A reader has forwarded to us an item from Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that purports to debunk the possibility that former Redskins and Texans G.M. Charley Casserly, who’s now with CBS, is under consideration for the football czar position that the Browns are hoping to create.
Grossi calls the notion the “newest Internet rumor” on the topic, a dismissive gesture that most consumers of online information now regard as the equivalent of yelling at those damn kids to turn down their music. Grossi then dismisses the “newest Internet rumor” more directly, saying that “an NFL source who would know” claims there’s “[a]bsolutely no truth to it all.”
The problem with old-school hunt-and-peck typewriter journalists who refuse to identify the name of the Internet site on which a rumor originated is that it prevents those of us who’d like to assess the credibility of it for ourselves from doing so, without doing extra work.
So we did the extra work (reluctantly), and the first place we found the “newest Internet rumor” was on the Internet site of a rival newspaper, the Canton Repository.
We then dug a little deeper, and we saw that the Twitter feed of sportstalkCleveland.com, which has more than 1,000 followers, posted a rumor on Thursday that Casserly “MAY” be hired within the next 72 hours.
We’re not sure what to make of the sportstalkCleveland.com item because we’re not aware of the site’s track record. But we’re more intrigued by the matter-of-fact suggestion from Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository that Casserly is on the list.
So maybe Casserly is on the list. Or maybe Casserly isn’t. Since Grossi doesn’t share the name of the source “who would know” the answer, it’s impossible to determine whether that person might have an interest in keeping Casserly’s candidacy quiet.
Browns fan, you just thought right now is the bottom of the barrel!
Maybe it was ‘A. League-Source’?
You should ask him.
Please God, NO! The Houston Texans are just now beginning to get past the mess that Charlie Casserly left behind. He doesn’t even deserve an interview! This idiocy that thinks he did all these wonderful things in Washington with the Redskins needsd to be nipped in the bud. Bobby Beathard did all of that. If you go back and truly analyze what Charlie did in In DC, you would be very unimpressed. Frankly, he is underqualified for the work he does with CBS!
Florio, I can’t remember the last time you named one of your sources. Just sayin’.
Florio, how often do you list your sources? Eh?
Can’t have it both ways and not be a hypocrite.
Wow, The Texans AND the ‘Skins? Quite a track record. Should be able to continue the winning tradition in Cleveland…
Tony Grossi is a worthless hack. He gives beat writers a bad name. Terry Pluto is then ONLY Cleveland sports writer worth reading.
I am officially starting the internet rumor that Mike Lombardi is a candidate for the Browns front office job. An anonymous source with ties to the NFL and the Browns has confirmed that this rumor started on the internet.
PFT “story” template:
“A league source” (unnamed, of course) “who should know” (or maybe not) “said” (but won’t commit that to writing” (therefore no paper or internet trail).
“Bang it here for RUMORS”
Enjoy life in the cul-de-sac…….
Aaaaahhhh!!!!!
Run for your life Browns fans. The Texans are just now climbing out of the hole that CC dug ….
The phrase (with a heavy Mass. accent) “this isn’t how we do it in the NFL see” is probably still ringing in Bob McNair’s ears four years later.
Who the hell would want that job? Hold out for Jacksonville, at least there you know you will end up in LA. I mean if you got cash in Cleveland, does it really matter? So you can buy ALL the houses, do you really want them?
Who cares, it’s the Browns.
Casserly is on every list. He puts himself on them by hook or crook. When he gets camera time, he’ll say nice things about the organization and owner in play.
Damn it! I was going to take his Sports Management class here sometime…I was really looking forward to that. He sometimes brings in some NFL guys around the league to come in and talk to his classes. Don’t leave GMU, Prof. Casserly!
Casserly is the most overrated PERSON ever having anything to do with a NFL team’s front office. Surely it would be the kiss of death for that franchise to hire him. Look elsewhere, Cleveland.
Gee….what happened to Holmgren?
Old Charlie is still hanging his hat on not taking Reggie Bush or Vince Young in the draft and it worked out for him, he never talks about all the other screwups.
Say what you will about Charlie Casserly, but he successfully navigated through the 2005 draft, the biggest group of busts in recent NFL history. If you want to talk about “the mess that charlie left in houston”, just imagine if it involved Reggie Bush.
What is worse Charlie Casserly’s GM skills…or his wig?
Florio,
Grossi forgot more football than you know. He is not a rumor monger, but a quality journalist.
I love reading some of your stuff, but why do you feel the need to attack people who are often the ones who provide you information so you can have a livelihood
Are you sure if wasn’t big mouth Jim Brown just blowing some hot air again? Maybe Charlie told him he was interested in the job when they went out to lunch with Sam Wyche and Reggie Rucker.
I thought Lerner wanted to improve this team.
Is this the “input” that Mangina was going to provide?
Holmgren may have used the Cleveland job as a bargaining tool with Paul Allen.
I thought the clubs couldn’t go out and hire someone new until the end of the season…they could only promote a candidate.