Stallworth chapter officially closed

By Sean McClelland | Monday, February 8, 2010, 05:43 PM

In a sad but inevitable end to one of the more lamentable chapters in team history, the Browns today officially released receiver Donte’ Stallworth.

Stallworth was suspended for the 2009 season by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after pleading guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida. He spent 24 days in jail.

Not exactly the kind of free-agent signee around which champions are built, Stallworth played one season for the Browns, catching 17 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown in 2008.

Stallworth, reinstated by Goodell after the Super Bowl, is now free to sign with any team. Can’t imagine there will be a stampede of general managers waving contracts in his face, but you never know.

Maybe the Bengals will look in Stallworth’s direction if they don’t sign T.O.

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At least you won’t pay more

By Sean McClelland | Friday, February 5, 2010, 11:13 PM

After the kind of season they just had, it would have been a major insult for the Cleveland Browns to demand more money from their most loyal customers.

Perhaps this figured in their decision, announced Friday, to hold the line on season ticket prices, which are already among the league’s lowest.

The Browns said the cost of some seats for next season will be lower than in 2009 and that for the first time season tickets will be made available in a family friendly, alcohol-free area of Cleveland Browns Stadium.

These teams visit CBS next season: Atlanta, Carolina, Kansas City, New England, the New York Jets, and AFC North rivals Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cincinnati.

In their press release, the Browns provided this rah-rah quote from new team president Mike Holmgren:

“Having faced the Browns several times in Cleveland as a head coach, I know what a home field advantage our stadium can provide. We’re excited about continuing to build the type of team that our fans can be proud of. I know that they will be an integral part of any success that we have and that is why we are pleased to keep our ticket prices as affordable as possible for our fans.”

Just makes you want to buy a ticket, doesn’t it?

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GM appears in public, talks Tebow

By Sean McClelland | Wednesday, February 3, 2010, 11:20 PM

At the Cleveland Sports Awards (don’t laugh) tonight, Associated Press reporter Tom Withers caught up with new Browns GM Tom Heckert, who had more to say about Florida quarterback Tim Tebow than he did about Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson.

Overall, he told Withers, “We have probably more talent than I originally thought as an outsider looking in. Plus, you throw in the draft picks (Cleveland has 11) and we have some money to do something in free agency if there’s somebody available, so I think we have a chance to be a better football team.”

If you were waiting for some proclamation on the quarterback situation from Heckert, none was forthcoming. Quinn and Anderson both remain on the roster. Both are thought to have underachieved.

“It’s probably a little too early to say on both of them,” Heckert told Withers. “It’s a difficult decision and we have to get together and we have not made any decisions on anybody.

“That’s going to be something that’s going to happen down the road. They both have talent, there’s no doubt about it. They both played well at times and we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

Tebow to the Browns? Maybe not, but Heckert seems to think the Heisman Trophy winner can play quarterback in the NFL.

“Now, where he goes, and how well he plays, that’s the question,” Heckert told the AP. “Everything besides actually playing the position, he’s got it all. He’s everything you want, the greatest kid in the world.

“People can knock him all they want, but he won a ton of games. And they didn’t just run the ball. He threw the ball and threw the ball well.

“It’s tough to knock a kid like that, but to say he’s going to be a franchise quarterback, that’s going to be a big decision for whoever takes him.”

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Capologist swap completed

By Sean McClelland | Monday, February 1, 2010, 09:02 PM

The Browns on Monday announced they are adding Matt Thomas as vice president of football administration, effectively completing the “trade” that sent Dawn Aponte to the Miami Dolphins.

Aponte recently accepted the position of senior vice president of football operations with the Dolphins. In one of her last acts with the Browns, you might recall, Aponte reportedly gave Joshua Cribbs the “take it or leave it” contract offer, sending him into a tizzy.

So, good riddance to her if that report is true. This new guy can’t do anything worse than alienating the team’s best player.

Thomas had been with the Dolphins for 12 years. According to the press release issued by the Browns, “he held numerous football administrative functions, which included assisting with the management of the salary cap, player contract negotiations, football budgeting and acting as a liaison with the NFL Management Council on salary cap compliance and other labor and legal matters. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Denver, University of South Dakota School of Law and the New York University School of Law.”

Optimistically, having this guy in place could mean the Browns, if they ever make the playoffs again, won’t have to cut all their starting linebackers in a salary-cap purge as they did in 2002.

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Holmgren to bring in old pal Haskell

By Sean McClelland | Saturday, January 30, 2010, 09:52 PM

Billy Martin had Art Fowler. Mike Holmgren has Gil Haskell.

Sometimes the guy in charge just wants to surround himself with trusted confidants, the more the better.

Toward that end, Haskell soon will be joining the Browns as an adviser to President Holmgren, according to a report in The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer.

