The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Football backgrounds benefit Jackson, Dorsey
Communication between the front office and coaching staff should be much smoother because new GM John Dorsey has plenty of experience in scouting. Plus, the Indians and free agency.
It seems easy, right? Hire a general manager who knows how to acquire football players, hire someone who knows how to coach players and then clear room in the front lobby to display the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The process can only work if the general manager and coach have the same vision, and then there are no guarantees. If they don’t have the same vision, there is no chance for success.
Clearly, former executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and head coach Hue Jackson had a different vision of building the Browns. That’s why “Former” might as well be Brown’s new first name. Brown was fired on Dec. 7.
Jackson and new general manager John Dorsey are just getting to know each other. They met for the first time on Dec. 7, the day Dorsey was hired.
Jackson has nothing but kind things to say about Brown, who never scouted a player in his life before Browns owner Jimmy Haslam gave the Harvard grad the task of running the football operation. Brown is a lawyer unwisely thrust by Haslam into a role Brown was illequipped to handle.
Dorsey, however, got his shoes dirty tracking college prospects during 26 years in scouting and personnel.
“I really appreciate what (Brown) tried to do here,” Jackson said. “This is just a different time, a different situation, with a guy who has a huge football background. Obviously, I’m going to feel more comfortable with that. That’s where I come from. That’s my world. That’s what I know, but I think it is unfair to compare the two.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had only seven losing seasons since 1972, largely because they have been basically the same team since Chuck Noll was named head coach in 1969. Noll, Bill Cowher, and now Mike Tomlin are the only head coaches the Steelers have had in 48 years. The Steelers have had three general managers in the last 46 years — Dick Haley (1971-1990), Tom Donahue (1991-1999) and Kevin Colbert since 2000.
When a Steelers player retires or is cut, in many instances a clone takes his place. That is what Jackson hopes to build with Dorsey.
“My conversations with John thus far have been — and what I feel most comfortable with — is that he said, ‘Hue, I’m interested in going to find the players that you feel that you need to win here at the Cleveland Browns,’” Jackson said. “To me, that’s a really important part of this … They have to fit the coaches’ talent and what the coaches on the staff’s talent is in order to bring winning to an organization.
“I think John truly gets that. That’s something we’ve talked about in detail and will continue to dive into because we have to have the right talent on our offensive football team, on our defensive football team and on our special teams that fit our coaches’ talent that give them the best chance to maximize the ability of our players.”
Dorsey, as the general manager in Kansas City, had a close working relationship with Chiefs coach Andy Reid before being fired under murky circumstances. He expects to work closely with Jackson.
“We don’t know each other very well, but we’ve begun to establish that relationship and I know just being around him briefly I’m excited,” Dorsey said. “Plus the people that I know and he knows, all of the people I talk to about Hue, they love Hue. They say, ‘You two guys are going to work wonderfully together.’ I’m excited about that. I can’t wait.”
• Columnists are digging in and taking sides on whether Haslam was right to fire Sashi Brown. I was in the “Fire Brown” camp two months before it happened.
It isn’t just that Brown traded the pick (second overall) the Eagles used to draft quarterback Carson Wentz in 2016 and then, not having learned his lesson, traded the pick (12th) overall the Texans used to draft Deshaun Watson in 2017.
None of the nine players acquired from the picks in the Wentz trade and subsequent trades are paying huge dividends. That group includes wide receivers Corey Coleman, Ricardo Louis and Jordan Payton, tackle Spencer Drango, safety David Kindred, quarterback Cody Kessler, right tackle Shon Coleman, quarterback DeShone Kizer and safety Jabrill Peppers.
One reason the Browns are last in the league in points scored is three of the four receivers Brown drafted in 2016 — Louis, Payton and Rashard Higgins — can’t catch the ball. Payton didn’t make the roster in 2017.
• Cutting underachieving wide receiver Kenny Britt the day after Brown was fired is a direct jab at Brown. Britt did not extend effort, but he is better than Sammie Coates or Bryce Treggs, who also play wide receiver. Still, this was a clear case of addition by subtraction.
Hot Stove League
The Indians will be on the prowl for power when baseball’s winter meetings start Dec. 11 in Orlando, Fla. They can solve the situation by re-signing free agents Carlos Santana and Jay Bruce, but that is easier said than done.
The Tribe set a club record by winning 102 games in the 2017 regular season, but being bounced by the Yankees in the ALDS left fans and the Indians feeling unsatisfied with the regular season results.
Free agency has moved slowly this offseason. That could benefit the Indians. Tribe president Chris Antonetti has been patient in the past and will be again this year. It would not be a surprise if the Indians are quiet at the winter meetings even as they look for power if Santana and Bruce sign elsewhere.
It was an under-the-radar transaction, but signing reliever Dan Otero to a two-year contract with a club option for 2020 was a smart move, especially considering the Tribe could lose Bryan Shaw and Joe Smith this year. Closer Cody Allen, reliever Zach McAllister and dynamic set-up man Andrew Miller will be free agents next winter without new contracts.
“We have tried to take a multiyear approach to team building,” Antonetti said recently. “Our 2018 roster isn’t a byproduct of the decisions we’ve made over the last 12 months or the last couple of months. We’ve been building this roster for the last few years. You can go back to the contract extensions we signed for Josh Tomlin, Carlos Carrasco, Michael Brantley, all of whom would have been free agents if we had not signed them when we did.
“We look forward not only to our 2018 team, but the teams beyond that. I think the hallmark of our team building efforts is that we’re not just focused on one year.”
The Indians could have spots to fill in the bullpen after next season, but starting pitchers Corey Kluber (2021), Trevor Bauer (2020), Carlos Carrasco (2020) and Danny Salazar (2020) are all under the club’s control for at least three more years.
The infielders, with the exception of Santana, are tied to the Indians through at least 2020 and the catchers through at least 2021.
Outfielders Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall will be free agents after 2018 without new contracts.
I didn’t know that
… until I read my Snapple bottle cap.
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