From the Archives – Randy Lerner’s Ranking
Written By: Craig Lyndall | Category: Cleveland Browns | Comments: 15
During this slow month I thought it would be interesting to go back and see what we were reporting last year at this time. Of course, normally I was looking to report what kinds of mundane things we found to post about during this time period. Well, today I came across something that Rick wrote last year in response to a Yahoo! article concerning NFL owners and their rankings. Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports ranked Randy Lerner #20 and had the following to say.
Randy Lerner: Some people in Cleveland, noting the promise displayed by the organization last season (10-win season,) might argue that Lerner should be higher on this list. I would argue that Lerner probably isn’t one of those people. Chances are, he’ll read this and shrug. He seems far more concerned with Aston Villa, the soccer team he owns in the English Premier League, and the frequent trips to London that gig necessitates. Perhaps because his late father, Al, was such a prominent figure in Cleveland – or perhaps because it’s, you know, Cleveland – the younger Lerner doesn’t appear to share the same enthusiasm for the home of the Browns. Lerner recently hired former league employee Mike Keenan as president, finally filling the job that opened after John Collins lost out to general manager Phil Savage in a power struggle in 2005. He also refuted a rumor that he’s moving to London full time to be Villa’s CEO. In terms of NFL dealings, one owner says of Lerner, “He’s not very decisive. Whoever gets to him last has got him, and he leads the way in terms of manipulating the revenue-sharing agreement to his advantage. It’s very disappointing.”
Of course as we were all excited about the Browns, Rick stood and defended.
Does anyone in Cleveland feel slighted by Lerner’s ownership of Aston Villa? Lerner has made it known that he intends to let football people, namely Phil Savage, run the Browns. The one time that Lerner really needed to handle a situation was with the Collins/Savage situation, and let’s just say that Randy made the right decision there!
And I know it seems crazy to say after such a disappointing season, but I will still go out on a limb somewhat in defense of Randy Lerner. I know he hasn’t gotten all the decisions right, and even this Mangini / Kokinis partnership may not work. Still, I like the fact that he isn’t Dan Snyder, Jerry Jones, or Al Davis. And I know it is easy to lose patience every single year as the team continues to not find the magic combo of staff and front office types to capitalize on his willingly open checkbook. Even with the complete nightmare that last season turned out to be, I still don’t think Randy Lerner deserves to be considered that low on the list of NFL owners. I wonder where Silver would place Randy Lerner now, a year later after he willingly turned over his entire front office?
Given the turnover and the beginning of Mangini / Kokinis, where would you guys rank Randy Lerner today?
Author: CraigLyndall
Craig Lyndall has been writing about all the Cleveland sports teams at WaitingForNextYear since September 2008. When he isn't, you can find him selling insurance or playing music. Follow WFNYCraig on Twitter.Craig Lyndall has written 457 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
I think it’s pretty hard to rank him without seeing how the new management team pans out. His handling of the hiring situation didn’t seem very good, but if it works out I bet that everyone will be willing to move on past that fact. Maybe a cop-out but I’m withholding my judgement.
probably 25-28
I agree with #2.
#32.
Jerry Jones and Al Davis have won multiple Super Bowls, and Dan Snyder has competed. Cmon.
He hired Mangina on a whim and a fancy while nobody else even interviewed the man. He let Mangina hire his own personal GM.
I supported Randy Lerner and gave him every opportunity to right the ship after doing the right thing and finally firing Savage……..and he jumps at Mangini and Kokinis instead of building an NFL quality top down organization. He’s an abysmal failure.
Sorry….but his refusal to face the public and even introduce his new hirings is uncceptable and pathetic. There is a difference between a hands-off owner and an incompetent…..I hope you’ll eventually get that.
tell us how you really feel
As we speak, JUST received my Browns season ticket package in the mail. Not in a binder or anything professional as in the Cavs, but a manilla envelope.
Instead of the cover letter being written/signed by team management (ownership/GM) conveying committment to a winning season, etc…..the letter is written and signed by someone named John Schulze. Totally perfunctory letter, no committment to winning, mission statement, et al.
Doesn’t Randy Lerner oversee this type of thing as owner? Where is George Kokinis? Is there a George Kokinis, or is he just a 2 line AP presser? Has he been sited in Berea?
This all just goes to show that you have a much better chance of rooting for a first-class organization when the owner is self-made (Dan Gilbert) as opposed to merely an heir (Randy Lerner).
wait a SECOND! there are at LEAST 4 buildings in that picture!
(in these trying times, my last few posts have sadly regressed into comments about a silly song. …needs more of a winning attitude!)
Randy would probably rank about #7.
Right behind Malcom Glazer, George Gillet/TomHicks, Roman Abromovich, Peter Hill-Wood and Bill Kenwright.
@ #4 – “Dan Snyder has competed”
Offseason champs.
I get the impression that the Browns are better off because Randy isn’t very involved. Why does anyone think more involvement would be a good thing? What is the upside to more involvement by Lerner? As long as he signs the checks, he’s good with me.
the redskins compete. everyone knows they want to win
@david: everybody WANTS to win. oh, wait…except the Indians.
I’d say #30 – two spots higher than Peter King’s offseason rankings for the team itself.
He’s not involved in the team affairs enough to represent an invested owner (see: Dan Gilbert, Rooney’s, even Al Davis or Jerry Jones) and that creates a sense of malaise and inertia within the organization as far as results are concerned.
Not having your boss around to view your product first-hand means the prospect of continued failure is easy to continue. As long as a profit is being shown.
That’s where the Browns are. Too many times the big frustration fans and analysts point to is a failure to acknowledge that change is needed either mid-season or in the offseason. Even something silly like keeping Crennel around to the end of the season – what was the point in that? He continued to play vets hoping that could save him, no one got to see the younger talent (like an interim coach wuold have tried) and now Mangini is going to give it a shot and get a long leash accordingly thanks to the 3 fallback excueses in the NFL: luck (“sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way sometimes”), player development (“We’re working with a lot of young guys to build something long term”), system development (“we’re trying to build a system here that will succeed with the players we have”).
Who hasn’t seen those quotes in some way and thought it was bs? Welcome to the Browns 2009-2011.
@mendy
lols!