Haskell, 66, was on Holmgren’s coaching staffs in Green Bay and Seattle. Like Martin, the old Yankees manager, and his pitching coach/bobo Fowler, they’ve been together longer than a lot of married couples — for 15 of Holmgren’s 17 years as a head coach, to be precise.

The PD speculates that Haskell “may be called on to conduct a thorough evaluation of the Browns’ offense and have major input in the direction it takes in the second season of coach Eric Mangini.”

Haskell was the Carolina Panthers’ offensive coordinator for two seasons before rejoining Holmgren in Seattle, rising to the level of assistant head coach there. Holmgren has campaigned for Haskell to be hired as a head coach, but there have been no takers.

As the PD points out, Haskell was Seattle’s offensive coordinator in 2005 when the Seahawks boasted the No. 2 overall offense, the NFL’s leading rusher in Shaun Alexander and No. 4 passer in Matt Hasselbeck.

If added to the payroll, you can bet Haskell will have more than a little input into who the quarterback will be next year and whether or not to expend a high draft pick on one.

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A quarterback in the first round?

By Sean McClelland | Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 04:01 PM

ESPN’s original draft guru Mel Kiper has come out with his analysis of Browns’ draft needs. He ranks them this way: quarterback, big running back, cornerback, safety, outside linebacker, wide receiver, tight end.

Makes sense, but would Mike Holmgren and Co. sink the No. 7 overall pick into a QB? I’m thinking not, and so is Kiper, who suggests Colt McCoy of Texas in the second round as a more realistic grab.

Then again, I saw one mock draft that had Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford falling into the 6-10 range. In that case, maybe a quarterback in that spot is the way to go.

Kiper’s recent mock draft — and I’ve seen this other places as well — has the Browns taking Florida cornerback Joe Haden. Says the guru, “I’m not convinced the Browns will be willing to draft a quarterback simply because the position is unsettled. In Haden, they can’t go wrong with by far the top CB on the board, a player they can plug in from day one. A deft cover corner and great tackler, Haden is the total package.”

With 11 draft picks and almost as many needs, the Browns will have a chance to infuse the roster with youth. Of course, now they must make those picks count, which they haven’t always done. No need here to recall the string of busts from years gone by. Plenty of time for that later.

In the second round, Kiper suggests these options for the Browns: Fresno State running back Ryan Matthews, Georgia Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer, McCoy and South Carolina outside linebacker Eric Norwood.

Kiper also mentions Stanford RB Toby Gerhart as a possibility. If nothing else, it would conjure images of “Touchdown Tommy” Vardell, a Stanford RB who turned out to be a colossal bust when Bill Belichick drafted him.

Also from Kiper: “I think there’s a good chance Cleveland will wait a while to make a decision on a QB, so while the ‘need’ is at that position, it’s also one of direction. Do the Browns stick with one of their guys or make a deal? I’d like to see them add a big back. They could also add a rushing linebacker or a tight end and fulfill needs there.”

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Sandusky to run personnel department

By Sean McClelland | Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 10:47 PM

Former Penn State safety John Sandusky has signed on to be director of player personnel. Bios from the press release on Sandusky and the three other members of the personnel department who were named Wednesday:

John Sandusky joins the Browns as Director of Player Personnel after spending the previous nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, with the last two as Director of Pro Personnel. He spent his first six seasons with the club as a pro scout after joining the Eagles as an intern in the personnel department in 2001. A native of State College, Pa., Sandusky was a safety for Penn State from 1996-99. He is the son of former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Keith Gilbertson, who brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to Cleveland, joins the team as Director of Pro Personnel. He previously spent four seasons (2005-08) in multiple capacities with the Seattle Seahawks. He spent his second tenure with the team as an offensive consultant (2005), assistant offensive line coach (2006-07) and wide receivers coach (2008). During his career, he has made collegiate coaching stops at Utah State (1977-81), Idaho (1982, ‘86-88), Washington (1989-91, ’99-04), and Cal-Berkeley (1992-95). His previously coached professionally with the Seattle Seahawks from 1996-98 and with the L.A. Express of the USFL from 1983-85. He is a native of Snohomish, Wash.

John Spytek joins the Browns as a Personnel Executive. He spent his previous five seasons in the Eagles’ personnel department, including the last three as a college/pro scout. He spent the 2006 season as Philadelphia’s college scouting assistant and 2005 as an intern in the pro personnel department. He also spent the 2004 season as an intern in the Detroit Lions’ football operations department. Spytek attended the University of Michigan, where he lettered four seasons at linebacker. He is a native of Pewaukee, Wis.

A.J. Durso joins the team as a pro scout after spending the previous four seasons with the Seahawks. He spent his first three in football operations (2006-08), as an assistant to Head Coach Mike Holmgren and the 2009 season as an offensive assistant. In 2005, he interned in the Seahawks’ operations department. He is a graduate of the SUNY Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the baseball team. He grew up in Utica, N.Y.

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