Dawgpoundsouth

Today begins the NFL Scouting Combine. The draft experts, (and I use that term loosely) will cling to measurements that are relatively meaningless. Players will move up and down their draft boards, but in reality, NFL team’s boards will stay the same. The Browns, for example, have been scouting the 2026 draft for roughly a year and a half. Any so-called analysis of what the Browns will do in the draft is frankly crap and speculation. Free agency and the trade market always come first for Browns GM Andrew Berry. I don’t understand the local media not knowing this. Berry has done this every year, signings and trades to build the roster so the Browns have the freedom to attack the draft as their board falls. His first year, he addressed two positions former GM John Dorsey ignored, the offensive line and tight end. His first two signings were RT Jack Conklin and TE Austin Hooper, so those two starting positions were covered.

There are things I’m going to pay attention to during the Combine. Height and weight of the players being tested. These will be their official numbers, not the ones their universities over exaggerate. An example would be LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Yes, he’s 6’5″ but he’s very thin and then everyone will find out he has small hands which will turn off a lot of fans, because that’s an obsession with many. The most important thing about Nussmeier is he’s nowhere near being NFL ready. If any team takes him before day three, God help them. Just for context, this year’s quarterback draft is worse than last year. I’m also interested in hearing who the Browns interview. This will give fans an indication of what type of player the team is interested in. Finally, the Combine is where the deals for trades and signings are made. I love the rumors.

Speaking of rumors, here you go:

The Browns would love to have Joel Bitonio return. Both parties agreed to move his void date back as Bitonio decides to return. The Browns are giving him the time to digest what they are is doing.

Because of the injury to Judkins, the team is evaluating the running back position, whether in free agency or in the draft.

At this time the Browns are not pursuing WR Brandon Aiyuk.

JOK is still making his mind up if he wants to return. He has not told the Browns he’s going to retire, and the Browns are giving him all the time he needs to make his decision.

Speaking of JOK, the team has been in contact with Devin Bush’s representatives and would like him to return to the team.

The Browns are going to add to the QB room and would like to find a short-term starter.

Offensive line coach George Warhop has reached out to the linemen who are on the roster. He wants to see how their doing physically and to provide them with direction on his coaching style and what he expects from them.

Stay safe and Go Browns.

As Browns fans and the local Cleveland media make a big stink over the fact the team didn’t hire their defensive coordinator fast enough, I thought I’d post some news and notes.

New DC. The team announced they hired Mike Rutenberg as their new defensive coordinator. He’s a high energy guy who is described as controlled chaos and will be aggressive when necessary. He’s run many different defensive schemes and will fit the scheme to the players. There are rumors he’ll keep key assistants.

Salary Cap. The deadline on the decision for Joel Bitonio was yesterday. Still have no idea what happened, but the team doesn’t have to make any announcement. According to Over The Cap the Browns are still at $2.3 million under the cap. I expect GM Andrew Berry to make moves, restructures, to create more cap room prior to the beginning of the league year.

Important Dates. Today, teams can start designating Franchise and Transition players. The deadline to finish is March 3. The NFL Combine begins February 23 and runs through March 2. This is where the deals are made and the most important aspect of the Combine are the player interviews with teams. March 9 through March 11 is the legal tampering period. On March 11 at 4:00pm EST the league year officially starts. All teams must be below the 2026 salary cap of $303,500.00. On April 6, teams with new coaches can start their off-season programs. The 2026 NFL draft will be held in Pittsburg April 23 -25.

Finally it’s way too early for draft speculation. Andrew Berry uses free agency to fill holes in the roster. He’ll make trades and try and find young free agents. Don’t expect big splash signings, but the Browns will be busy. This front office has ten draft picks and are ranked third in the league in draft capital. The focus will be on offense, with the offensive line garnering the most attention. Stay safe and Go Browns.

