I've been thinking about the Browns and whom they might hire to replace Romeo Crennel and I came across a quote from Don Coryell, the longtime San Diego Chargers coach.
"The country is full of good coaches. What it takes to win is a bunch of interested players."
Could that be any more appropriate when talking about the current state of Browns?
What we saw this year in Cleveland was a lack of leadership in the locker room and on the field.
The Browns are young at some important positions, like quarterback. (Even Derek Anderson, with 1 1/2 seasons as a starter, doesn't have that kind of credibility yet.)
Their more experienced players -- Jamal Lewis, Willie McGinest -- for whatever reason have not really emerged to take control of the team.
You would expect that Joe Thomas could become that team spokesman type at some point, although I don't know how many fiery speeches you'll get from a guy who went fishing while he was being picked in the draft.
The one player whose presence the Browns really seemed to miss this year was Joe Jurevicius. Had Jurevicius been healthy and on the field, he would have been more than the go-to receiver that Anderson and Brady Quinn lacked. He would have been the guy Braylon Edwards had to look in the eye when he returned to the huddle after dropping a routine pass. He would have been the steady veteran with the Super Bowl ring who helped his quarterback understand what the defense was trying to do. (No, that wasn't Lewis.)
Jurevicius is expected back next season, and I'm saying his presence in the huddle and in the locker room will mean more to Quinn's development (and maybe Edwards' professionalism) than whoever becomes the Browns' new coach.
Coryell did know a good coach when he saw one. He is credited with developing both John Madden and Joe Gibbs, among others.
But more importantly, he knew a motivated player when he saw one, too.
-- John Dudley