Mike Holmgren | WaitingForNextYear

Joe Banner sounds good but will have to prove it for Browns fans

May 24, 2013 by Craig Lyndall 14 Comments

Like him, trust him, or not, Joe Banner has said all the right things so far as CEO of the Cleveland Browns. His Q&A with Clark Judge of CBS yesterday was just more proof of Banner’s self-confidence and willingness to espouse the Cleveland Browns as a defining project in his career and life. I can remember a time when an interview like that would have had the Cleveland Browns fan base absolutely giddy. I don’t get the sense that Browns fans have that in them anymore.

Joe Banner’s even been perfect in not asking for the full faith and support of Cleveland Browns fans. He’s preferred to fill in any voids that used to be filled with pleas for patience with statements about accountability. That’s really the best answer anyway. Any fans who’ve put their “faith” in a football team in Cleveland since 1999 have been disappointed.

Plus, if we’ve learned nothing in Cleveland since 1999 it’s to put our sports and entertainment choices in proper perspective. This isn’t life, death, family, job or our deity of choice, so proof is far more valuable than faith. Where patience and faith used to go hand-in-hand for many Browns fans, if there’s any patience left it’s constantly being tamped down by paranoia and a now-raging demand for results. And Banner isn’t shying away from any of it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: browns, Clark Judge, Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, Mike Holmgren, Rob Chudzinski

WFNY Podcast – 2013-04-02 – Scott Raab talks Patton Oswalt, sports talk radio, Cavs and Tribe

April 2, 2013 by Craig Lyndall 1 Comment

Always a fun time talking to Scott Raab. You never quite know where the conversation is going to go. I especially love talking to him about his Esquire Q&As. This time we talked about his recently published one with Patton Oswalt. Then we talked a bit about Louis CK as well.

Sports talk radio
Mike Holmgren and his defensive rant
Colt McCoy and his concussion
The act of incompetence of putting him back in the game
Patton Oswalt in The Fan
Ratatouille vs. The Fan
Oswalt and his hunger and desire to be good
Louis CK and his thoughtfulness
Kevin Ware and his injury
Kim Jong Un
Cleveland Indians roster not inspiring confidence
Tony Grossi and accountability
Mark Shapiro and his break
Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers

Check out this episode [Read more...]

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: browns, Byron Scott, cavaliers, Kiley and Booms, mark shapiro, Mike Holmgren, Patton Oswalt, Scott Raab

NFL Rumor: Is Mike Holmgren heading to Oakland?

February 27, 2013 by Scott Leave a Comment

Though Mike Holmgren said that he would spend the immediate future in a state of retirement that included motorcycles and margaritas, it appears that the alleged quarterback guru could be heading to the Bay Area to enter into a leadership role with the Oakland Raiders.

ESPN’s John Clayton reports that the “former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach” has been in advanced talks with the Raiders front office. Clayton dubs Holgmren a “natural fit” in Oakland due to an existing relationship with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. Part of the job would reportedly be to lead the quest for a new stadium, conceivably one without a baseball diamond draped across the middle of it.

Holmgren, brought to Cleveland in December of 2009 under the guise of being a “serious, credible leader.” A quarterbacks coach and offensive mastermind with two Super Bowl appearances on his résumé, Holmgren was ushered out of Berea upon the sale of the Browns to Jimmy Haslam III. Three years later, the Browns enter the upcoming free agency and NFL Draft period with “quarterback” still listed as a team need.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Browns, Mike Holmgren, NFL News, NFL Rumor, Oakland Raiders

While We’re Waiting… Cavs’ Rising Stars, Ohio State Niners, and Mike Holmgren

February 2, 2013 by Kirk 5 Comments

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

WWW_CavsClock_Brown1

Leading off, Brendan Bowers at Stepien Rules takes a closer look at the four Rising Stars Cavaliers from their high school days, “He’s a long-term stock. That line describing Tristan Thompson, true back in 2010 as a member of Findlay Prep, is still true three years later. Thompson has provided plenty of reasons to be bullish moving forward this season specifically, too, as he continues to develop his game. He’s not a combo forward anymore, though, but has shown the ability to also play some five.” [Stepien Rules]

