Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Pledges To Stay The Course At Recent Team Meeting

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that Browns ownership recently held a staff meeting for all team employees to make the case for not making coaching and management changes.

Sources tell La Canfora that owner Jimmy Haslam, his wife Dee, coach Hue Jackson, executive VP Sashi Brown, and executive Paul DePodesta all spoke during the meeting that was intended to boost morale and make the case for staying the course, despite the fact that team could be in line for an 0-16 season.

Although, La Canfora’s sources said that Haslam has placed the blame for the team’s poor 2016 performance on the past regimes and cited their three prior drafts as the cause of their issues.

Haslam and the other speakers all believe they’re working well together and asked employees to believe in their long-term vision for the franchise. Interestingly enough, La Canfora says that Haslam blamed himself for the mistakes he made hiring decision makers and apologized for the mistakes made during the 2013-15 drafts.

Other executives around the league have pointed out to La Canfora just how little the Browns are getting from their 2016 draft class. Beyond that, the Browns have spent little on their current roster and allowed some notable players to depart in free agency.

The Browns committed to a specific vision last year and the early results haven’t been good. Even so, the Browns would be wise to give the front office and coaching staff at least a few years to work to develop their young talent into a stable foundation before considering major changes.

We’ll have more regarding the Browns as the news is available.