tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post1296034425738918386..comments2024-02-12T08:19:47.349-07:00Comments on Rich's Rants: Rich Passanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06802826156712863793noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post-17136647680082693122013-01-16T17:48:57.882-07:002013-01-16T17:48:57.882-07:00How many tablespoons? Thankfully, I have never ing...How many tablespoons? Thankfully, I have never ingested any of that stuff.<br /><br />A quick correction: Leo's was at 75th and Euclid. The old Arena was around 37th and Euclid. My fondest memory of that building was the chicken wire that surrounded the rink. richpassannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post-56522658581759947132013-01-16T17:42:34.574-07:002013-01-16T17:42:34.574-07:00Hi Paul,
Hope you're feeling better after pou...Hi Paul,<br /><br />Hope you're feeling better after pouring out your feelings. They are much too diverse to take on one at a time. <br /><br />Allow me to suggest to you that yes, Haslam is in it for the money. But he's also in it for the glory. It's an ego thing.<br /><br />He'd love nothing better than to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and find out just how Jerry Jones felt. High profile owners are in it for the self satisfaction they feel when their teams win.<br /><br />As for the money, Haslam gets more than enough from the ancillary revenue stream (TV and merchandising revenues top that list) all NFL owners receive. Any owner who winds up the red is either brand dead or surrounds himself with the wrong people.<br /><br />The choice of Chudzinski was a result of backing himself into a corner when his top guys (Saban and Kelly) bailed for various reasons. He got schooled by the Eagles on Kelly.<br /><br />He mistakenly thought coaches would flock to him when Shurmur was fired. Maybe Banner led him to believe that was so. Maybe not. In any event, It most likely will turn out to be a lesson learned. <br /><br />It was his choice to give Banner the keys to the kingdom. For the time being, he has to live with that. Banner's success in Philadelphia is a strong legacy. Let's see how the first season plays out.<br /><br />I can tell you one thing: The Chudzinski offensive philosophy is a much better fit with the club's talent on that side of the ball than his predecessor's. And he seems to understand that passive football usually means losing football.<br /><br />Right now, they are only words. As the new season unfolds, we'll get a much better idea of how meaningful they are. <br /><br />Hopefully, this much shorter response will hold you until the team names a general manager. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />richpassannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post-48715864945968309922013-01-15T07:31:45.491-07:002013-01-15T07:31:45.491-07:00Hey Rich,
I remember all of those writers, and th...Hey Rich,<br /><br />I remember all of those writers, and the NHL Barons, that was torture, heck even the Crusaders from the WHA. Had an autographed Gerry Cheevers jersey. I used to have a Barons jersey from the old AHL. I used to see them at the old Cleveland arena across the street from Leo's Casino. Excuse me, I have to go take my Geritol now.... Marchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08954487369533975056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post-72209803126758456872013-01-14T21:48:25.652-07:002013-01-14T21:48:25.652-07:00Hi Marc,
I was the hockey writer for the Plain De...Hi Marc,<br /><br />I was the hockey writer for the Plain Dealer (Jim Braham, Bob Schlesinger and Doug Clarke wrote about the sport for the Press). I outlasted them all. <br /><br />And which Barons jersey do you seek? The old American Hockey League Barons or the ones who skated in the National Hockey League for two very long seasons? That was pure torture.<br /><br />Any man who loses money as an NFL owner is either incompetent or brain dead. Being an NFL owner is practically a license for making money. The ancillary revenue stream almost assures a profit.<br /><br />Haslam is in this for the glory. Making lots of money would be nice, but he wants to caress the Vince Lombardi trophy. Banner was his ticket to NFL ownership. And Banner will not be the GM. He'll be the overseer and let his football people run the show, just like he did in Philadelphia.<br /><br />That is all.<br /><br />richpassannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post-36843427829320981962013-01-14T21:16:20.041-07:002013-01-14T21:16:20.041-07:00Hey Rich,
That is the first thing I thought when ...Hey Rich,<br /><br />That is the first thing I thought when I watched the presser. He get's it. As far as will he be successful, I hope so. I am really getting sick of starting over again, especially at my age (If I'm not mistaken, you were the hockey writer for the old Cleveland Press...) Where the heck is my old Barons jersey anyway? And that's really showing my age. <br /><br />BTW Paul from Seattle,<br />While you stated your argument very well, there is one big flaw in your argument that shoots it down in one sentence:<br /><br />Losing teams don't make enough profit for someone who spends a Billion, and yes that is billion with a "B" to purchase a football team. Marchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08954487369533975056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post-12049045679037189412013-01-14T19:27:01.958-07:002013-01-14T19:27:01.958-07:00So, even someone like Doug Merrone decided to take...So, even someone like Doug Merrone decided to take the Buffalo (!?!?!) job instead of waiting to hear back from Cleveland. Buffalo who is even in worse shape at QB being saddled with a huge contract for a guy they mistakenly thought (even though no one else did) would be their franchise guy. Buffalo who has arguably a much weaker roster and who even the young Browns laughed at behind closed doors early in the season (which, of course cost them the game) because they knew they had a