Carthon "resigns"
Maybe it happened just like Romeo Crennel said. Maybe former Browns' offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon walked into the coach's office and said "I quit."
Maybe there were no external pressures on the Crennel from Randy Lerner, Phil Savage and even Jim Brown to fire Carthon.
But my guess is it didn't quite go down like Crennel said.
Personally, I developed a sinking feeling Monday when listening to Mike Trivisonno's radio show, and he said he talked to Lerner for "about an hour" that morning.
(Why is an owner conversing with a talk show host "off the record?" Does he honestly think Mike knows more about football than Romeo Crennel or Phil Savage? Does the fact that he's doing any of this set off alarms in anyone else's head?)
But about 20 minutes after this, Trivisonno says the Browns need a new coach. Then he bets fellow WTAM reporter Andre Knott $20 the Browns will have a new coach next year.
And he talked to the owner for an hour. Fantastic.
Crennel's press conference today was strange, as he had to rationalize a decision that probably wasn't his.
You have a lot of people saying the Browns have talent at the skill positions.That's true.
But the offensive line is a disaster, and has been so since LeCharles Bentley went down and Bob Hallen retired.
Is any of that Crennel's fault? No. But how can we blame Carthon when the defensive line gets to the ball faster than Reuben Droughns? Carthon was put in an impossible position and performed poorly.
I didn't like Carthon's play-calling, and I'm not arguing he's a great OC. But he was not the main problem. Butch Davis' drafts and lack of moves to improve the line is.
Butch is gone. But his legacy remains. Yes I wish Savage would have drafted some offensive linemen. But the system is still young.
Lets wait before we hit that button again.