Its pretty simple — one has to go!
According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the Browns are a mess, with both the coach and GM likely to be out. What we know is that both will not return.
The result?
Per Rapoport, it is “unfathomable” to think both Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer will be back together next year.
At this point, it’s obvious. The Browns are again broken and while many times the smartest football people will advocate for patience — look at the rise of the Panthers, Bengals, Texans and even Jaguars — the Browns are continuously trying to operate through a smog.
If there is this much pent up anger between both sides, it would be almost impossible to reach a consensus and with a draft right around the corner, the time should be now to make a move. This team almost had another two first-round picks, but could still very well end up with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft. These are crucial, irreversible decisions that will impact the franchise for decades.
Nobody is without fault here. On the field, Pettine’s teams have lost 15 of their last 17 games. His on-field decisions have been puzzling at times and the hard-nosed, defensive mentality he promised the fans of Cleveland has yet to arrive. A rotating cast of promising power backs have come and gone, many of whom are backing up on other teams at the moment. Farmer signed the draft card on Justin Gilbert. At the the moment, he appears to have blown two consecutive drafts with two first-round picks, an unbelievable opportunity for a general manager to turn around the fate of the franchise. Instead of having Khalil Mack or Derek Carr or Sammy Watkins or Odell Beckham or, really, anyone from the first round of that loaded draft, the Browns have very little.
I mean the idea that the Browns could have Derek Carr throwing the ball, with Sammy Watkins or Odell Beckham Jr. in the fold is unimaginable, and the main reason Ray Farmer has to go first.