better team. But Merrone takes the Buffalo job because, as bad as it is, it’s still more attractive than Cleveland’s job. <br /><br />And what of Rod Chudzinski? Again, he may turn out to be a fine coach. But, he wasn’t even interviewing with any other team. He would have been available next week and probably the week after. Why not wait and look at some of the assistant coaches who were on playoff teams before hiring him? Sure, Haslam & Banner professed to be “blown away” by his interview, but were they? Was this move made, in part, to do more damage control when Whisenhunt walked away? How bad would it be right now if this story came out without the Browns making this hire? Haslam and Banner would be skewered right now. Of course, additional reports claim that Whisenhunt didn’t walk away because Banner insisted on final authority over his coaching staff, but I take these reports to be nothing more than spin from the Browns funneled through the local media. <br /><br />In the end, the Chudzinski hire reveals to me Haslam’s true motives. While I don’t doubt he wants to win, he’s clearly sacrificing this franchise’s ability to do so in order to maximize profit by letting Joe Banner have such total control that the best coaching people are walking away. He’s letting an experienced business man, but a neophyte football man, run the football operations without putting a top personnel man in charge. This is even when his experience as part Steelers owner has shown him that strong personnel people need to run football operations in order to win. By simply looking at the outward results of his decision-making thus far, it seems clear to me that Haslam’s top priority is profit. Otherwise, we’d already have a top football man running football operations. In fact, this would have been Haslam’s first hire, not a business man. <br /><br />Sorry for the uber long response, but I've been thinking about this for a few days now. <br /><br />All the best. Thanks.<br />Paul from Seattle<br />Paul from Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17780432189696858715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3800694504837785724.post-29518590865361307482013-01-14T19:24:01.443-07:002013-01-14T19:24:01.443-07:00Hi,
To be honest, the more I think about the Chud ...Hi,<br />To be honest, the more I think about the Chud hire, the less I like it. It's not that I don't think he could be a good head coach, but it's what his hire may represent to my eyes. I think it says loud-and-clear to me that Jimmy Haslam is more concerned with making money than putting a winning product out on the field. Why? Because he decided that his most important hire was choosing a business man, not a football man, and that he is allowing Joe Banner to run the football operations as well as the business operations. Banner made a lot of money for Jeffrey Lurie in Philadelphia and, by all accounts, he has delivered business hires that have great reputations. Smart people who have very good experience doing what they do whether it’s negotiating contracts or managing the salary cap. But, on the football operations side, Banner has whiffed several times already as Chudzinski was very likely not on their top five list of candidates. It seems likely that Haslam wanted Banner because of Joe’s excellent reputation and experience in knowing how to turn a profit in the NFL. So, if Banner stumbles and bumbles through the football operations side of things until he gets it right (if he does at all), it’s the price Haslam seems willing to pay because he hired Banner to make him money first. <br /><br />Looking at this hiring process, it seems clear that both Banner and Haslam were deluded into thinking they had a top job that others wanted. Because of the young, talented roster (except maybe at QB), the salary cap room that promised quick upgrades and (supposed) quick improvement, and Haslam's money, they thought they would be able to land a top guy. Haslam made a lot of noise about making that big "splash," that big statement hire that says that HIS team is going to be relevant. But they were wrong, dead wrong because nobody of real substance wanted the job and they couldn’t see why. They couldn’t see why because they are business men first, and very experienced ones, but they are virtually rookies and green-as-grass when it comes to the football operations. But, as business men, making money is the top priority.<br /><br />Haslam & Banner went to Arizona deluded into thinking they had their man and their big splash and they probably still don't understand how it went all wrong. Quite simply, Chip Kelly understood what others have quickly understood as well: the organizational structure that Haslam has OK’d with Banner in charge of everything is a losing one. You don’t put a business man in charge of football operations, especially one who has the reputation of making sure you know who is in charge. But, Haslam’s priority is turning a profit first.<br /><br />Haslam was part owner of the Steelers, among the model franchises, and you would think that if his top priority was winning, he would have established an organizational structure that is comparable to Pittsburgh’s where personnel people run the personnel side. Kevin Colbert, their GM, grew up through the scouting ranks in Detroit and Miami. Having watched the Ravens in the past four years, another model franchise, Haslam would also see that Ozzie Newsome grew up through the coaching/scouting side of operations. But Haslam goes another way. He decides that a business man, Joe Banner, will run the Browns and be their de-facto general manager even though Banner has virtually no personnel experience and that his behind-the-scenes right hand man, Mike Lombardi, was such a joke during his NFL personnel career that nobody has wanted him for five years. But, again, Haslam’s true priority is turning a profit, not winning. <br /><br />End of part I. Thanks,<br />Paul from Seattle<br />Paul from Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17780432189696858715noreply@blogger.com