It’s been a while since my last blog; I never thought the ice storm that hit Nashville would lead to my wife and I to be without power for twelve days. Still have my neighbor’s rotten tree in what’s left of my back yard, but things could’ve been worst. So, have the Browns done anything while I was gone? Let’s start with the new head coach, Todd Monken. I like this hire. He’s made quarterbacks better no matter where he coached and this offense needs all the help it can get. As for the Browns starting quarterback in 2026, he is not on the roster. He’ll be signed as a free agent or traded for. He won’t come from this year’s draft because this quarterback draft is worse than last year’s. Browns GM Andrew Berry will fix the offensive line, starting in free agency, whether it’s a signing or a trade and then finish the fix in the draft.

So Jim Schwartz took his ball and went home. I glad the team didn’t try and force him on any candidates, because with that attitude, it would’ve been a disaster on the level of John Dorsey disasters. The Browns still own his rights and no he cannot be traded for a pick. Not in the rules. I don’t worry about who they’re going to hire, because it’s a plumb job. A new defensive coordinator can come to Cleveland, make the defense better (believe me there’s room for improvement) and then turn that into a head coaching job in the 2027 cycle. Monken just needs to hire the right assistants. By the way, I’ve heard the entire coaching staff will be finished by the end of this week. I’m most interested in who they hire for the special team’s coach. That’s the most important hire.

So David Njoku is moving on. Not surprised in the lease bit. He had a great 2022 & 2023, an average 2024 and a bad 2025. I knew he was gone when they drafted Harold Fannin. Of course, the fans and the media are thinking the Browns should poach Isaiah Likely from the Ravens. Nope. Likely is similar to Fannin, a lighter tight end that runs routes like a wide receiver. If it’s me, I’m trying to sign Charlie Kolar from Baltimore. He’s an inline, hand on the ground tight end. If the Browns are going to add from the draft, which is great for the tight end position, I’m looking at Max Klare, Ohio State, Sam Roush, Stanford or Dallen Bentley, Utah.

So Mike Vrabel lost the Super Bowl. The Patriots had the easiest schedule in the NFL, and it showed. The Seahawks did to the Patriots what the Eagles did to the Chiefs the year before, bring pressure without blitzing. The last four teams in the championship games were the top four teams who were the best at bringing pressure from the defensive tackle position. And you wonder why the Browns drafted Mason Graham with the fifth overall pick and signed Malik Collins. According to history, New England won’t make the playoffs next year which doesn’t bode well for two-time coach of the year Mike Vrabel. This year, week one, both the Seahawks and the Patriots had a one percent chance to make the Super Bowl, so there’s always hope. Stay safe and Go Browns.

First let me get this out of the way, Sean McDermit is not going to be the next head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Yes, when Shasi Brown was in charge he and Paul DePodesta recommended he be the next head coach, but Jimmy Haslam wanted a well-respected veteran head coach and went with Hue Jackson. At the Time Jackson was highly sot after. My have times changed. My point in bring this past Browns history up is, sometimes the veteran coach isn’t the way to go in the new NFL. Right now, Haslam would love to repeat the mistake of the past, but Browns GM Andrew Berry wants to go young and innovative. Haslam will trust Berry to make the right discission and not meddle. See, miracles do happen.

But what if they hire Jim Schwartz? Haslam loves Schwartz and he has the respect of the players in the locker room. If this is the Browns hire, then the team has already discussed his potential hires to fix the offense. This is the key to hiring Schwartz, young and innovative offensive minded coaches who will get the responsibility of calling plays guaranteed. If the Browns go away from Schwartz, I really can’t see him staying, but stranger things have happened in this franchise.

My preference would be to hire one of the young guns, Udinski or Scheelhaase. Udinski has learned under two very talented head coaches and been in the NFL longer, starting as a scout and working his way up the ladder. Scheelhaase has been a position coach, (running backs, wide receivers, quarterbacks) so he knows what it takes to run an offense. The question is, will a young coach be able to hire a talented staff? While veteran coaches have been in the league longer, they tend to associate with a smaller close nit group. Younger coaches are around fellow ambitious hungry coaches looking to make a name for themselves in the league.

