Jimmy Haslam knows the Browns will remain the league’s punch line, until they actually win something.
But one of his fellow owners seriously thinks they’re moving in the right direction this time.
Not only did Jerry Jones shower Haslam with praise at last night’s Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce dinner, but he declared him one of the top owners in the NFL.
“I’m totally convinced that the Browns are going to be a factor as we look to the years ahead,” Jones told Steve Doerschuk of the Canton Repository. “Jimmy Haslam came into the league as one of the very best owners that we have. I’d put him in the top five. Right now.
“I recognize that he hasn’t had the success. Not everybody does early on. We didn’t have early success. But he’s firing at it. He’s committed. He works just as hard at this as with anything he’s ever done.”
Haslam bought the Browns in 2012 from the regrettable Randy Lerner (who has since driven Aston Villa into the ditch the same way he did Cleveland’s football team). Since then, the Browns are 19-45, are on their fourth head coach, have used two first-round picks on quarterbacks no longer on the roster and seem to change plans weekly.
Jones equating his struggles was generous, if disingenuous. His did fire Tom Landry and the Cowboys went 8-24 in his first two seasons, but by his fourth year Jones was lifting a Lombardi Trophy.
There are signs that Haslam wants to change things, and hiring non-traditional front office and a coach that is generally considered to be good at his job seems to be a positive step. There are concerns as to whether Haslam will let them do their job, but Jones is no stranger to a hands-on approach, so maybe that’s why he holds the Browns owner in such high esteem.