The Browns continue to deny that they were planning to fire General Manager Phil Savage, claiming they were "blindsided" by the ESPN report yesterday by Chris Mortensen.
Team President John Collins implied yesterday that everybody had kissed and made up:
After rumors began about a shake-up just two days before Cleveland's season finale against Baltimore, Collins said he met with Savage, Lerner and coach Romeo Crennel to discuss several matters."We sat down and we basically renewed our vows," said Collins, who added in a statement on the team's Web site that Savage "will continue to be our senior vice president and general manager."
Tony Grossi in the P.D. confirms that there will be substantive changes in the Browns front office:
Collins attributed today's firestorm to "extensive" discussions that have taken place for months to bolster the organization. As a result of those discussions, the Browns will soon announce the following changes:Douglas Jacobs, chief financial officer, and Lew Merletti, chief operating officer, will be reassigned to a holding company established by Lerner to manage the family businesses.
Mike Keenan of the NFL Management Council office will join the Browns as vice president of finance and administration.
Another hire will be added to serve as the club's chief legal counsel and contract negotiator. This position would conflict with some of Savage's contracted duties.
Grossi also ties the whole issue to a "rift" between Savage and Collins that goes back to the time when Savage was hired, and which wasn't a state secret...
..a frosty relationship between Savage and Collins has been an increasing subject of discussion leaguewide. Collins has denied there is a rift...... According to a source, the germ of conflict between Savage and Collins was planted in Savage's insistence on contract language that gave him final say in the Browns' draft process and the selection of the team's 53-player roster. It is an increasingly common practice among NFL general managers, and Savage was ready to walk away until Collins agreed to put it in writing.
Since then, the two executives have been on a collision course, the source said.
This is essentially what I suggested yesterday, that Savage's authority to draft, sign and take full responsibility for the player personnel was being questioned or reconsidered by Collins or Lerner. This Beacon-Journal report by Patrick McManamon confirms that the concern is with how the team's $100 million payroll will be spent:
Collins admitted that the front office has had discussions about changing the team's front office structure, and he said changes were being discussed to "help Phil.''Most involved finances, especially player contracts and the salary cap.
"You have to be able to understand how you're going to spend in excess of $100 million every year (on players),'' Collins said. "I think one thing that anybody can agree on is nobody thinks you can get better by overspending on players.''
He added: "We need more expertise in that area -- to help Phil.''
The BJ article is much less optimistic that Savage will remain with the team when this all shakes out on Monday. Their story reported...
"one executive saying there was a 90 percent chance Savage would not be back. Another source cautioned the situation was not that critical......Talk was prevalent throughout the league last week that Savage might not make it into his second year. Numerous sources said Savage's relationship with Collins was not good -- Collins dismissed the reports as rumors -- and that Collins would prevail because of his close working relationship with Lerner.
"It's not official,'' one individual close to Savage said of his firing, "but it is.''
I have no quarrel with John Collins, who seems like a nice enough guy, and may be a competent administrator, for all I know. What I do know is that he was an NFL Home Office functionary who was hired by Randy Lerner when Carmen Policy left town with his multi-million dollar buyout. Collins has credits on the resume for putting on a successful Super Bowl halftime show, and was billed as a marketing whiz of sorts, but to my knowledge, he never had any experience in any capacity in an NFL franchise, successful or otherwise, before he was named President of the Browns. This was pre-Savage, when football mastermind Butch Davis was in charge of all on-field matters, and Collins' relative inexperience could be said to be a manageable problem.
Then the organization took a bath on Butch Davis, sending him packing with their check for $12 million in his pocket, and reaping the sorry state of the football team he left behind. That'll show him!
Collins inherited the Butch Davis Show, and can't be blamed for its colossal failure, but I'm guessing he was determined to assert his authority more forcefully with Butch's successor. So now we are told that Lerner will again reach into the NFL Office pool for their new executive, Mr. Keenan, fresh from the NFL Management Council. Grossi also hints that Collins may also be shifted to Lerner's holding company along with Jacobs and Merletti, two other executives being shuffled off the main stage. That would possibly give Savage a new lease on life with the Browns, and be enough to keep him around.
It will be comforting if the team can retain at least one person above the rank of Head Coach who has a sniff of experience running an NFL franchise. As Grossi's NFL sources warned, "Stay tuned."
Posted by dan at January 1, 2006 12:38 AM