As for the search itself, four coaches have been hired as of this writing, Giants, Falcons, Dolphins and Titans. The Giants hired a guy that was a pipedream for Browns fans, the Falcons hired the guy the Browns fired, the Dolphins hired a gut who wasn’t in the conversation at all, and the Titans hired a guy who the Browns interviewed six years ago. I can’t help but shake my head at the Dolphins and the Titans, they both made the classic NFL mistake. Fire an offensive coach and then hire a defensive coach. I’ve seen this too many times in Browns history, the wheels of the bus go round & round.

Finally, too many Browns fans are clutching their pearls over the length of time this search is taking. The Browns are currently going through second in person interviews to go in-depth with the candidates and to satisfy the Rooney Rule. They have to interview two minority candidates in person and Mike McDaniel counts as a minority because one of his parents is black. I would rather they get this right then win a race. Stay safe and GO Browns.

First of all, I think we’re all Houston Texans fans this morning. Previously the Steelers had won twenty-two straight Monday night games before last night. Now the question becomes will Mike Tomlin survive. On a personal note, if he doesn’t, I don’t want him on the Browns. Their offense stinks, he holds on to assistant coaches too long, (longer than Stefanski) and he would never coach the Browns. That hate runs deep. Who would’ve thought the AFC North would be such a mess.

Here’s the candidates to Browns have and will interview as of this writing. Jim Schwartz, Tommy Rees, Mike McDaniel, Todd Monken, Aden Durde, Grant Udinski, Dan Pitcher, Jessie Minter and Nate Scheelhaase. They are still in back-channel communications with John Harbaugh and his agent. I’ve heard there are some in the Browns front office who would like to talk to Mike LaFleur, the Rams offensive coordinator. The Udinski interview caught me a little bit by surprise, because I had been told they wouldn’t interview him because of his age, so that’s interesting. They’ve not interviewed Mike McCarthy, and I don’t think they will. It’s twenty years too late for him. Besides, Browns GM Andrew Berry said in his media availability they were looking for a leader of men and for the fans and media to keep an open mind. Not either’s strong suit. I’ve been told they want someone who can do the heavy lifting and strategy as a head coach.

I’ve also been told; they are not telling candidates they have to keep Schwartz, prefer is the word used. As far Schwartz, his only other interview to date is with the Ravens. If wants to go, fine. Any coordinator in the NFL would love to coach this defense, so if he goes, the Browns new coach would have his pick of top defensive minds. Just remember the Browns lost three games because Schwartz’s defense failed. The Vikings, the Titans and the Bills. Maybe they could hire someone who could push this defense into what the Texans look like.

As for the quarterback situation, the team is not telling candidates they have to start Sheduer Sanders. I don’t know if they’re telling candidates that they have to keep him. It sounds they would like to sign or trade for a veteran quarterback and I’m not talking about a bridge QB. The options are limited at best. Gino Smith and Kyler Murry seem like the best options. If the Raiders and Jets don’t screw up the first two picks, drafting a QB doesn’t look like an option in the first round. My preference for the Browns are offensive tackle and wide receiver, in that order, but things could change by April, we still have free agency to work though.

Finally my weekly reminder, the Browns are not in salary cap hell, they’ll have the money to spend because Berry knows contracts and Deshaun Watson will not be an option to play for the Browns in 2026. As for the candidates mentioned above, Scheelhaase and Udinski intrigue me. Stay safe and GO Browns.

That was the perfect ending to a season to forget and I’m talking about the game. The defense got two pick sixes, Garrett got the record-breaking sack, our kicker came full circle for the game winner, and the special teams didn’t cost the Browns the game. As for the offense, the presumed 2026 starting quarterback by some, played like the fifth-round pick he is. I know, he guided the team down the field to set up the winning field goal, but was that play calling?

