Tony Grossi Gets First “Interview” With Phil Savage
Tony Grossi was apologizing for not getting more out of Phil Savage when he talked to him this week at the Super Bowl media center. While Savage put a lot of “no comment” type answers together in a row, I did find this one quote to be a bit of a gem.
Me: “You had to be surprised at how abruptly it ended for you.”
Savage: ”Nothing surprises anybody in this league. I think I was more surprised that we trade for Shaun Rogers, he has the year that he had and we go 4-12. That’s more surprising to me.”
I am just guessing here. I don’t know what Phil Savage was really saying with this, but let me give it a shot just for kicks. I think what savage was saying here was this.
Look, I did my job. I acquired talent. I put good players on the field. How is it that that team I put together only had four wins? I kicked Romeo’s offensive coordinator out the door and brought someone else in. I gave him two options at quarterback. I drafted and signed the left side of the offensive line one year. I gave him a world-beater nose tackle the next year. Am I surprised? Yeah. I am surprised.
Of course, that’s just my take on it. He might not have meant that at all.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I think that’s accurate, and I’m probably one of the only people who thinks Savage actually did a pretty good job. His task was to put together solid defensive players to fit into a scheme by a defensive-minded coach, and a great offense on the other side with a coordinator to run it.
All in all, he did a decent job. It’s Romeo’s absolutely horrendous coaching that had been a major problem the whole time.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
He also hired the coach, and gave him an extension for no reason.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I think keeping Savage (who finds a new coach) and signing a PR guy would have been the right way to go. But that’s irrelevant now.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
He didn’t hire Romeo though if I remember correctly. Yes he was technically “hired” first, but I think Lerner had to wait for the Patriots to be done with the playoffs first didn’t he? Savage got the short end of the stick, the only move he ever made that I completely disagreed with was Stallworth, other then that I thought he was the best hire the team had made since 99.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Yeah, I think that’s pretty much what Savage was saying. What more could the man do besides suit up and play? I agree with JackGonzo on the Stallworth thing. Other than that, I think Savage did a great job at doing his job (other than the whole email debacle). Orginizing a team that could contend. Coaching was the failure in the ‘08 campaign. Injuries didn’t help either.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Craig, I think you hit the nail on the head with your comment…
I think Savage would have gotten a second chance with a new coach had he not been such a jerk and handled the email and K2 situation better. I think it became clear that Lerner didn’t “like” him, and that is why he got fired.
I also like the talent he brought in…not a fan of all the traded draft picks, but oh well. Fraley was a good (and underrated) move…Even tho i’m not a DA fan, locking him up for a reasonable salary was a good move. Obviously Big Baby was a great pickup.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Everyone is letting Savage off the hook, when that is not the case. He gave himself and romeo huge contracts. He traded away our drafts (this year at least he left us with some first day picks). He gave players some ridiculous contracts (Stallworth, Rogers, DA to name a few). Maybe he did gather more talent, but the GM is s’posed to make a team. I dont see anyone complaining about Mr ferry not getting the best ‘talent’ with Wally. The point of a GM is to make a team. Talent will lose to a solid team 9 out of 10 times. I know you could argue that it is coaching this and coaching that, but i see a lot of our assistants getting hired elsewhere. I think RAC wasnt very good, but Savage has absolutely no professionalism. Look at the espn afc blog about terrelle smith. He seems to blame Savage for dysfunction, even though hes too good of a guy to come out and say it.
January 28th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Come on, people. Savage traded away ONE draft. And he got Quinn and Shaun Rogers for it. Tell me who in the first and third he would have gotten in 2008 that would have been better than those two…
January 28th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I’ll always be a Savage supporter. We are head and shoulders above where we used to be with talent. Romeo dropped the ball for him. I absolutely agree with Craig’s interpretation- I feel the same way as Phil does.
We’ll see what Mangini will be able to pull of with most of the talent that Phil left behind. Don’t be surprised if we’re a pretty good team next year. If that’s the case, Phil has to be vindicated here.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I think that interpretation is right too. I think it is a negative for savage. It shows that he wouldn’t work with the coaches. And Savage left us with less then our 7 picks in 3 straight years. 4 each of the last 2. I like the players he got for a few of those picks, but he made some very questionable moves in last years draft, which cost us even more picks. DP mentions Rogers, and i love that trade. But to turn around and give him FA money when he was under contract already, come one! one of the many blunders in money mismanagement under savage. I like the guy as a scout, but he is NOT a GM in the nfl until he finds out how to manage salaries. I stress that Savage brought in talent, but a TEAM will always beat TALENT.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Unconfirmed rumors state that Savage was on the outs following the K2 incident and that emailgate pretty much nailed the coffin shut. A lot of the discontent obviously stemmed from he and Romeo, which looks to have trickled down.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Interpretation is probably right, Craig. In terms of talent acquisition Savage did a fair-to-above average job, but he also created organizational dysfunction w/ his unscrupulous actions (see Kellon Winslow staph, F*** you email, LeCharles Bentley, and other indiscretions that we’ve discussed ad nauseam on WFNY) and I think getting rid of him was the right thing to do.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I just read Grossi’s “interview” and Savage was being cantankerous and evasive…don’t think his interpersonal skills were adequate for the job – he rubbed too many people the wrong way.
