of whether we can recover from the epidemic of ineptitude that has defined the last 10 years, or whether Lerner has so failed in his stewardship of this organization that we are doomed to mediocrity.
I hope beyond hope that it is the former.
How does Grossi like that high school volleyball beat?
don’t have time today to read Craig or follow comments, just want to ask: given this headline, what’s the over/under on number of comments? If Craig’s writing about the Browns, you have to wait full 48 hours.
I say 123.
When you’re talking about your employees in such a way you’re really just saying what an absolute blind idiot you were for hiring those people and for keeping them as long as you did. I think he implies acknowledgement that he didn’t know how absolutely wrong things were until relatively recently and not because he realized it but because others revealed it to him. That’s enough admission of fault for me. The fact that he has come out like this is in itself an admission that what he has done for years has caused more harm than good.
That’s great. 2002 called and wants the last ten years back.
I suppose that makes sense as a sympathetic reading, Grif. And on that note, the piece does serve to humanize Lerner, which at least makes the canvas a little less blank for us all to project onto. For instance, I had no idea he worked as a benefactor for the military, and am also pleased to know that he is supporting the troops while opposing US imperial policies.
Seems like a bright guy, but unfortunately still pathetic and irrelevant in the context of running the Browns until proven otherwise.
I don’t understand why Randy is so reluctant to talk to the
media. In the few interviews I’ve read (or listened to) he comes across as forthright
and sincere. I guess I am starting to like Randy the person. Randy the owner – not so sure, but I am rooting for him. As alluded to in the Vince G. article, maybe now that Randy’s done
a few interviews he will realize the benefit of being at least somewhat accessible
to the media.
I think you are graded by one thing and one thing only and this is production. Randy Lerner in his era has basically produced nothing. No superstars no winners no anything. People could care less if Randy Lerner was quiet or loud just produce some results and be good at what you do. This franchise has been so grossly mismanaged there is nothing to really talk about. The fact is that Randy Lerner is terrible at what he does. This is not going to change tomorrow or in a week. He has had 10 years to show anything. Now he gave over control to someone that made even a more ridiculous hire than mangini. Like Shurmur had any business getting this job. Mangini deserves the job more than shurmur and I thought Mangini wasn’t great but not the worst coach we have had.
im going way under 123, article too hard to read.
im going way under 123, article too hard to read.
The interview portrays him as a mensch, which is fine and good if that’s what people are worried about. Oh great, he likes blues and has 4 tats. I could not care any less. Since he views his main duty as putting the right people in place and supporting them (which is great, no one needs an owner deluded enough to think they know football and nosing into the draft decisions), my only concern is how’s he doing with that?
Plenty of people proclaimed Policy just the right expert, Butchie the man, etc. The article doesn’t reveal how Lerner’s decision making process or oversight ability has changed at all. If Holmgren is the guy, could be that Lerner got lucky this time and still would have no clue if Holmgren could benefit from some heat from the top. What I see since ’99 is that the Lerners mostly just look for the biggest or hottest name they can and throw them the keys, with no underlying philosophy of their own to guide the organization. We’ll see what happens this time.
LOL, Lerner knew somebody was gonna love that f-bomb.
PS, I love this:
“You see, if you never say anything, you will never say the wrong things, but you can also never say the right things.”
I found your post entertaining, but I don’t believe even you are this cynical. Punchlines superseded your some of your actual thoughts, right?
I love it, some passion out of Berea finally!! Way more than we have seen over the years with the likes of Shurmur, Mangenius and Romeo…
Sorry Craig, this is a non-read to me. His statement, your speculation, it all means nothing. Hard to fill space on the Browns right now though, so I understand.
Possibly, but it certainly wasn’t intentional. What is it that I’m supposed to be moved by here?
Means nothing, Fog? You got to be kidding me…
Randy I had never spoken publicly about the state of the browns in ten years Lerner drops a F BOMB about the state of the current team and that does nothing for you?
Please explain how? I understand there is not much here, but i personally thought it was great to see some passion out of a guy who i was not sure if he was aware he was a owner of a NFL Franchise…
Thank you Craig for the article i enjoyed reading the it and appreciating the fact that our owner happens to feel the same we do as fans, very very upset
Proves nothing, but it is something. It is a clear and obvious departure from previous protocol. Doesn’t mean it proves anything, but you can not convince me it is idle chatter to fill pages prior to the Super Bowl. That, I don’t believe.
It’s like if the mayor cut the ribbon on a project. The project might eventually get de-funded or fail miserably, but for at least a second you have to recognize the chance that the project could be undertaken successfully. This is especially true if it is a brand new kind of project, which it certainly is just based on the level of Randy’s presence.
All those who ever said, “It starts at the top!” are going to get a chance to see what the Browns look like with the guy actually showing up to sit on top.
Again, it might stink, but we’ll have to wait and find out. This is new.