Now to what happened on Victory Monday, the dismissal of head coach Kevin Stefanski. I don’t agree with it, but the league is a bottom-line business and wins matter. I listened to both Jimmy Haslam and Andrew Berry’s media availability and thought both handled them well. Haslam will always spend money, and it sounds like he’s going to do it again. Berry hinted at a few things which the local media and the Berry haters will misinterpret. As for Sanders, he really can’t commit because the new head coach might not want Sanders and all the drama that comes with him. The new coach will want his guy. He also mentioned Watson is still one the roster. Believe me, Watson still isn’t seeing the field in 2026. As for Jim Schwartz being the next head coach, it sounds like he’ll get an interview. But if make Schwartz the head coach to keep his talented defensive staff and Tommy Rees as the OC, isn’t that an indictment on firing Stefanski?

I’m not thrilled with the idea of making Schwartz the head coach because of what happened in Detroit. But I do like the idea of keeping the defensive line coach, the linebackers coach, the secondary coach, the OC, the quarterback coach and the offensive line coach. If you keep this part of the staff intact, the players will be happy, and it might entice Joel Bitonio to come back for one more year. Other names who interest me are Vance Joseph, Matt Burke, Frank Ross, Brant Boyer and Dan Pitcher. Joseph would make this defense better. Burke turned the Texans defense the number one defense this year. Both Ross and Boyer are great special team’s coaches. Ross was named Special Teams coach of the year last year. Before you piss and moan about a special teams coach, remember John Harbaugh and Bill Cowher were special teams’ coaches. Both would hire the people to fix a unit that cost the Browns four games last year. Pitcher is an OC and used to be a QB coach. Word is, he knows how to get the best out of a young quarterback.

Bottom line, the team can fix this if everything goes their way. The have ten draft picks, they’ll have cap room, (I’ve explained this many times) and an owner who’ll devote the cash to fix this team. Stay safe and GO Browns.

I like Victory Monday’s, and I especially like them when they’re at the expense of the Steelers. It doesn’t surprise me the Browns won, because Kevin Stefanski is on a four-game winning streak at home versus Pittsburg. The Steelers are now 1-6-1 against the Browns in Cleveland over the last eight games. It also doesn’t surprise me the Steelers lost because of the way they played. They spent the entire game running away from Myles Garrett breaking the sack record. I don’t care what Mike Tomlin says, the Steelers played like they were more concerned about the record then getting the win. If anyone even hints that Steeler OC Arthur Smith should get a head coaching job I’m laughing in their face. With the game, clinching a playoff spot and winning the division on the line, he dials up three straight passes at pro bowl cornerback Denzel Ward. Not to bright.

I going to give credit to Sheduer Sanders for improving over the last two games. Against the Bills his completion percentage was 69.0 and against the Steelers it was 73.9. He’s improved his season total to 57.4. However, he’s still throwing bad interceptions. Against the Steelers he got lucky on a pick six by the Steelers. That would have been the perfect time to throw it out of bounds. On his second interception, he retreated backwards (consistently bad habit), threw off his back foot (another bad habit), threw across his body (hopefully not a new bad habit) and lofted a pass that was easily picked off. The team was lucky the Browns defense was playing well, and the Steelers were playing not to have a record broken on them, because neither ended up in Pittsburg points. The defense was so good, the Steelers were the only team in the league to not score a touchdown in week 17.

Finally, this win confirms to me that head coach Kevin Stefanski will be back in 2026. Jimmy & Dee Haslam want consistency and Stefanski gives them that. The last two games showed the team has not given up and still want to play for the head coach. Joel Bitonio’s comments prior to the game and afterwards shows the players want Stefanski back. Besides the garbage preached by Tony Grossi of a mutual parting of the ways is crap. There are only 32 NFL head coaches in the world, Stefanski knows if he quits it will follow him the rest of his career. Cleveland beat writers should stick to sports and stop with the amateur psych analysis. I have a psychology degree from Vanderbilt University, I know a quitter when I see one. Stefanski isn’t a quitter. He said it’s a privilege to the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. That’s good enough for me. Happy New Year, stay safe and Go Browns.