January 28th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
It appears that he didn’t gain any professionalism over the past month…
He can pick all the players in the world, but there’s a lot more to being a GM in the NFL.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Exactly Scott…a GM’s job is much more than acquiring talent. Savage still fails to realize that. He did get hosed by a coach who was inept, but he was still a bad GM. Savage should be a head scout, nothing more, nothing less
January 28th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
If the Browns had been coached well and played to their potential this year, Savage would not have been fired. And its hard not to give a coach an extension when he goes out, exceeds all expectations, and gets 10 wins. A 10 win season usually gets a coach like Romeo an extension. Obviously looking back it was a bad move, but at the time none of you were complaining about it. Savage will probably get another GM job and do alright for himself. Why should he have to talk to Grossi if he didn’t want to? He probably doesn’t have very many nice things to say about Lerner so its best that he doesn’t say them right now
Besides, is anyone convinced Kokonis will do better? He might, we have to see what he does before we judge him, but all the uncertainty facing the Browns right now can’t make anyone too happy
January 28th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I am pretty convinced from what ive seen that Kokinis will actually put a respectable team together. maybe not this year, but by next season i think we will have a stronger team then we have had.
And i get your point ricky about savage would probably be here if the season wasn’t bad, but so would RAC. I disagreed with a lot of the money savage through out at the time last year, more so to the players, and i dont think it was right still. And I don’t think Savage will be a GM in his next job unless that place is Detroit. Good talent, no team, and spent way too much money.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Who cares about Grossi? Pat McManamon owes the Browns an apology
January 28th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I give McManamon way more slack than I do the Browns front office… Browns can spin it 100 ways I won’t accept their rational for the layoffs… If they said they were firing them for low performance and will eventually look to replace them I’d buy that….
Savage upgraded the talent but I could have taken whomever was on top of Mel Kiper’s big board and done the same thing…. Saying you upgraded the Browns talent from the ‘05 team isn’t much to brag about
Savage… Go lick your wounds, change your diaper and learn how to communicate and maybe one day you can be GM someplace again. Until then, enjoy staying at the La Quinta, Comfort Inn and wherever else you get to stay on the college scouting trail…
January 29th, 2009 at 3:55 am
Hey Ezzie-
You are NOT the only one who thought Savage did a pretty good job. I am still pissed off at the Browns organization for canning Savage the way they did. He took over a franchise that didn’t have a single — not one — Pro Bowler in several YEARS and gave them six in one year. He gave them another one in Rogers. He left this team in far, far, FAR better shape than what it was when he got here. To put it simply, Savage has made George Kokinis’ job a lot easier than Butch Davis made Savage’s. There is a ton of talent on this team, something that was quite opposite in January of 2005 when Savage was hired.
The other thing that gets me are these fickle Browns fans who wanted to (insert crude act here) Savage last year and give him a “lifetime” contract and now act as though he was the reason everything went wrong this year. So heck yeah I hope that the way you put it in this post is the way Savage meant it, because that’s the truth. The Browns needed more talent. He got them plenty.
Savage did his job and did it well. His P.R. skills left something to be desired, to be sure, but they were things he could have learned from and actually used to become better as an executive.
The only way Kokinis can show that he’s better than Savage is if two of his first four first-round picks become Pro Bowlers. Not only that, but three of his free agent signings/trades have to become Pro Bowlers as well (DA, Cribbs, Rogers).
You’ll never value what we had with Savage until it’s gone, Browns fans. And it’s gone. Good luck, Mr. Kokinis. You have huge shoes to fill.
January 29th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I don’t remember being excited about Crennel’s extension. It was one winning season. I don’t think anyone was really excited about it.
January 29th, 2009 at 9:19 am
LOTD: Best Super Bowl Commercials Ever…
Today’s Link of the Day comes from Dallas Sports Fans where yesterday, Robert wrote about the best Super Bowl commercials ever. I also give you video of my person favorite ad, the Mean Joe Greene coke ad. Plus, lots of great links from around t…
January 29th, 2009 at 10:11 am
C’mon @Bobby#17 What exactly have you seen from Kokinis already that says he will put a respectable team on the field? He has held one press conference and didn’t really offer any evaluation of the browns players.
It’s a crap shoot with these guys. Fresh face, fresh name. Fresh ideas? We’ll see. Just as it was when Savage was hired, we hire a guy who we all think is the next great thing and 4-5 years from now we start over with the next up and comer.
I agree with some of the posts, Savage was not all bad…poor communication skills but a decent talent evaluator. I would have liked to see some stability in the front office and just replace RAC. Ozzie is still pushing the buttons in Balt while Randy has to take full responsibility for his team and put a structure in place that does not get turned over every 4-5 yrs.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
My support of Savage is that people who knock his drafts are leaving one piece of the equation out: coaching. Yes, Crennel did not deserve the extension. Savage biffed that one.
But to say his drafts were horrible… how about we get some guys in who can coach and develop young talent? Pittsburgh isn’t awesome ONLY because they draft well. They DEVELOP their young players well, too. RAC’s staff was abysmal at that. Prime example is Wimbley: dude was great his first year, but had no help in getting better in subsequent years. Consequence? Once teams identified him as a player and started scheming against him, he hasn’t been able to make the necessary adjustments. That’s not ALL Wimbley’s fault, and certainly isn’t all Savage’s fault.