Meadowdale H.S. graduation 2012
Middletown H.S. graduation 2012
Dunbar H.S. graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Dawging the Browns > Archives > 2009 > January > 24 > Entry
Remember Mo? He’s in the Super Bowl
Ex-Browns assistant coaches could have a reunion at the Super Bowl if so inclined.
A total of nine — that’s right, nine, including the infamous Maurice Carthon — will be on one sideline or the other Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers lay waste to the Arizona Cardinals in Tampa.
Carthon, you’ll recall, was so vilified as offensive coordinator a few years ago that fans sent petitions to Browns headquarters demanding his immediate ouster, which occurred in short order.
Anyway, here’s the laundry list of coaches who have done better since they left Randy Lerner’s employ and will be enjoying the Florida sun this week:
For the Steelers: Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, linebackers coach Keith Butler, defensive line coach John Mitchell and offensive line coach Larry Zierlein.
For the Cardinals: Head coach Ken Whisenhunt, running backs coach Carthon, linebackers coach Billy Davis, strength and conditioning coach John Lott and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast.
Carl Smith won’t be there. He’s back with the Browns as quarterbacks coach. It’s a job he held previously in Cleveland before being swept out. Good coach, supposedly. Must have been a hack back then.
What’s next, the return of Romeo Crennel — or one of his relatives — as quality control coach? Don’t think it can’t happen.
Disgraceful: It’s the only word that comes to mind to describe the Browns’ lack of an official statement regarding the death of Hall of Fame receiver Dante Lavelli, merely one of the signature stars in team history.
But I guess it’s in keeping with new head coach Eric Mangini’s attempt to whitewash history from the organization by simply failing to acknowledge it. Along those lines, he reportedly took issue with the decor at team headquarters and ordered a mural of the team’s Hall of Famers painted over.
Reminds me of some of the micromanaging former coach Butch Davis did over there when he wasn’t busy passing up future Hall of Fame quarterbacks (Ben Roethlisberger) in the draft. Davis even tried to control the team’s Web site. And speaking of that Web site …
Another bizarre move was last week’s firing of ClevelandBrowns.com writer Steve King, who knows as much if not more than anyone about the team’s history. If you happened to read any of his historical pieces over the years, you know what I’m talking about. Nobody wrote that kind of stuff better than King. He was a fan, but he could write objectively, too. And while he was often frustrated by the Browns, he deeply respected their tradition.
King was one of a dozen employees swept out in a purge that seemingly made little sense. Also shown the door was media information director Ken Mather, a decent sort who had been with the team since its re-emergence in 1999.
Strange. Classless. Penny-pinching. Take your pick.
No, I’m not that excited about the dawning of the Mangini era. Can you tell?
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