Should the Browns Allow Bill Belichick to Redeem Himself in Cleveland?

Bill Belichick is a perfectionist. And I know that a lot of you don’t know what it’s like to have a mindset that being really good isn’t good enough, but Bill and I will tell you exactly that. Being really good is not good enough. That’s why we’re great. That’s why Bill has 5 Super Bowl rings. And that’s why I was named Coach of the Year and Teacher of the Year in the same month. In the same month, Ronnie.

But as much success as we have both have had and as many Coach of the Year awards that we both have gotten, it’s not the championships that stick with us. It’s the losses. The ones that got away. The times we could’ve done better. And I know that sounds crazy, but I don’t know what else to tell you. I guess we’re just wired differently.

So while Bill has made a pretty good name for himself as the coach of the New England Patriots and winning an NFL record 5 Super Bowls, I know that deep down that there’s still something digging at him. Something eating away at him on the insides. And it’s the fact that from 1991 to 1995, Bill went 36-44 as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, which ultimately got him fired before the team shipped off to Baltimore.

And while in the end, this allowed him to go work for Bill Parcells in New England, which ultimately led to him taking over the franchise in 2000, all of the Super Bowl rings in the world can’t cover up that one big blemish in Cleveland. And Bill knows it. And the fact that the Browns position is the clear #1 marquee job opening in the NFL right now just adds fuel to his fire to return.

So I guess the question isn’t if Bill would be interested in the job, the question is should the Browns let him redeem himself?

I personally think my answer is Yes. If Bill Belichick wants to coach the Browns, I say we give him a shot. He’s proven that he can win when he has a great quarterback, and we have proven that we have one of those. I think it could be a match made in heaven. But on the other hand, part of me is saying that we have two guys in the organization right now that have their finger on the pulse of the city and we could completely blow up that chemistry if we make a drastic change. Gregg Williams and Freddie Kitchens get Cleveland. Baker Mayfield gets Cleveland. Is it possible that Bill Belichick just never truly got Cleveland? There are high-class northeastern Americans that have lots of mommy and daddy’s money but can’t do anything for themselves, and then there are northeast Ohioans that know that nothing is given and everything is earned. Freddie Kitchens, Gregg Williams, and Baker Mayfield fit that mold. Does Bill Belichick? Is he a hard worker? Or was he handed the keys to Tom Brady in 2001 and road his coattails ever since? I guess that’s the question that John Dorsey must answer before deciding on our next move.

I guess one thing that Belichick could pitch to Dorsey to convince him that he deserves a chance to redeem himself would be that he has great relationships in the football world that could help him build a really, really good staff. Although many people aren’t high on this guy as a coach right now, people forget that Nick Saban was Bill Belichick’s defensive coordinator in Cleveland, and they faced the biggest failures (2nd biggest now for Saban) of their career together. Could Bill get the gang back together? The Redeem Team? A Revenge Tour?

So the question now is how can the Browns make this move if the Patriots are still playing on Sunday? I’m not sure. We would definitely need to hold off on hiring one of what are supposedly the two finalists in Freddie Kitchens and Kevin Stefanski. And then it’s just a waiting game for when the Patriots exit the playoffs. Would we rather them win or lose on Sunday? I truly believe that Belichick wants to return to Cleveland to prove to everyone that he is not a failure of a coach. But the situation needs to be right to allow the move. So I guess one of our options is for New England’s window to officially close on Sunday with a tough home loss to the Chargers, allowing him to freely head to Cleveland without any public backlash. Or we could have the Patriots win the whole damn thing, giving him his 6th ring and a reason to say he’s done all he’s needed to do in New England. I think that’s the most likely way that Bill Belichick comes to the Browns, but I just can’t see John Dorsey waiting that long to hire a coach. Rumors are already swirling that he’s going to name his guy this morning. So I guess I’m rooting for the Chargers this weekend. A Chargers win = Bill Belichick to Cleveland. Unfinished business. Go Chargers Go.

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