As another Browns losing season comes to an end, again the focus turns to the NFL draft. This year is the same as last year for Browns fans and the local media, the team has a high pick so they have to take a quarterback. However, this year there’s a complication, Sheduer Sanders. Last year’s QB draft was not the greatest, but there were those searching for social media clicks who unfortunately convinced a portion of the fan base Sanders was easily the second-best QB in the 2025 draft. Not even close. I said prior to the draft, Sanders would either be a starter in the league in two years or out of the league in two years. After seeing him play this year I’ll amend that to he has the ability to become a good NFL quarterback if he has the right players around him. He still holds on the ball too long and takes sacks when the team can’t afford for him to take sacks. So what are the Browns options for the 2026 season?

The Browns right now have the third pick in the draft and if things happen right, could have the second pick in the draft. Currently they have a 22% chance of getting the first pick in the draft. With either of the top two picks, the Browns could draft a quarterback if Donte Moore declares after the bowl season is over. He and Mendoza are the top two quarterbacks and the gap to number three is a wide one. Here’s where it gets interesting. If the team feels Sanders can be their starter for 2026, they could turn the pick in to more draft assets for 2026 and future years. This would definitely help building a proper NFL offense around Sanders to give him and the team the best chance to succeed in 2026.

The other option is to go ahead and draft a quarterback at pick one or two. Some have speculated if this is the path, the Browns would deal Sanders to another team. Unfortunately, they would probably only recover a fifth-round pick in return. In this scenario, the Browns could still build the offense to win by using trades, free agency and the draft. They’re still going to use trades and free agency no matter what they do with their first-round pick.

An option not discussed, and my option, would be draft either Moore or Mendoza depending on the pick and keeping Sanders to compete for the starting job. Here’s how it works. Use trades and free agency to build the offensive line and wide receiver rooms. Draft a quarterback and continue to improve the offense through the draft. Acquire a veteran quarterback as insurance. When training camp begins let the draftee and Sanders compete for the starting position. Because quarterbacks are always getting hurt in the off-season, deal Gabriel for a pick, probably a conditional pick in 2027. So, the room would be veteran, draft pick/ Sanders, Watson. What they do with Watson is interesting. They could decide and have him as the third string QB and not get a veteran or sign a veteran and use Watson as the emergency QB on the practice squad, were no team will claim him because of his contract.

The Browns have two more games to decide if Sanders is an option in 2026 and I think because GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski like him as a player, he’ll be on the team for the 2026 season and will have a chance to start. The question is, can he beat out a high drafted quarterback. Stay safe and Go Browns.

That’s the phrase Browns GM Andrew Berry used to describe the plans for the 2025 season back at the beginning of the year. I only bring this up because fans and local Cleveland media are using what the owner said back in July to justify their reasoning to fire everybody associated with the team. He said, three and fourteen this year won’t cut it. You have to look at the time and situation this was said. At the time, the plan was for Kenny Pickett to be the starting QB so the rookies would fight it out to be the backup. Joe Flacco was a break glass in case of emergency QB. You have to also remember at that time the team was unsure if starting running back, Quinshon Judkins, would even play due to his legal troubles. Situations and circumstances. Hell, last August I told my wife I’d like to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year. Not even close.

What does strategic pivot mean? Based on what I’ve seen this year, it was seeing what kind of off-season the team would have with different scenarios. They chose to resign Garrett and build around him on defense. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins was the best off-season move this team made and now we’re seeing his value because the Browns can’t stop the run. I wished they had addressed the offensive line in the draft, but they did sign two linemen that I thought would work out. Cornelius Lucus and Treven Jenkins. Lucus was the guy I wanted and said so many times. I didn’t think Jenkins was obtainable due to price. I would resign Jenkins for depth and let Lucus walk. As for the wide receiver position, they didn’t draft one, but I’m more impressed with Isaiah Bond with each game he plays. On defense they drafted the defensive rookie of the year and a DT who is in the top ten at his position. The big pivot came when they decided to go with so many rookie and young players, including the quarterback position.

