Forget the logo, Browns need to reboot on the field
CLEVELAND – Meet the new Browns logo, same as the old Browns logo.
Well, OK, not exactly the same. The facemask on the helmet is brown now. The helmet itself is a brighter shade of orange.
But after two years of research and a groundswell of publicity and debate, the debut of the new logo Tuesday was the most anticlimactic thing for Browns fans to deal with since Johnny Manziel made his first start at quarterback.
Of course, the great irony here is the redesign of the logo — and the planned redesign of the uniforms, which will debut in April at the Cleveland Convention Center — was initially met with skepticism. Cleveland sports fans are slavishly devoted to their logos (witness the furor over Chief Wahoo), and didn't want to see a lot of change.
The Browns were mindful of that.
"In redesigning our uniforms and modernizing our logos, our primary focus was honoring the Browns' cherished history and recognizing the transformation of Cleveland," said Browns President Alec Scheiner.
The Browns' history is cherished because in Bono's words, we glorify the past when the future dries up. The team went 7-9 last year — sad to say, its best record and first season without at least 10 losses in six years — but any good will that could have engendered was dissipated with the way the campaign finished.
The Browns lost five straight to end the season (they've lost 12 straight games in December) and six of their last seven to tumble from the top of the AFC North to the basement yet again, and went down the quarterback depth chart to their practice squad to get Connor Shaw.
It just got worse after the season. General Manager Ray Farmer was rapped on the knuckles for texting to coaches during a game, a violation of the league's communication policy (sanctions are forthcoming, and there's talk the Browns might lose a draft pick; given what they've done with them in the past, is that really a punishment?).
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan left, taking a flamethrower to the bridges before doing so. His replacement, John DeFilippo, has never called offensive plays on an NFL level.
The team's hire as quarterbacks coach, Kevin O'Connell, is being regarded as a way to make playing for the Browns more palatable to Marcus Mariota, and the team's new receivers coach is literally a Joker (Phillips). The midnight toker is Josh Gordon, who went from the NFL's leading receiver in 2013 to not even catching a touchdown pass in five games in 2014, and then received a yearlong ban for violation of the league's substance abuse (alcohol this time). Manziel is in a treatment center, and the best-case scenario for the Browns continues to be that their current quarterback is not on the roster.
News reports painted the team as an unmitigated disaster, with a meddling owner that almost makes fans long for the benign neglect of the previous regime and a team president — Scheiner — who seems to be trying to insinuate himself within the football side of the operation.
When Scheiner was hired, it was with the idea of improving "fan experience" — everything that happens when you attend a game except for the contest itself.
There are new scoreboards and new restaurants at the stadium. It will cost more to attend Browns games, since the team decided to raise ticket prices.
That's the heart of it: money. I'm not naïve enough to believe that a guy from Tennessee by way of Pittsburgh spent $1 billion on the Browns for any reason other than to make money. But I am cynical enough to notice that while Jimmy Haslam talks of trying to change the idea of the "same old Browns," nothing has changed — except that he seems determined to wring every dollar possible out of the team.
Drafting Manziel sold jerseys; it didn't make the team better. The ticket increase still leaves the Browns with relatively inexpensive tickets, compared to the rest of the NFL (they were previously 31st in the league in average ticket prices). But you try selling a price increase to a fan base that is only guaranteed different kinds of ineptitude every year.
Now we have the new logo, followed by new uniforms. The logo might not be exactly the same, but the results are: ownership finishes in the black, and all fans see is red.