There are four San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s Super Bowl that played their college ball at Ohio State. Michael at Eleven Warriors goes down memory lane, “Donte Whitner, Alex Boone, Ted Ginn Jr., and Larry Grant are all part of the rich heritage of Ohio State football. Each player’s individual legacy is interwoven into the fabric of Ohio State football. Each is part of a larger, beautiful mosaic. In much the same way, a Geddy Lee bass line and a Neil Peart drum fill are both nice on their own, but together they form artistic brilliance.” [Eleven Warriors] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Kyrie Irving, LaQuinton Ross, Mike Holmgren, Ted Ginn Jr, Tristan Thompson

Is Derek Anderson joining the Browns to teach or start?

January 14, 2013 by Craig Lyndall 30 Comments

“Are you kidding me?” my wife said to me as we were driving to my parents’ house on Saturday afternoon when I informed her of the Derek Anderson back to Cleveland rumors.

My wife (as many of you already know) isn’t a Browns fan. Sometimes I run Browns things by her just to take the pulse of a non-Cleveland sports fan to see if I’m nuts. Yes, my wife is biased in a way where she wishes the Browns were a better team because it would make her life easier without so many miserable Sundays per year, but that’s where it begins and ends. She has no affinity for any of the players, really, even if she did fall in love with Ben Watson and his adorable family as they were featured on “Road Tested.” Trust me, even that was a tough sell because there’s so much harbored sports hatred for current and former Patriots even as Indianapolis’ rivalry with them kinda left town when they released Peyton Manning. Even all that said, my wife’s response to the Derek Anderson rumors just about sums it all up.

Werder: Mike Holmgren “willing” to coach again

January 1, 2013 by Craig Lyndall 7 Comments

Mike Holmgren stands to double up on salary over the next couple of years due to the fact that he’ll presumably still be cashing checks from someone associated with the Browns between outgoing owner Randy Lerner and new owner Jimmy Haslam. According to Ed Werder of ESPN, Holmgren might be looking for a musical chair on the NFL coaching carousel once the music stops.

Mike Holmgren told @edwerderespn he is willing to return to sidelines if some of the seven teams firing head coaches Monday have interest.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 1, 2013

And maybe he’ll take Tom Heckert with him. It’s been thought that Tom Heckert could end up wherever Andy Reid ends up, but if Mike Holmgren’s going to end up coaching again, maybe he’s a more natural travel-mate for Tom Heckert.

You have to think that Dallas will be on the list of teams even as Jason Garrett’s job was recently reported as being safe.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Adam Schefter, Browns, Ed Werder, ESPN, Mike Holmgren

WFNY Top 10 Cleveland Sports Stories of 2012: #1 Haslam and Banner Replace Lerner and Holmgren

January 1, 2013 by Craig Lyndall 6 Comments

2012 was one crazy year in the wild wacky world of Cleveland Sports. Some would tell you 2012 was as bad as it has ever been here. As the year comes to a close, like we have done the last four years, WFNY will take a look at what we view to be the 10 biggest sports stories affecting our local sports scene. Each day through the rest of the year, we will be counting down from ten to one.

Sometimes something so big happens that it renders almost all previous opinion and criticism useless. That’s the ultimate takeaway for me after watching the Browns get sold this year. I’d always targeted my Browns criticism and tried to figure out what I thought were the best possible solutions to fix the Browns with the assumption that Randy Lerner was going to sit at the top of the organizational chart. That was the crux of my position that Randy Lerner’s outsourcing of himself to Mike Holmgren was one of the best of all possible solutions. It just never occurred to me that Randy Lerner was actually going to sell the team. But he did. And this being a Browns town, this is obviously the biggest story of 2012 in Cleveland sports. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns, Top 10 Cleveland Sports Moments of 2012 Tagged With: Browns, Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, Mike Holmgren, Randy Lerner, Road Tested

Heckert on difference between Browns and Colts

December 31, 2012 by Craig Lyndall 15 Comments

Tom Heckert had a statement released by the Browns today, but he also spoke to WKNR’s Tony Grossi and gave this little nugget.