The local media works on emotions not logic. The head coach of an NFL team basically has three primary jobs, win games, develop players and keep the respect of the locker room. So far Kevin Stefanski has done two out of three. While Sheduer Sanders still plays like a rookie, he is getting better, and you can see the difference between now and the third preseason game. Judkins and Fannin are future stars this team will count on in the upcoming years. This team needs one more year of stability to rebuild the offense, hopefully around Sanders. Both tackle positions need a serious upgrade which can be addressed in both free agency and the draft. The same goes with the wide receiver position.

If Jimmy and Dee are going to fire the head coach, they had better already have a plan. In the past when the owner shot from the hip, we got Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens. But here’s the rub, I’m hearing Jimmy wants stability for once. It sounds like he’s learned his lesson from his past mistakes. Right now, some in the Cleveland media want the owner to act like he did in the past, that way they can complain about it, again. Good times. I still think, based on what I’m hearing, Berry and Stefanski come back in 2026. If there’s no improvement, Jimmy will clean house prior to 2027. Stay safe and GO Browns.

Sorry, this is a day late, it couldn’t be helped. Apparently, the Browns are a giant cabal of Sanders hate. After out playing the number one overall pick last Sunday, many in the local Cleveland media feel Sanders was held back on purpose because they hate him. Or hate the fact they picked him. Or are trying to set him to fail by starting him the last four games of the season. I can’t keep up with any of this crap anymore.

There’s a simple explanation for Sanders not starting game one, he wasn’t ready. It was easy to figure out if you watched the last preseason game. He wasn’t an NFL quarterback coming out of college and that game showed he wasn’t an NFL quarterback. Starting him week one would’ve only hurt his career. He Was Not Ready. The Browns had a plan to get him ready, and Sanders did what he could to learn. You are now seeing the fruits of that labor. Is he completely ready? No. He’s still making rookie mistakes because, wait for it. he’s a rookie. Time was not wasted starting Flacco or Gabriel, because Sanders wasn’t ready. You saw that against Baltimore when he came in when Gabriel got hurt. He’s gotten better with each start, which is sign of a good QB who’s learning.

The notion that Kevin Stefanski can’t develop a quarterback is also being destroyed by the fact that Sanders is getting better each game. Rookies aren’t on a self-teaching program. Joel Bitonio told the media this week, when he gets to the training facility every morning, Sanders is already there. And guess who else is there, Kevin Stefanski, who is with Sanders going over the Browns next opponent. Teaching and developing a rookie QB. If you’re proud of the success that Sanders is having, you also have to acknowledge it’s because of the head coach. One goes with the other.

I’ve also heard from those who wish the Browns had traded up and drafted Jaxon Dart. If the team had done that, they would’ve used draft capital that would have gone to other players. The team could have been without Carson Schwesinger, or Quinshon Judkins, or Harold Fannin because the capital to draft them could’ve been used to move back into the first round. And no, they shouldn’t have used the second pick or the fifth pick in the first round to draft Dart. Just to remind you, Schwesinger is the favorite to win Defensive Rookie of The Year, Judkins leads all rookie running backs in yards and Fannin leads all rookie tight ends in receptions and yardage. I guess when Andrew Berry has a full complement of draft picks, he does very well.

Finally if you’re going to blame anyone for the loss on Sunday, blame the special teams and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. There are times Schwartz does things that make you wonder, but Sunday to concentrate on the getting Myles Garrett his sack record and ignoring the Titans’ running game is inexcusable. Not a good look for a guy who some in the Cleveland media thinks would be a great head coach. Looks kind of stubborn to me. Stay safe and Go Browns.