Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has hope for the future but maybe just not in 2017. Haslam tempered expectations for this season after going 1-15 last season.
“Last year was harder than we thought,’' Haslam said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “None of us are exactly sure what’ll happen this year. I know we’ll be a better team. So I think 2018 -- and I’m not hedging my bets -- 2018, 2019 you should see a substantially better football team.’'
The Browns have gone 15-49 in Haslam’s four full years of ownership, tied with Jacksonville for the worst record in the league during that span. Their last winning season came in 2007, and 2002 was the last time the Browns made the playoffs.
Haslam, though, expressed confidence in his coaching staff and in the core group of players. He has had three head coaches, including Hue Jackson, but promises to give Jackson time.
“All of us want to win and win immediately,” Haslam said. “Most of you don’t know me that well personally, but I’m an extremely impatient person. But I think we’ve learned the hard way if you want to do this and do it right, building through the draft and being patient and getting the right people in place is the right way to do it. So it’s hard, but it’s unequivocally the right thing to do.”