“The difference between us and the Colts is the Colts won the close games and we didn’t,” Heckert said. “We’ve proved we can play with anybody. I think the outlook is awesome.”

In many ways Heckert’s right, but if you look a little bit deeper and ask why the Browns didn’t win their close games you arrive at two things almost every time, in all likelihood.

1. Quarterback

2. Coaching

How much of those two things Tom Heckert had control over is anyone’s guess. Certainly Pat Shurmur was always mostly tied to Mike Holmgren who worked with Pat’s uncle Fritz. Additionally, it has always been speculated that Mike Holmgren was the driving force behind drafting Brandon Weeden. Even if Tom Heckert would have drafted Brandon Weeden, it is usually assumed that Holmgren drove the decision to do it with the second pick in the first round rather than waiting until the second round.

Maybe it’s one of those baseless assumptions and rumors, but it sure seemed that way with the press conferences after the draft.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: Andrew Luck, Brandon Weeden, Browns, Bruce Arians, Fritz Shurmur, Indianapolis Colts, Mike Holmgren, Pat Shurmur

WFNY Podcast – 2012-12-29 – Craig talks to Dave Bryan from SteelersDepot.com about the Steelers matchup on Sunday

December 28, 2012 by Craig Lyndall Leave a Comment

I didn’t quite know what to expect when I set about to talk to a Steelers blogger about the matchup this weekend between Thad Lewis’ Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. I ended up getting some really nice insight from a real pro who has vast knowledge of the league in general and the Steelers and AFC North in particular. He was quite objective as I think most at WFNY try to be with regard to the Browns. Although, I’m not sure that he and I will ever agree on James Harrison.

You can find Dave Bryan at SteelersDepot.com and on Twitter.

And I’m not sure if you want to listen to it due to topic, but Dave produces one of the best sounding and most professional podcasts I’ve heard. The Terrible Podcast.

Here’s what else we touched on:

Mike Tomlin and how reactionary some Steelers fans can be
Should the Browns put an asterisk next to the first victory over the Steelers?
Some Steelers fans think the team should lose this game for draft status.
Dave and Craig both hate the thought of losing games on purpose and think it’s stupid
Is James Harrison a head hunter? Craig thinks yes. Dave thinks no. Both try to make rational points about their opinions.
Who could be let go from the vaunted Steelers defense before next season?
Mike Tomlin’s questionable in-game decisions and how similar some of them sound to Pat Shurmur
The difference between winning and losing in the NFL
Trap games and whether they truly exist ina league with parity
Keys to the game and ultimately Dave’s prediction that the Steelers blow out Thad Lewis and the Browns
Craig not being able to disagree with that assessment, unfortunately.
Have the Browns packed it in with a lame duck head coach?
Should Pat Shumur have another year?

Listen at Stitcher

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Subscribe on iTunes

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Ahtyba Rubin, Ben Roethlisberger, Brandon Weeden, Browns, Mike Holmgren, phil taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers, Trent Richardson

Browns fans are very familiar with ugly season-ending games

December 26, 2012 by Craig Lyndall 14 Comments

So who is the backup for the backup?

As Scott told us today, Thad Lewis, recently called up from the practice squad, got the first team reps today in Berea. That’s right. Not Brandon Weeden with a bum shoulder. Not Colt McCoy, also with a bum shoulder. Thaddeus Lewis. Just a reminder, Lewis is a 25-year-old from Duke with a much-heralded arm and some decent athletic ability. He’s been with the Browns since Pat Shurmur arrived having originally been with the Rams via undrafted free agency in 2010.

