I watched the Netflix documentary The Gambler and his Cowboys about Jerry Jones and came away with a different reaction than the one I imagined: a newfound respect for Jones. I knew Jones played College Football but I didn't realize he was a starting offensive lineman on a National Championship Team.
Jones has a sound foundation as a football expert. Furthermore, he grew up in a middle class family which gives him humility. Jones has often been bold, but I learned watching that documentary that at many points in his life, Jerry Jones faced decisions that would ruin him financially had things gone wrong. Jones oozes self confidence however the fact that he grew up by humble means gives him sufficient humility to assess risks.
What does this have to do with Jimmy Haslam? Everything. I think Jimmy Haslam sees himself in Jerry Jones and that self image is the source of everything that has gone wrong with the Cleveland Browns during the Haslam era.
First, Jimmy Haslam is not a football expert. Jerry Jones is. Ok, Jerry Jones is crazy, but he is an expert. Case in point? I can give you one good one. Jerry Jones passed on Johnny Football....
Second and most important, Haslam falls below the threshold of accurate self assessment. It was Richard Feynman who once stated "The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool"
Haslam spent his entire business career in a large corporation created and owned by his father. Unlike Jerry Jones, Haslam does not know what it feels like to know that one bad decision could lead to ruin. When you have the structure of Multinational Corporation behind you, it's hard to fail. I know, I ran an operation for a multinational corporation for 7 years in Italy. I had smaller more nimble competitors, who were led by people that had more technical depth than I did. But what they lacked that I possessed was the support of a big bank, world class law firms, tax consultants and accounting firms. I was smart enough to know that my success those 7 years was attributable to the organization I had supporting me and my team and that my very able competitors were handcuffed in many ways. I leveraged those advantages every chance I had.
When I look at the Browns during the Haslam era, it feels like he never learned he's not infallible. In the world of multinationals competing with smaller competitors, it's hard to lose. In the NFL everyone has the same resources. The consequences of impulsive decisions are immediate and destructive.
So what would I do if I were Jimmy Haslam after the Dolphins game?
- I would immediately announce that Kevin Stefanski no longer reports to me. I would have Stefanski report to Andrew Berry and I would announce that I will begin to search for a new leader to run football operations. Once hired, Berry would report to this person and this new leader would be responsible to drive football operations. I would wait until the end of the season but not any longer, to hire this person.
- I would offer Paul DePodesta a position as an outside consultant, but eliminate his role in the Cleveland Browns organization.
Why?
Because everything that has gone wrong with the Cleveland Browns during the Haslam era has Jimmy Haslam's fingerprints on it. And whether it be feelings of guilt or regret, it clouds his ability to assess situations.
More importantly, even when Haslam is paralyzed by regret, he still cannot control his impulsiveness. Yes for 6 years now Haslam has had the same head coach and general manager for if you look underneath the hood, impulsiveness still reigns:
- It had to be Haslam that drove the decision to fire AVP and replace him with Ken Dorsey - DISASTER
- It had to be Haslam to drive the decision to fire Mike Priefer and hire Bubba Ventrone - DISASTER
- $230,000,000 fully guaranteed? Who else, Jimmy Haslam - DISASTER
Need I go on?
I'm not sure Kevin Stefanski is the answer. But I am sure that Stefanski is a solid coach whose main defect is that his job security is too tightly connected to saying yes to every ignorant idea Paul DePodesta comes up with and I am also sure that Jimmy Haslam has no business running the football operations of an NFL team.
Solve the real problem first please.
