Howard Eskin of NBC 10 in Philadelphia (by way of Pro Football Talk) is reporting that Joe Banner will likely be part of the Haslam group that is negotiating with Randy Lerner to buy the Browns.
Banner was most recently the president of the Philadelphia Eagles. He was replaced in the role, but remained a “strategic advisor” to Eagles’ owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Banner spoke to Pro Football Talk last month about looking for a team to target.
Then again, Banner told PFT Live last month that he’s ideally looking for a place that needs a dramatic turnaround. And it’s not really a turnaround if new ownership turns around and keeps the current G.M. and head coach.
So, with that in mind, we’ll see how this shakes out for the Browns and Mike Holmgren. It might not mean a whole lot for Tom Heckert as he and Banner were together there for a while.
Again, as I’ve said previously, I hope it doesn’t mean a complete re-do of the team structure from the top down. If he plugs himself in as president and retains his GM and at least the style of football the Browns are running like the 4-3 defense, it won’t be so bad. Heaven help us all if we have to live through another defensive transition from the 4-3 to the 3-4 as we did when Romeo Crennel came in.
[Related: So Jimmy Haslam Could Invest in the Browns?]