Although not the exact same scenario, this reminded me of another season-ending game against Pittsburgh when the Browns had no healthy quarterbacks left and signed Bruce Gradkowski to play. Obviously this is a bit different because Thad Lewis has been with the Browns, played with them in pre-season and has been in practice all year. Regardless, let’s take a trip down memory lane and remember what that final day of the NFL season was like. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: browns, Bruce Gradkowski, Dave Zastudil, Donte Stallworth, Jimmy Haslam Joe Banner, Mike Holmgren, Pat Shurmur, Phil Savage, Pittsburgh Steelers, Romeo Crennel, Thaddeus Lewis, Tom Heckert

The Banner Takeover – Worrisome from the jump

December 19, 2012 by TD 21 Comments

Joe Banner’s presence is clearly already being felt in Berea. Nobody is safe.

I’ve been off the grid for a few days, tending to my real job (oh, if only I could be paid handsomely to work fulltime at WFNY!), but I have been monitoring things and as always, keeping my finger on the pulse of what is going on here in the wacky wide world of Cleveland Sports.

There’s never a dull moment in Berea. The uncertainty surrounding everyone from the GM to the janitors has everyone on edge. The fans are all excited about the Jimmy Haslam ownership era, but has some of the bloom come off the rose this quickly?

I was very disturbed to read that the Michael Lombardi rumors are becoming louder. Sure, you can say that it is Lombardi himself who is leaking these stories, but that really doesn’t matter at this juncture. I think we are seeing the start of something big. And by big, I am referring to CEO Joe Banner’s ego taking it all over. [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: browns, Joe Banner, Mike Holmgren, Mike Lombardi, Pat Shurmur, Tom Heckert

WFNY Roundtable: Talking Browns quarterbacks, coaching and the future

December 18, 2012 by Craig Lyndall 10 Comments

Jacob: (to Craig) Rescind all of my comments about Weeden from last week’s podcast. He was miserable yesterday. Ugh. Bring on the Alex Smith rumors!

Andrew: After both Jacob and Brendan’s comments on the pod, I’ve been thinking about this a lot. If Heckert goes and Shurmur is fired, there will be nobody in the front office or coaching staff with any allegiance to Weeden. Banner wouldn’t necessarily feel any obligation to stick with Weeden. If he feels Weeden isn’t good enough to be the future of the Browns, he might bring in a veteran like (Alex) Smith as a bridge to the next would-be savior of the Browns.

Craig: That’s what I’ve been feeling too Andrew. Plus, I truly think Weeden has Holmgren’s fingerprints all over him all “media spin” aside. The problem for Weeden is that he has a couple signature drives on the season and maybe a few signature plays, but he’s not put anywhere close to an entire game together I don’t think. Correct me if I’m wrong, of course. So if you have to play a 29-year-old rookie to see what you have, when he doesn’t show you anything, you’ve got a 30-year-old sophomore who has a short and dim looking future. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: Brandon Weeden, browns, Mike Holmgren, Pat Shurmur, Tom Heckert

Joe Thomas’ Peyton Hillis comments just felt like the truth

December 6, 2012 by Craig Lyndall 49 Comments

I was glancing through the headlines yesterday and today of all the places covering Joe Thomas’ comments on Peyton Hillis and something just didn’t sit right with me. ESPN said Joe Thomas “blasts” Peyton Hillis. Dawgs By Nature said that Thomas “Rips Into” Peyton Hillis. ESPN Cleveland said Thomas “tees off” on Peyton Hillis. This is not to criticize any of these outlets either as many of them (especially Dawgs by Nature) are great sources who do valuable work. Even when Scott headlined the news yesterday he used the word “venom” to describe Thomas’ comments. These comments could easily be viewed as venomous or cutting or blasting or ripping or any other adjective you might be able to think of, but they still didn’t feel like that to me. Something about Joe Thomas’ comments seemed too truthful and pure to be as salacious as any of those other words would describe.

