May 20, 2013

Cabot: Tom Heckert “not optimistic” about surviving ownership change

October 16, 2012 by 42 Comments

With the introduction of Jimmy Haslam III as majority owner of the Cleveland Browns and subsequent retirment of Mike Holmgren as team president, it appears that general manager Tom Heckert feels that he will be the next man shown the door in Berea as the team prepares to build under the new regime.

Per The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot:

Multipile sources have confirmed that Joe Banner will be named Browns CEO. The time spent with Heckert when both men were in Philadelphia has been given mixed reviews, though the general manager believes that the two had a solid working relationship. Since being named general manager of the Browns, Heckert has been responsible for the drafting of cornerback Joe Haden, defensive tackle Phil Taylor and wide receiver Josh Gordon. He traded up to acquire running back Trent Richardson and used an acquired pick to select quarterback Brandon Weeden in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

The Browns have gone 10-28 since Holmgren arrived in Cleveland.

[Related: Peter King says Shurmur could be next Gary Kubiak]

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  • Pomp

    The one person I do want to stay…

  • mgbode

    as I have stated, I appreciate alot of the players that Heckert has brought in and I think his hiring is the biggest positive thing that Holmgren did.

    however, if Haslam/Banner are not 100% committed to Heckert, then he should be shown the door at the end of the season and replaced with those they trust.

  • NamedMyKidPrice

    I really like what the team has done as far as the draft goes. I like Weeden but I think if Heckert could have closed the deal to bring in RGIII it would have made him easier to keep. RGIII is a star and will be for years to come if he stays healthy. One thing Heckert did do to help the next person is give them all kinds of salary cap to work with to fill in some nice veterans around these young guys next year. I think he did great and would be happy if they keep him but if not he has made life a lot easier for the next guy.

  • Clown Baby

    I would hardly, at this point, consider the drafting of Taylor an accomplishment. Let’s also not forget that under Heckert’s watch the Browns traded up for Montario Hardesty, drafted Greg Little, drafted Owen Marecic in the 4th and failed to sign a veteran WR to mentor the young WR corps. I’m all for a new GM.

  • lunch

    Now who would be a good, or better choice to replace Tom Heckert if he leaves?
    I thought I read somewhere that Jimmy prefers stability within a football organization.
    //sigh

  • http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/ Scott @ WFNY

    At no point did I reference any pick as good. Just stating facts.

  • Clown Baby

    Fair enough, you did sandwich him in between two picks that are universally considered “hits” so it came across that way.

  • mgbode

    as we saw with Holmgren-Mangini, keeping the current guys does not necessarily lead to stability.

    he has to have guys he trusts. we don’t know for sure if he trusts Heckert, but I hope he makes his choice based on it.

  • lunch

    Agreed. From my perspective, it seems Heckert has done a good job as GM. I don’t see any reason why Heckert would be deamed untrustworthy in Jimmy’s eyes.

  • The_Real_Shamrock

    I love the smell of change in the morning! Fans of Cleveland sports should be more then used to this by now.

  • Gutz19

    Heckert should remain. He’s the only GM that has drafted well since “The return.” Why get rid of the man putting studs on the field?

  • dan

    Heckert hasn’t had any monumental busts and several of the players he’s drafted have been decent, but (a) none of his late round picks have made other teams go “how did we miss that guy?” and (b) I will never, ever forgive him for not getting RG3. Seriously, every time I see highlights for that team in Washington I groan and wonder how Holmgren and Heckert could have thought a franchise QB wasn’t worth the price.

  • Gutz19

    He also drafted Winn and Hughes…Sheard, Skrine, Schwartz…

  • Clown Baby

    For sure, so it’s at best been a mixed bag. That being the case, I don’t think he’s been so terrific that the new regime couldn’t find somebody as good or better. To me, Sheard hasn’t done anything spectacular to this point.

  • mgbode

    so, RGIII but no Richardson, Schwartz, next year’s 1st, and a few other picks.

    and again, they put in a bid. washington bid more. it was a blind auction. you try to get the guy at a price you want but to not overpay.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    a) I would put Billy Winn in that category, for sure.
    b) Give this one time… I have a bad feeling RG3 is going to spend a lot of his career on IR. I’m not sure his frame will handle year-after-year of NFL hits.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    I think you need to compare him to other GMs… every GM has draft misses on their record, and many of them have misses that are more egregious than Heckert’s. Maybe look at Ted Thompson of the Packers. Most of his good players are from the first two rounds of the draft and so far his first two picks for this year’s draft look like whiffs. DE Jerel Worthy – 8 tackles, 2 sacks in 6 games. LB Nick Perry – 13 tackles, 2 sacks in 6 games. We are getting the same production from Juqua Parker and LJ Fort.

  • Clown Baby

    That’s my point. He’s much like other GMs, unfortunately as Cleveland fans we are OVERJOYED with average and willing to settle for that. Maybe there is somebody better out there, or somebody that has a better working relationship with Banner. I’m not saying Tom is the worst GM, but to me he’s far from the best and it wouldn’t be the end of the world if the Browns went in another direction.
    I’m glad he’s hitting on these mid-late round picks, but let’s not forget that is his (and every other GM’s) job. Heckert’s body of work looks a lot better compared to Mangini’s but that may be because Mangini’s drafts were putrid.

  • Garry_Owen

    I would never, ever forgive him if he HAD gotten Griffin. It would take 5-6, maybe more, susbesquent PERFECT drafts to overcome the deficits that this would have caused.

  • Big Z

    I’ll give Tom this – compared to the Browns’ GMs over the last 12-13 years, he’s been great. Compared to the rest of the league, I’d say he’s pretty run-of-the-mill if not slightly sub-standard. Bye Tom, you’ll be somewhat missed. Please take Owen Marecic with you!

