Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam have confidence in their chief football operations officers, but they're not ready to extend contracts of their GM and head coach. (TheLandOnDemand)
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam dig in to be a catalyst in redevelopment of the Cleveland lakefront
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
PHOENIX, AZ
Ten years into the Haslam family ownership of the Browns, it’s not an overstatement to say their greatest triumph has been to drive a wedge through the relationship of the rival Baltimore Ravens and quarterback Lamar Jackson, a Browns franchise nemesis second only to Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger.
The unprecedented, fully-guaranteed $230 million contract given by the Browns to quarterback Deshaun Watson a year ago set the template for Jackson’s contract demand for the Ravens.
Baltimore owner Stephen Bisciotti has refused to do for Jackson what the Haslams did for Watson. As a result, the Ravens and Jackson are at an impasse that seemingly gets uglier every day.
On Monday, Jackson timed a Tweet to reveal his request to be traded precisely with the start of coach John Harbaugh’s annual AFC coaches interview session at the NFL owners meetings. It made for awkward, incessant interrogation of Harbaugh.
Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam professed no glee in the Ravens’ problems with Jackson in a Q & A session with Northeast Ohio media members attending the NFL owners meetings at the majestic Arizona Biltmore Resort.
The Haslams spoke openly about Watson; the futures of GM Andrew Berry, coach Kevin Stefanski, and chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta; their purchase of a 25 percent stake in the NBA Milwaukee Bucks; their vision of a renovated FirstEnergy Stadium; and their role in the to-be-announced plan of the City of Cleveland to develop and radically reconfigure the lakefront area north and east of FES.
The following are the germane points of a 25-minute interview session with NE Ohio media members. This Q&A is edited for brevity.
How do you feel about the impact the Watson contract is having on the Ravens?
Jimmy Haslam: Listen, we’re focused on the Browns. We’re focused on winning games for the Browns. I think it would be inappropriate to comment on any other teams or any other team’s players.
What are your expectations for the Browns? Do you think they can win the Super Bowl right now?
JH: I guess there are 32 teams that think their teams are going to win the Super Bowl. I can assure you this – from ownership to personnel to coaching to the support people in the building – nobody wants to win more than the group of people I just listed. Nobody works harder or cares more about it. I think we’ve made some good progress in the offseason, both in the coaching staff and with the team. And I think we’re all optimistic going into this year. So I’ll just leave it at that.
Some would say all the investment made in Watson, and also in players surrounding him, means there’s no excuses for him not returning to form in 2023. Is that fair?
JH: Listen, we have high expectations of Deshaun. Deshaun has high expectations of himself. So … just leave it at that.
A year out of the Watson contract, did it feel groundbreaking and really significant at the time?
JH: Every team, every business, has to look and do what they think is in the best interest of their team. We did what we thought was in the best interest of our team. We still feel that way. So, we’re excited to, if you will, have the stuff behind us. This time last year, how many games is he going to play? Is he going to play? Is he not going to play? He’s going to be there the whole season [now] and barring injury, heaven forbid, he’s going to play all 17 games and hopefully more. That I think alone is a bigger leap to the organization, to Deshaun, to all of us.
In terms of satisfying the NFL with Watson’s counseling program, has he been everything you hoped he would be?
JH: Listen, what the league told us was if there were any issues they would tell us and we haven’t heard anything. I think you’ve heard us say Deshaun has been excellent in the building and on the practice field with his teammates.
Dee, in training camp after the NFL settlement with Deshaun, you indicated he needed counseling to perhaps understand whether he did anything wrong. He’s been through months of counseling and yet hasn’t admitted he did anything wrong. Has the counseling worked?
DH: I don’t talk to his counselor because that’s pretty private information. But he’s diligent about the work he’s doing. I know counseling works. My daughter’s a family counselor and she can tell you that it works. I feel confident he’s in good hands and I know he’s working hard.
Any regrets in the way you handled his acquisition? The messaging?
