Paly33

December 29th, 2013 at 6:29 PM ^

They just don't want to buyout the remaining 12.5 million on his contract and pay another coach. I heard something last week and I don't recall where but they said we were the only organization to not have a profit last year.

Steve in PA

December 29th, 2013 at 8:41 PM ^

 

With revenue sharing and a salary cap that is very difficult to accomplish.  I remember an article about the Bengals a long time ago that said 77% of their revenues were from profit sharing in the league.  Luxury box revenue stays with the team that's why teams made the big push for new stadiums with luxury boxes.

rob f

December 29th, 2013 at 8:42 PM ^

would owe Schwartz $12.5 mil speaks of how screwed-up an ownership the Lions have.  Who the hell else would even consider agreeing to half that much of a buyout for an unproven coach such as Schwartz? 

Is it typical of NFL HC's to have that kind of contract leverage?

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2013 at 6:13 PM ^

This is absolutely stunning news.  The first I heard there was anything resembling unhappiness with Chud was a couple of days ago and it's escalated fast.  For a guy without a decent QB and having to play with his #1 RB traded I thought he did pretty good.  Even last year's draft we swapped picks with the Steelers of all teams to get additional picks in 2014 and gave up our 2013 selections.  So everything seem pointed at simply tanking this year to get the QB they wanted in the draft and between the rookie and Hoyer (who did pretty damn good in the 2.5 games he played) it seemed to me like they were simply executing a plan to give up on 13 to get ready for 14 in a big way.

I'm shocked.  I sure hope they've got somebody lined up and ready to sign whose a BIG step-up cause I'm baffled as to what they expected the guy to do with the hand he was dealt.

stephenrjking

December 29th, 2013 at 11:25 PM ^

So this really is as absurd as it sounds, and there isn't some secret bad information I've missed that makes this logical?

Because I spent most of the season admiring what a great job Chud was doing, how incredible it was that he was getting his players to play and compete in bad circumstances. The way they came out and beat the Vikings right after it appeared that management had given up on the season was astonishing.

And really, what could he do? When your best-case scenario for most of the year is Jason Campbell at QB, and he keeps getting hurt, how are you supposed to win?

I think this is a travesty. And Chud should get a good chance to coach somewhere that actually has sense. I just lost a whole lot of respect for Browns management. Like a Modell-level drop.

Yeoman

December 30th, 2013 at 1:00 AM ^

"right after it appeared that management had given up on the season"

I had a completely different reaction to the Richardson deal. It was the first really good sign in a long time--a clear indication that they were willing to honestly evaluate what they had instead of tying themselves up out of concern for sunk costs. As far as I'm concerned Richardson is a replacement-level NFL back, and nothing that happened at Indianapollis changed my mind. Getting anything for him at all was a bonus.

Maybe today will turn out to be more of the same. I'm willing to wait and see what the next move is, at least.

ghost

December 29th, 2013 at 6:13 PM ^

How do you fire a coach after you give him Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell as his QBs, and trade away the starting RB?  The guy had a lot to do with developing Cam Newton.  You would think a team that is going to be drafting a QB would want to keep him around.  

Yes they were 4-12, but they beat Cincy and almost beat NE.  All that with without question the worst QB and RB combo in the league.  And that is on the GM, not the coach.

1 percent

December 29th, 2013 at 6:13 PM ^

Dang, for real? I know the Browns sucked this year but I liked Chud. It's not his fault he was stuck with Weeden. I don't get how 1 year is enough to kick out a coach and is probably why they keep sucking.

tricks574

December 29th, 2013 at 6:24 PM ^

Infighting and locker room stuff, I think the front office wasn't happy with something beyond just the product on the field. That Brown's job is an interesting one, they could challenge for the playoffs if they can find a Qb. They have holes, but they have enough studs sprinkled throughout that team to make them dangerous.

1of12MattDamons

December 29th, 2013 at 6:15 PM ^

I can't wait for the Lions to fire that clown Schwartz. Almost surprised nothing has been announced yet. So much talent on that team and he can't get them to the playoffs with the division their for the taking is ridiculous.

I am pretty surprised the Browns fired Chudzinski given the circumstances, though.

BlueDragon

December 29th, 2013 at 6:22 PM ^

You cannot be serious, Mr. Haslam. Your handpicked successor to Shurmurball is the wrong pick after just one year? What changed in the last twelve months? Did you expect six wins instead of four? Was the Richardson trade not to your liking?

I can't support this team anymore. I'm out. This is completely unfair to Chudzinski and unrealistic given where the franchise has been for years.

Surprise! 2013 was not the year your favorite sports teams reversed trends decades in the making.

BlueDragon

December 29th, 2013 at 7:09 PM ^

buys the Browns for $1 billion, an observer expects that he has a coherent plan for fixing the franchise. We were treated to "six-hour-meetings with Chip Kelly" in the media. Instead he settled on Chudzinski. I'm OK with that, and he had a nice three-game winning streak while Hoyer was still playing. Then Hoyer hurt his knee and the year tanked. I had hope for the future with Hoyer back or a good QB in this year's draft and coaching continuity. How many times did Shurmur beat CIN or BLT? We may switch from a 3-4 back to a 4-3 AGAIN.

I was of the mindset that Mangini should have been retained, but Lerner was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and could not tell talent from a hole in the ground. I'm just incredibly frustrated. It's not a rewarding activity. I should be spending more time on serious things that improve my earning potential. I enjoy football more when I check the scores after the game is over anyways, and I'm not jumping on the SF or Denver bandwagons.

LSAClassOf2000

December 29th, 2013 at 6:22 PM ^

The SI Story quotes Chudzinski some and also speculates that the next Browns coach might be an internal move (LINK). 

In an interview earlier in the week, Rob Chudzinski was quoted as saying:

“We’ve played well coming into games and starting games and have had good starts and started fast, and we haven’t been able to maintain those leads. Each week, it’s for different reasons. So that’s the difficult thing is to pin one thing down. When you can pin it down to one thing, you can fix it. Sometimes you fix one thing and something else pops up.”

At the end, they theorize that either Norv Turner or Ray Horton could be promoted. 

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2013 at 6:27 PM ^

Wow.  Just wow.  If that's true it means that one or both of them must've been sticking Chud in the back cause neither unit covered itself in NFL glory this season.  As much love as Horton gets in the media I thought the D underperformed given the talent assembled.  And as stated multiple times - how was Chud suppose to field a competent offense with Brandon Fucking Weedon as your QB?  Chud's team looked pretty good during that brief stretch when Hoyer was running it that's for sure.

Unreal.  As they say around here.....O.I.C.

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2013 at 6:45 PM ^

Ok my bizzaro year in football hell continues.  Not only are multiple sources reporting that Chud is definitely out and it will be official tomorrow a new name was just added to the Browns "wish list" as their new HC in addition to Josh McDaniels and BoB.

Ready for it?

Jim Schwartz (if the Lions fire him)

You just can't make this shit up.  You just can't.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2013/12/cleveland_browns_head_coach_ro_1.html#incart_big-photo

mGrowOld

December 29th, 2013 at 7:02 PM ^

Actually they are referencing the Lombardi connection in reference to Schwartz but you're probably right.  Either way it's unreal.  

There simply HAS to be some major, major bad stuff going on behind the scenes that hasnt come out yet to explain this.  Everything the Browns did this year pointed to a team tanking it for a better draft pick.  Everything.