It’s the source of the comments as much as anything. Joe Thomas doesn’t hop up and down angry ranting and raving about anything. In fact, he rarely speaks at all in front of the microphones. Thomas is quietly known for his leadership on the offensive line including under-reported stories of him hosting the unit at his house for cookouts and unofficial team-building. He’s also been known to do this very early on in the off-season to include undrafted free agents who are unlikely ever to make the team. The one thing that it seems everyone has gotten right in this story is that when Joe Thomas speaks it means something because he doesn’t flood the universe with quotes on a weekly basis. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: Browns, Joe Thomas, Mike Holmgren, Peyton Hillis, Tom Heckert

Joe Banner in Cleveland: When the circus leaves town

November 30, 2012 by Scott 27 Comments

The President gave way to the Chief Executive Officer. Similar to corporate structure, the CEO oversees the various presidents, focusing on collective vision while those beneath aim their arrows at the various moving targets which comprise the entire business. But in the case of the Cleveland Browns, a business where middle management had become all too prevalent, it was decided that the President should no longer preside.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: Clevleand Browns, Jimmy Haslam III, Joe Banner, Mike Holmgren

Moving Forward in Berea: Mike Holmgren, legacies and dirty water

November 27, 2012 by Craig Lyndall 41 Comments

In a lot of ways, I’m happy that Mike Holmgren’s services are no longer needed in Cleveland. Given the team’s record over the last three years, I welcome the opportunity to have someone else lead this team. Still, I’m a bit taken aback by some of the outbursts on Twitter and on local talk radio that look to cast Mike Holmgren as public enemy number one. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: browns, Eric Mangini, Jimmy Haslam III, Mike Holmgren, Randy Lerner, Scott Pioli

Mike Holmgren: My work aided in sale of team

November 26, 2012 by Scott 15 Comments

I came in wanting to change this, and make it successful, give the fans something they deserve. My thinking is, that you’ll see that in the next couple of years — that’s my feeling. I don’t think about legacy too much. In any job I’ve ever had, I’ve rolled up my sleeves and tried to do the best job I could do, be honest about it, and operate from a mutual respect and go. [...] I hired very good business people. I was very involved with budgets for the first time in my life, getting things in order so it was a profitable business. We never wanted to raise ticket prices. We got things in order, and I think we probably helped a little bit in the big business deal that took place.

– Retiring Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren in his exit interview with the local media, addressing why he feels the team is in better shape today than when he was hired almost three years ago. The Browns are 12-31 since his arrival. The “big business deal” being referenced is the majority sale of the Browns which was approved this past October.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: browns, Mike Holmgren

While We’re Waiting… Browns-Steelers renew rivalry

November 25, 2012 by Jacob Rosen Leave a Comment

Lots of advantages for the Browns in this detailed scouting report, with this being a solid final point: “Given the Steelers’ solid defense, there’s no way I can project some sort of a blowout. Yards will be tough to come by for Cleveland, but Pittsburgh’s struggles should set the offense up with some situations where they can manage a couple of field goals and a touchdown or two down the stretch. Many quarterbacks can rally a team from behind, but Batch isn’t one of them.” [Chris Pokorny/Dawgs By Nature] [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: BCS, Ben Roethlisberger, Big Ten, Brandon Weeden, browns, Charlie Batch, College football, Dick Jauron, Dick LeBeau, Jim Tressel, Jimmy Haslam, John Simon, Michigan Wolverines, Mike Holmgren, nfl, Ohio State Buckeyes, Pittsburgh Steelers

The sooner we get away from Shurmur and the Big Show, the Better

November 19, 2012 by TD 121 Comments

Can it get any worse here in Cleveland?

I was watching another vintage Pat Shurmur-led debacle in Dallas, and all I could do is sit back and laugh. Seriously, how can you even get yourself worked up over this stuff anymore? Every week the Browns hang around just long enough to keep you interested, then fall off a cliff in the end. Spare me the “at least we are competitive” bit. It’s really simple. As was said in the classic flick Top Gun: “There’s no points for second place.” Nobody cares if you are close. Moral victories are for losers.