JH: Everybody understands that in the NFL it’s all about the quarterback, right. Kansas City Chiefs been to three of last four Super Bowls, won two of the last three. Why? They got No. 15, right? So everybody understands the importance of quarterbacks. There’s a lot of really good young quarterbacks in the NFL. There’s a lot of really good young quarterbacks in the AFC, ok? So we felt we needed to be aggressive in getting a quarterback. Quarterbacks in their prime, Aaron Rodgers is 39 now and still a phenomenal player, but quarterbacks in their prime don’t come in the market when they’re 26. So we reached out and grabbed Deshaun. Are there – I don’t want to say little things because that’ll be taken out of context -- I’m sure there are things we could have handled better, OK? But you live and you learn as you go. That was completely new territory for all of us and [you] make the best situation.
After the disappointing 2022 season, did you consider making major changes in personnel and coaching?
JH: No consideration at all in making -- I assume that you're talking about like Andrew [Berry] or Kevin [Stefanski] -- no consideration there. We're all disappointed. None of us thought we'd be 7-10 even with Jacoby [Brissett] playing 11 games, Deshaun missing 11 games. However you want to say it. We were all disappointed, very disappointed. Like I said, the desire to win in that building, whether it's ownership — I’m just repeating myself — or personnel coaches is extremely high. We’ve got high standards so we expect to do better.
Is there more pressure this year to get off to a fast start and make the playoffs?
JH: I don't think or know that there's more pressure. There's pressure every year. There's pressure every game. You all know how hard it's to win in the NFL. We certainly do. To win a game in the NFL, to win games in the NFL. So I think everybody has a sense of urgency that we need to play well this year.
Is the leash on Stefanski shorter going into his fourth year?
JH: I think you have to realize this: Kevin just turned 40. Andrew's 35. Okay. They're now entering into their fourth year into the job, and we spent a lot of time with these guys. We’ve seen them grow. Kevin had never even been a coordinator for one year when we hired him. So he hadn't had a lot of experience in what I'll call management. I think he's learned and grown tremendously over the last two or three years. I think he did a really nice job of upgrading his staff. I think both defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator I think we're substantially, I want to be careful, I just think we put ourselves in a much better position. We'll say it like that. And I think Andrew's done a nice job of fitting in the pieces what we needed to shore up our defensive line. We got a good safety, we got a couple of good receivers and you all have watched Andrew. He's not through working. So I think he'll continue working. So I guess we feel good about Kevin, feel good about him coming into the season, feel good about Andrew and now you know, you need to have some breaks and not have too many injuries, the ball bounces your way and win games. But everybody understands how important that is.
Jimmy, you made a bold move in bringing in [former MLB analytics guru] Paul DePodesta and investing in his analytics system. Is it working? And if it is, when does the winning start?
JH: First of all, we believe tremendously in Paul. He's really smart. He's a great guy to work with. Andrew, y'all have heard us say this several times, Andrew, Kevin and Paul work — not that they don't get into it some — any group of three people in the world are going to have a little bit of tension going back and forth. They work tremendously well together. I think and I've said this before, the biggest mistake we've made with Paul is not fully embracing his ideas early on. We have high confidence in the value that he brings the organization.
Can you explain why that is? That you didn't embrace his ideas early on?
JH: I think you heard us say this early on. You have to have everybody in sync. OK, so your football people have to agree with your analytical people; coaching staff has to agree with personnel. The three of them, they're not going to agree on everything all the time, but they talk it out, most of the time they work their decisions very well. We didn't have everybody on the same page, and we do now.
Given your confidence in Andrew and Kevin, this is their fourth year of their five-year contracts. So are you considering extensions?
JH: I think that's premature. I think that's premature to say. We'll talk about that at the appropriate time.
Why did you buy a 25 percent interest in the NBA Milwaukee Bucks?
JH: We haven't yet. It hasn't been formally approved. I think you all know we like business, we like sports, and we consider it a good opportunity. But it's really premature for us to say anything because we haven't been approved by the NBA yet. There's a couple more hoops to jump through.
What are your long-term goals with Haslam Sports Group? Is it to acquire more sports holdings?
