Should the Browns dump Butch Davis? Though I’ve been very critical of him, I’m not sure we’ll be better off starting from scratch again.

Should he at least be relieved of his authority when it comes to personnel moves? Absolutely. Only seven other head coaches these days have that level of control, and all of them sport better records than the 4-8 Browns. Simply put, Davis has neither the skills nor the experience to wear both hats effectively.

Let’s take a quick quantitative look at this. While drafts are not the only personnel decisions that comprise a team, it’s easy to look at the players Butch drafted and assess their on-field contributions. Remember now, this isn’t college, where you have several years for recruits to grow into their potential. Not that rookies should always produce as much as seasoned vets, but the game these days demands quick returns on those signing bonuses.

Have Davis’ draftees achieved as much as you’d expect from that level of draft pick at this point in their careers? For simplicity’s sake, we’ll limit the answers to yes, no, or incomplete.

2001

1. Warren, Gerard (DT) Florida; NO

2. Morgan, Quincy (WR) Kansas State; NO

3. Jackson, James (RB) Miami; NO

4. Henry, Anthony (DB) South Florida; YES

5. Pharms, Jeremiah (LB) Washington; NO

6. Jameson, Michael (DB) Texas A&M; YES

7a. Zukauskas, Paul (OL) Boston College; YES

7b. King, Andre (WR) Miami (compensatory selection). YES

2002

1. Green, William (RB) Boston College; NO

2. Davis, Andre’ (WR) Virginia Tech; YES

3. Fowler, Melvin (OL) Maryland; NO

4a. Bentley, Kevin (LB) Northwestern; YES

4b. Taylor, Ben (LB) Virginia Tech; YES

4c. Sanders, Darnell (TE) Ohio State; NO

5. Davis, Andra (LB) Florida; YES

7. Gonzalez, Joaquin (OL) Miami (Fla.). INCOMPLETE

2003

1. Faine, Jeff (C) Notre Dame; INCOMPLETE

2. Thompson, Chaun (LB) West Texas A&M; NO

3. Crocker, Chris (DB) Marshall; YES

4. Suggs, Lee, Jr. (RB) Virginia Tech; INCOMPLETE

5a. Pontbriand, Ryan (LS) Rice; NO

5b. Lehan, Michael (DB) Minnesota; YES

6. Garay, Antonio (DE) Boston College. INCOMPLETE.

You may quibble with a few of my assessments, but I’ve seen every game these guys have played. In summary, Butch has succeeded in getting adequate (though in no case spectacular) value from 10 of 23 picks. Nine of the 23 have not yet proven worthy of their draft position. The jury’s still out on four others.

If not even half of your draft picks have produced satisfactory results — to say nothing of decisions and indecisions related to free agents, roster cuts, and the depth chart — it’s patently obvious that you need help. With all that control comes responsibility. I’m waiting for Butch to take some of the latter by ceding some of the former.