And that is what Pat Shurmur’s team is. Sorry, that is the truth. It’s nice that Trent Richardson looks like a beast and that the young WR duo of Josh Gordon and Greg Little look like keepers. It’s nice that Joe Haden is a great corner back. It’s nice that the Ahtyba Rubin/Phil Taylor combo are loads in the middle of the D-line. It’s nice that D’Qwell Jackson is an All-Pro type middle linebacker. But none of it matters because the team doesn’t win.

Safe to say Haslam meant what he said regarding changes

November 12, 2012 by Craig Lyndall 16 Comments

Jimmy Haslam seemingly dissatisfied

Some may not like the fact that more change hasn’t occurred with the Browns since Jimmy Haslam took over, but Haslam did say he wasn’t going to change much before the end of the season. There’s obvious value in openness and honesty. When Jimmy Haslam said he wouldn’t make changes until the end of the year, many took a wait-and-see approach. Head coach Pat Shurmur’s continued situational struggles pushed the fan-base – and seemingly the owner – to their limits just to really test the new owner’s mettle. The “gotcha” TV shots of the owner scowling and convulsing in frustration were a strangely welcome sign to fans, but added velocity to the grumbling, fan-perpetuated rumor mill about interim coaches heading into the bye week. And here we are on Monday with the Browns presumably focused on preparing for the 4-5 Cowboys. Ironically enough, as Pat Shurmur remains, the only coaching rumors that are being propogated involve Mike Holmgren taking one last run at coaching with Jerry Jones’ money in his pockets.

Speaking of Holmgren, it is true that Haslam did bring in CEO Joe Banner before the end of the season, but at least on paper Holmgren wasn’t really fired, per se. He’s allegedly aiding in the transition of power between himself and Banner. No, I don’t really believe that either, but all things considered, Jimmy Haslam has mostly tried to keep things as they were for this season since taking ownership of the team. That meant no coaching changes and no changes with the GM. Despite the struggles of the team, I think Haslam’s handled everything pretty well so far in terms of inheriting a “de facto owner’s” regime. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Browns Tagged With: Browns, Butch Davis, Jimmy Haslam, Mike Holmgren, Pat Shurmur

NFL News: Mike Holmgren denies being linked to potential Cowboys job

November 12, 2012 by Scott 6 Comments

Letting the negative public relations last all of of one morning, Cleveland Browns retiring president Mike Holmgren says that he is upset at hearing his name being linked to “having interest” in a potential coaching job with the Dallas Cowboys.

“I don’t know how any of that stuff gets started,” said Holmgren, on Monday morning, in regard to a recent report by Jason LaCanfora. “I don’t know anything about it — you got it straight from the horse’s mouth. Or as some would say, ‘the horses ass’”

On Sunday evening, as the Cleveland Browns prepare to travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys, CBS Sports’ LaCanfora reported, via “sources close to Holmgren,” that, in the event there were a vacancy come the off-season, returning to the sidelines would interest him. Holmgren and Jones reportedly have ties dating back to the NFL’s competition committee, but by no means would this provide impetus to inquire about some else’s job.

“Jerry Jones and I, I consider him a friend,” Holmgren said. “We worked on the committees a long time together, but I wouldn’t do that.”

[The reported rumor] is everything I don’t believe in,” he said.

Holmgren, in making a special appearance at Pat Shurmur’s address with members of local media, stated that while he does not know what the future holds, his goal will be to help out in Berea when called upon as long as he feels that he is contributing in a positive manner. The future Hall of Fame head coach stated that the last time he spoke to anyone about his future was during his press conference which occurred in mid-October; he has not spoken to his agent Bob LaMonte in over one month.

“I was his first client and now I’m old news,” Holmgren said.

Filed Under: Headlines Tagged With: browns, Dallas Cowboys, Mike Holmgren