The 2019 NFL season has been a complete disaster for the Cleveland Browns. After an eventful offseason that included the acquisition of superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., the team was receiving serious playoff and even Super Bowl hype.
Of course, it was all hype, but the players didn't exactly shy away from it all. We are now in Week 16, and the Browns are still in the playoff hunt, at least mathematically. But the team is 6-8, fresh off a pounding from the 4-9-1 Arizona Cardinals.
Frustration within and surrounding the organization is at an all-time high, and the locker room is reportedly in a tumult. While there isn't just one problem, the chain of command leads to one man being at fault, for both the roster composition and the coaching staff: general manager John Dorsey. He's never cared about character, only talent, and that philosophy is starting to catch up to him.
Cleveland's culture was fantastic over the last eight games of 2018 and through the offseason. And then once the season started, everything changed. First, it was the Browns getting punched in the mouth in Week 1 by the Tennessee Titans, after which Tennessee's Delanie Walker remarked “they are who we thought they were.”
Fortunes were high after Cleveland demolished the Baltimore Ravens 40-25 in Week 4, then followed up that performance by playing the entire next game, a Monday Night showdown with the San Francisco 49ers, in the fetal position. The Browns lost 31-3 on national television, and were thoroughly embarrassed. The effort level was atrocious, and it looked like the team just gave up towards the end of the game. The same thing happened in the team's loss to Arizona; there was just no effort.
Cleveland has spent the entire season near the top of the league ranks in penalties, personal fouls, ejections, fines, and suspensions, signaling a lack of discipline. Multiple players have been disciplined for internal situations by missing games.
Now there are reports that receivers Beckham and Jarvis Landry have been yelling “come get me” to opposing teams. How many of the rumors are actually true is unknown, but one thing is for certain; the locker room is not gelling, and that's a major problem. But John Dorsey has never been one to prioritize finding the right people, only the right players.
Here is a list of all the acquisitions he's made in Cleveland that involve some kind of character concern, whether it's an arrest, leadership issues, coaching arguments, lack of maturity, devotion to football, or drug-related offenses (so, obviously, these are not equal).
- Baker Mayfield
- Kareem Hunt
- Jarvis Landry
- Odell Beckham Jr.
- Chad Thomas
- Sione Takitaki
- Pharaoh Brown
- Damarious Randall
- Greedy Williams
- Mack Wilson
- Antonio Callaway
- Jermaine Whitehead
- Rico Gathers
- Desmond Harrison
- Devaroe Lawrence
- Aaron Neary
- Zaycoven Henderson
- Simeon Thomas
- Mychal Kendricks
And this list doesn't even include his time in Kansas City, where he drafted noted great human being Tyreek Hill. Nor does this include the waiving of locker room favorites like Jaelen Strong, Chris Smith, Britton Colquitt, Jamie Meder, Carl Nassib, and others. Some of the players listed reformed by the time John Dorsey picked, traded for, or signed them, and others had no history to indicate they would be a problem. But the fact that Dorsey has been on the job with the Browns for less than three seasons, and this list is already 19 players long is telling.
That's Dorsey's thing. He takes risk after risk, and sometimes he gets lucky. Every GM will have a list of players who have or had character concerns. But Dorsey's is longer than almost everyone else's. Because that's how he always has and always will run his teams. He won't change his philosophy even when he gets burnt. As the list proves, he gets burnt more often than not.
Do the players still believe in the coaching staff? Hard to say. But it's very odd that there are still all of these issues, when there are strong leaders in the locker room, like Mayfield, Landry, Sheldon Richardson, and Joe Schobert. Rumors are that Dorsey wants to keep Freddie Kitchens as head coach, while owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam want to move on, with New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their primary target.
John Dorsey was given free reign to do everything he wanted with this team. He began with a treasure trove of draft picks and cap space the likes of which the NFL has never seen, and was able to hand-pick his head coach and staff. And the results are not good.
Things are going to change with the Cleveland Browns this offseason. The team hasn't performed anywhere close to where it should have. The unnecessary locker room issues and constant drama only make the problem worse. A year ago, no one would have thought of even insinuating Dorsey's job wasn't 100% safe. But his seat is heating up, and it's time for him to acknowledge that talent isn't the only thing that matters.
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