After the Pittsburgh game a week ago, we heard the "Butch Must Go" chants for the first time from fans filing out of Cleveland Browns Stadium. After yesterday's depressing 10-7 loss to the Jets, the T-shirt stand at the foot of the stairway up to Mall C had a new item. On the front is a picture of the Head Coach with "Butch Davis Sucks" in two-inch letters. The back lists the "Top Ten Reasons Why Butch Must Go".
I thought it might be amusing to move over close enough to read at least some of the ten. But the mass of humanity was propelling me up the steps to Lakeside Avenue, and amusement wasn't really what I was after anyway. Up until that point, I had scoffed at my friends who were predicting that Davis would be fired. The team had just extended his contract after all, and the owner had been vocal in his public support of Davis' program. I even refuted those who said he should be fired , because I wasn't yet ready to admit that he has given us very little to be optimistic about in three years. I've been living on baseless hope.
He does seem to have the team prepared emotionally to give it their best shot each and every Sunday. But that's about where the good stuff ends. He has drafted pretty poorly so far, and the team has maybe one Pro Bowl player(Andra Davis?). He doesn't delegate very well. He could take lessons from Bill Belichick on media relations. Ditto player relations. The lack of discipline manifested mostly by the prevalence of stupid penalties, has been a hallmark of this team since he took over. And he may be the worst coach at managing the clock in the last two minutes of a half that I have ever witnessed in my life.
And speaking of my life, I have spent the 40 years since my 12th birthday waiting for a championship game involving my team, and now it seems like we're starting over yet again. Yes, Super Bowl XL is coming up this year, and we're still waiting. This makes it impossible to ever win an argument with a Steeler fan, of course, and what is even more humiliating, Bengals fans can rub our noses in that as well. I know that this is a big part of the reason I have hoped against hope that Butch would be The Man. I'm sick of five-year plans and rebuilding projects.
So even after I had mustered a bit of optimism when we took the Eagles to overtime, and split with the Ravens, this Jets game convinced me that Butch just doesn't have it. He will continue to find ways to lose games he should win. I know that it wasn't Butch missing two makeable field goals yesterday, but it was Butch deciding to punt the ball after having a 3rd and 2 from the Jets 35, with two cracks at a first down. He had proven that he lacked a pair in the Eagles game as well, passing up a 4th and 1 near midfield in OT in favor of punting one final time to McNabb, who proceeded to drive for the winning field goal.
Especially galling to fans and media alike has been his near-perfect record of refusing to blame his own coaching for any loss or bad performance by the team. Instead, after each loss, we are told that the team is "making strides". Well, I'm tired of Monday morning regrets and so too now is Randy Lerner, it appears.
ESPN is reporting tonight that a league source says Lerner is close to firing Davis, and that a win at Cincinnati this Sunday is probably needed to save his job.
(sigh)
Posted by dan at November 23, 2004 01:01 AM