JH: It's opportunistic. I mean, listen, we never thought we'd own 10 percent of the Steelers. Never thought we'd own the Browns. Dee and I had never been, beside watching [daughter] Whitney play high school soccer, had never been to a soccer game. So it's just opportunistic. It was a straightened set of circumstances. We were called on this opportunity. Business, sports, you tend to be optimistic. I have no idea what will happen next. First thing's first, let's get this done and then let's get the Browns winning games.
People want to know how your branching out will affect ownership of the Browns?
JH: Zero.
Even though you're inheriting – reportedly -- a governorship role of the Bucks?
JH: Well, if we're approved, if we're approved, [minority owner] Wes [Edens] would be the governor first. So we have some time there.
What is the latest on the stadium issue, as it pertains to development of the lakefront?
DH: I think the mayor [Justin Bibb] has a really good plan. He's working really hard. We're loving working with him and his team to put forth the best plan for Cleveland. And we want to be part of the story and help out any way we can. We believe it's critically important for the development of downtown to be an attractive city. The best cities in the country have great waterfronts and I think it's really critical. So we are actually really enjoying work with the mayor and excited that he's so excited and his team's excited. And it'd be interesting to see how it develops over time.
The Browns have come out and said they want to renovate, and they have an extensive, ambitious renovation plan. What if the mayor comes back and says, ‘We think it's in the best interest of the city to build an indoor stadium.’ How would you react to that?
JH: (laughing) Depends on how much he wants to fund. Listen, construction costs have gotten very high lately. And so I think everybody has to be practical and Dee said it well. Cleveland would benefit tremendously from the development of the waterfront. Having the stadium down there seems to be in everybody's best interest. So we're committed to redoing the stadium. In all likelihood, it's not going to have a dome, but it'll be a substantial remodel of the existing facility and we're probably 3, 4, 5 years away from that happening.
But what if the mayor says an indoor stadium has to be included in lakefront development … ?
JH: There's a lot of infrastructure that has to go into connecting downtown, which is the first thing that has to happen. The indoor stadium has nothing to do with it, we've got to connect downtown to the waterfront, right? Everybody knows that. So you've got to relocate highway and it's complicated and expensive. I do think the city, the county and the state are working together well, but there's a lot of hoops to jump through
When will your detailed renovation plan be made public?
JH: Well, we're continuing to work on it and I think it's all tied together with how quickly the city wants to move in terms of the overall lakefront development, the funding and how everything might tie together. We have a team that meets every other week, so it's going down the road. Everybody knows how important it is.
What is your vision of lakefront redevelopment?
JH: I think it'd be a huge catalyst to a mixed-use development that has retail, it has office, it has residential … downtown with an affordable housing component, has restaurants and entertainment. I mean, we're fortunate enough to live on the lake in Bratenahl. It's spectacularly beautiful. Listen, it's a competitive world out there, so when I graduate from college or I want to move a business or grow a business, why do I come to Cleveland? Workforce. There are more demand for workers than there is workforce. OK? So I've got to lay out a compelling case of why Cleveland is a cool, neat, fun place to live, which Dee and I would've never thought 11, 12 years ago would be living in Cleveland. But when you get to know it, it's a great community, great people. It's a great place to live.
How much of the aggressive pursuit of Watson was with future of the lakefront development in mind, meaning, if you get the team to the Super Bow, you could call your own shot on lakefront development?
JH: Zero
How do you think the financing piece of the plan has been received so far?
DH: I mean, I think it's so early. I mean, I don't know how anybody could really comment on it at this point. Nobody knows. And the plan, like I said, community input has to happen first and then they'll start developing their plans and then there's just a whole lot of things that need to happen between now and then. Our hope is that the community is excited about the waterfront and what it means for the city -- for keeping young people, for attracting young people, for building businesses and it's developable land that can be developed. There's just so many great things that come out of that. And I think there's a lot of people in this community that want to see it happen. There's been so many plans that have failed and we're going to do everything we can to help the mayor get this plan in inaction and something happening.
