When it comes to creating a successful business, a lot goes into it. In sports, it’s all about the process. We all know about the “Trust the Process” quotes originating from the NBA Philadelphia 76ers but what is the process for building a successful football franchise? Most recent examples are the recent Super Bowl Champions in previous years. The Kansas City Chiefs (to a degree) are the standard of “what it looks like”, same can be said for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams.
Since
the Cleveland Browns have returned, the team has struggled in many ways. Losing seasons, multiple regime changes/quarterback changes. Since Jimmy Haslam purchased the team back in 2012, to say it’s been difficult is an understatement. Recently, the team has found some form of stability after not having it to start. Despite what people will say about Haslam, he has tried to invest in a winning franchise in Cleveland but the moves he’s made at times has set the franchise back.
For the Browns to achieve some form of success, the team has to embrace the process of building a team, the right way. For what it’s worth, the Browns haven’t been a total mess the past 5 years. The record proves that. Considering how the team made the playoffs two out of the five years, it has been signficantly better than any other iteration of the team since The Return in 1999.
The current regime of general manager Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski might be disliked amongst the fanbase for various reasons but they have guided the team successfully.
Go back to 2020. The reason why Cleveland made the playoffs that season is due to establishing an identity and making smart moves in both free agency. Bolstering the offensive line, finding a head coach that helped a struggling quarterback in Baker Mayfield to put together an efficient season. However, the team decided to make a massive gamble in trading for QB Deshaun Watson when he was available from the Houston Texans.
Fast forward to now, the team is in a current rebuild and the results haven’t translated to success. What is “The Process” for the Browns?
It’s about finding a foundation. Figuring out what you want to be as a football team. It starts with the owner understanding what he wants to build and finding the people who fit his vision:
- Anyone can talk about what they want in a football team, but do they have the willingness to pull it off?
- Does the team have a regime that they trust? Maybe, but it’s uncertain.
- Does the team have a rookie class with a solid foundation? Yes.
It’s all about building the team the right way. The reason why the 2019 Cleveland team was a disappointment is because the team decided to trade for wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. That move was a risky move that turned out to be a disaster in hindsight (not to mention hiring head coach Freddie Kitchens). The trade for OBJ was thought to propel the Browns into Super Bowl contention but the team had holes on that roster. Similar to the Watson trade, Cleveland’s roster had holes on the roster despite not having a game changer at quarterback.
The Browns and Jimmy Hasalam has to embrace the process of building the right way, and not utilizing short cuts as a quick fix. Trust the vision you are selling, and invest in the necessary resources to build the team that you want to build, whether that is with Berry and/or Stefanski or not.
It’s up to Haslam to follow through with this and embrace building a team the right way.