  • Vindictive_Pat

    Fair enough… I just don’t want to go back to the days of Savage and Butch Davis and every other real or defacto GM the Browns have had since 1999. If Joe Banner suggests a GM who trades away our talent and/or blows it in the draft room, and who puts a polished dog turd on the field every Sunday, I’m going to rake him over the coals on this web site thoroughly and consistently for not keeping Heckert.

    To semi-quote the Godfather in reference to firing Tom Heckert: “But I’m a superstitious man and if some unlucky accident should befall [our players], if [they] should get shot in the head by a [rabid fan], or if [they] should hang [themselves] in a jail cell, or if [they are] struck by a bolt of lightening, then I’m going to blame some of the people in this room, and that I do not forgive.”

  • Garry_Owen

    Yeah, irrespective of what MKC is reporting, I’m guessing that Heckert’s lack of optimism is rooted more in his knowledge of how things really went between the two of them in Philly moreso than it has anything to do with Heckert’s performance or the conventional wisdom that new leadership brings in new people. There’s a story behind that that we’ll probably never know.

  • NamedMyKidPrice

    Not really because as you can see when they made the move several top FA WR and other top FA instantly signed with Washington. RGIII would have been great for this city and team. Its like saying you are glad the indians didnt have Griffey in his prime. RGIII is transcendent and a star who doesnt want that?

  • NamedMyKidPrice

    If you are afraid to draft someone because you think they may get hurt then you should just forfeit the draft. I understand you think his style of play is scary but he can play and play at a high level right now.

  • Natedawg86

    and James Harrison…cmon man we have to get guys like that (cribbs) out of ohio and sign them after draft

  • Natedawg86

    I have a feeling his shelf life is not going to be to long either. If Weeden performs well this year, it may be interesting to see who lasts longer

  • Garry_Owen

    I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think it’s necessarily accurate. FAs sign with teams for a wide variety of reasons. Some of those reasons might have been because they made the trade for Griffin, but there are certainly other factors. It’s nice to think that trading for Griffin would have been the elixir that brought great FAs to us, but I’m just not sure that you can bank of this. There would be plenty of other reasons for them not to come here, including the fact that it is a talent-poor roster to begin with and would likely remain so for quite a while as a result of the trade.
    Griffin’s “transcendency” cannot be divorced from the environment he is in, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it would exist here.

  • Garry_Owen

    I love watching him play, but he makes me nervous for the same reasons. He’s already taken what I consider to be a serious injury, and he’s not even halfway through his first season. I think he’ll learn to avoid some of those hits, but a lot of them are unavoidable when you play like he does. Weeden very well could play as long as he does.

  • MrCleaveland

    There was no reason for Heckert to say this to anyone. Why did he do it? This just about ensures that he will be gone. They can’t keep him now. He’s off the reservation.

    Whoever Heckert said that to either violated his trust by leaking this or did it at Heckert’s request because resistance is futile.

    He’s a fired man walking now.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    I wouldn’t be afraid to draft him, but it’s all part of the formula when calculating the price for moving up to get him. If you calculate you are going to get to have him healthy 80% of the time, does that not drop his value and what you’re willing to give up to get him? Before you answer, think about Mike Vick… I know they don’t have similar playing styles, but they have similar body types. To say that Vick’s teams haven’t had their Superbowl hopes crushed because of injuries to him wouldn’t be accurate… it should all be considered.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    Wow, to call him transcendent and a star after 6 games is going way too far. If he’s on the same track at the end of next season, then I will admit to him being a transcendent star.

  • BomberDawg

    Here’s a name we passed on: Clay Matthews, Jr. Thank goodness we don’t have a team where he is on the defense and RGIII is running the offense. We’d be like 1-5 or something.

  • BomberDawg

    P.S. Am I the only one that is kinda worried about this Joe Banner guy? I feel like everything Haslam has presented is top flight…except maybe this guy.

  • Vindictive_Pat

    I dunno, it’s pretty easy for him to deny as they didn’t identify the league source. It’s possible someone who has beef with Heckert (like Peyton Hills perhaps) threw out an erroneous statement to stir up trouble.

  • mgbode

    what if getting Griffey cost us Manny+Omar+Nagy?

  • mgbode

    also, RGIII trade agreed on mar.12th

    several top FA WR? you mean Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan? they overpaid both to get them to sign.

    other top FA? Neil Rackers? Goff? Meriweather? Tanard Jackson? Griffin? who was the other top FA they signed?

  • mgbode

    just checked to quell my curiosity. top3 WRs for Washington this year have been Fred Davis, Santana Moss, and Leonard Hankerson (Pierre has been hurt)

    Neil Rackers was cut.

    despite all their injuries, none of their defensive signees are considered starters. Cedric Griffin has 8 tackles. Noone else has any.

  • Garry_Owen

    This is why we keep you around – to bolster our bluster with cold, hard facts.

  • NoVaBrowns

    That was Kokinis/Mangini missing that pick.

  • NamedMyKidPrice

    I did that research myself after everyone was up in arms with my statement. Came to the same conclusion you did. I guess im the only person left that wishes we would have made that deal happen. Oh well. I still think In Weeden We Win!

  • mgbode

    you are not the only one. but, if you overstate it (saying the trade caused top FAs to go there), then you will be called out on it.

    and, I don’t know if it was wise or not at this point. RGIII has gotten hurt once already, Weeden has looked good after wk1, and we needed Richardson and Schwartz (along with whatever else we would have had to give up. a good chance we don’t risk drafting Gordon – or don’t even have that pick).

  • NamedMyKidPrice

    I did think about Gordon after the fact. I think he has potential to be real good. Im not down on the Browns at all. I just know how important it is to have a top tier QB on the roster and I thought they had a chance to go get one.