Offensive coordinator search: The Plain Dealer reports the Butch Davis is interested in 63-year-old Ted Tollner, but the Beacon Journal says that won’t happen, because the 49ers won’t release him from his contract as QB coach. Meanwhile, the Repository interviews the ousted Bruce Arians.

POSITIONAL ANALYSIS: QUARTERBACKS This is the first of a series of posts evaluating each position group of Browns players. The series will focus on recent history, current status, and prospects for the future. PAST: Chronic controversy at the QB position has been cited as a major reason for the team’s regression. What many saw one […]

Head Coach Butch Davis took to the microphone yesterday and said, “I take the ultimate responsibility for the direction and plan of this football team.” He then announced the firing of Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians, running backs coach Todd McNair, and QB coach Carl Smith, moves that were already the worst-kept secret in Berea. When […]

BROWNS 22, BENGALS 14 “It’s been a bitter, bitter, bitter, bitter season,” said head coach Butch Davis. But the aftertaste was sweet. This exciting season finale leaves the Browns and their fans with a hopeful glimpse of the future. Surely there’s no denying that a 5-11 season is no cause for celebration. But there are […]

Nice profile in today’s Plain Dealer of the founder of the Browns — the entrepeneur who hired Paul Brown, stood fast in favor of an integrated roster, and inspired the term “taxi squad.” “Despite his contributions to the Browns, [Arthur B. “Mickey”] McBride is nearly forgotten,” writes Bob Dolgan, who’s also a legendary figure in […]

Looking for one clear example of why the Browns are underperforming? Witness the team’s approach to Gerard Warren, the first of Butch Davis’ draft picks. After a college career that included two suspensions, Warren received an $8.9 million signing bonus in 2001 and was thus dubbed “Big Money.” That six-year, $33 million deal was heavily […]

Those looking for some quality Browns football can tune into ESPN Classic tonight between 5 and 8 for programming in tribute to Otto Graham. The station is also featuring a few Browns-related tragedies. The story of steroid-fueled Lyle Alzado, who had 16.5 sacks in his two seasons in Cleveland, airs at 8 and 11 tonight. […]

RAVENS 35, BROWNS 0 When I learned that CBS had decreed that its Toledo affiliate would not be showing the Browns game, I drafted in my mind the most scathing invective imaginable. How dare they pull the plug on a team they’d covered all season! How dare they trifle with fan loyalties and apparently disregard […]

I’m too young to remember the career of Otto Graham, but it still warmed my heart to read these reflections by area sportwriters Terry Pluto and Don Detore. In a week filled with buzz about a receiver who celebrated a touchdown by pretending to use a cell phone, a true sportsman is called away. Can […]

SAD UPDATE: Rest in peace, Otto.