Written by Greg Popelka

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As with any football team, it’s about the quarterback. Most head coaches from the history of the Cleveland Browns are thought of in that context. If you bring up the name of Sam Rutigliano, Brian Sipe comes to mind. 1980 NFL MVP. Marty Schottenheimer? All-time local favorite, Bernie Kosar. Could have been a Hall of Famer, but that is a story for another day.

Separating the NFL careers of Sipe and Kosar was the transition season of 1984. The excitement of the Rutigliano regime had worn off, and owner Art Modell fired him in midseason in favor of his bright young defensive backs coach, Schottenheimer.

In some fundamental ways, the two star signal callers couldn’t have been more different, of course. Sipe was the low draft choice (if the NFL had used today’s 7-round draft, he would have been an undrafted free agent). Kosar was the Sports Illustrated cover boy who’d led the Miami Hurricanes to two national championship games, and one title.

Sipe was a scrambling quarterback who’d assumed the persona of the gambling Coach Sam. Coach Marty didn’t exactly will Kosar into a conservative game manager (thank goodness), but they shared a cerebral approach to the game.

We’re about to take a look at the handoff of the Browns from Sam Rutigliano to Marty Schottenheimer. Although neither Sipe nor Kosar were with the Browns in 1984, they did share the same fate in one noteworthy way: they each got the living crap beaten out of them while quarterbacking the team.

Sipe’s various injuries featured several concussions; he once said he’d suffered as many as five in one season. Kosar endured several arm, shoulder, wrist, hand, hip, ankle, and leg injuries… and at least ten concussions, himself.

That was a reality of the league back before the NFL felt so vulnerable to being sued – er, I mean before they really began to understand the seriousness of injury to the players they care so much for.

Of course, all of American society looked at safety in a different context, back in the day. Babies came home from the hospital in the arms of their mother. She rode in the passenger side of the front bench seat of the family sedan, sans seat belt (when a driver needed to stop suddenly, the instinct was to hold his right arm out, ostensibly to keep the passenger from moving forward- yeah, right). 

Even some fun yard games had an element of danger to them. The precursor to the unfortunately named, ‘Cornhole’ game was the traditional game of horseshoes. Typically, the 2lb, 10oz chunks of iron clanged against a short post from 46 feet away. An errant throw, however, could turn into a toddler-seeking, rolling menace that hopped and wobbled as it circled the horseshoe pit. 

An obvious improvement over horseshoes? Why, yard darts, of course! What a great idea for kids of all ages. 

Here are some excerpts from each of the game stories from the 1984 Browns season. They were variously written by Jeff Passan, Chuck Heaton, and Tony Grossi. See if you can guess the final won-loss record. Also, guess when Coach Sam was fired, and the team’s record at the time.

•              (At Seattle) One play best sums up the frustrating afternoon for the Browns… Linebacker Chip Banks recovered a fumble by David Hughes at the Cleveland 10 and attempted to run upfield. Trapped, he lateraled back to Hanford Dixon, who retreated and was nailed at the 2-yard line. 

•              (At LA Rams) That turnover was doubly frustrating for the Browns. On the previous play, tight end Harry Holt dropped a catchable (Paul) McDonald pass diving in the Los Angeles end zone. 

•              (Denver) Game tied, 14-14. The next 43 seconds would change the complexion of the contest. With 1:15 left in the half, the Browns seemed content to run down the clock. They opened to a chorus of boos with a harmless Boyce Green carry into the Denver line. Then the play-calling changed. 

McDonald stepped back to pass, fumbled, and recovered. On third-and-14 from the Browns' 19, McDonald again retreated to the pocket. This time he was sacked by … right end Rulon Jones. McDonald lost the ball… at the Cleveland 12. 

•              (Pittsburgh) The Browns … seemed rejuvenated with (Boyce) Green … in the backfield with (Mike) Pruitt.

"We're a different team with Boyce and Mike in the backfield," Rutigliano said.

Yes, they are undefeated with the two of them together.

"We feel we're 1-0," Pruitt said. "It's a good feeling."

Better than 0-4. The season is alive. And so is the city. 

•              (at KC) "McDonald's not a scrambling quarterback, so we knew we had to get into his face," said Kansas City right end Mike Bell, who, against Cleveland tackle Doug Dieken, managed only one of the sacks. "We were coming up the middle with linebackers and defensive backs real hard in his face.

"If I don't throw the four interceptions - even if I throw two - we've got a chance," (McDonald) said, refraining from pointing fingers at the offensive line. "If we would have played just average, we would have won. I have got to play better." 

•              (NE) "The kid played very, very well," Rutigliano said of McDonald, whose record in the post-Brian Sipe era dropped to 1-5. "I should never have put him in the position to throw the interception.

"I told them (the Browns) they played extremely well and that I should have kicked the field goal."

That is a lament the Browns and Cleveland fans have heard before. It was the 1980 playoff game, and the city has never recovered. This game rekindled some bad memories. (Ouch- gp) 

•              (NYJ) …you can't expect Mark Gastineau to be contained for 60 minutes.

"It was just a matter of time before Gastineau would get to the quarterback," said Jets coach Joe Walton.

We knew that. What we don't know is what to expect from the Browns. With the season seven weeks old, we are beginning to expect the worst.             (Nice foreshadowing of a future playoff game between Gastineau and Kosar- gp) 

•              (at Cincinnati) "If I thought this was a hopeless situation, then that would be a hell of a lot more frustrating," suggested Tom Cousineau. "The frustration I have is tempered with hope.

"The great thing is we don't have people here lying down. There's nobody flashing union cards. Ultimately, you win with people like that."

But when? When does the winning start? We're ready. Anytime now. 

•              (NO)  The Saints pushed ahead…, culminating a New Orleans drive greatly aided by penalties by Cleveland's aggressive corners, Minnifield and Dixon.

"They're very aggressive," agreed Schottenheimer, who still personally tutors the defensive backs. "The important thing is for them to use good judgment. With them, it's a matter of enthusiasm. I want them to be competitive out there."

"But we're still making errors that are costing us ballgames. And dammit, we're going to quit making them."

Sound familiar? 

•              (at Buffalo)  "I've always felt like a winner," the coach said. "The important thing today was the team was a winner. I'm happier for them than for myself."

Yeah, but how do you feel, Marty?

"To tell you the truth, I am freezing."

It's a good feeling. 

•              (49ers) "I wanted to stay in and get some points on the board, just for the dignity," explained McDonald. "This is a team with talent and a great deal of pride. Our enthusiasm and motivation is still there."

Which leaves execution as the only problem. 

•              (At Atlanta) "This is the way we should have been playing all year," said safety Don Rogers.

"It was great to see it come together," added defensive end Reggie Camp. "We're all smiling from ear to ear.” 

•              (Houston) (Schottenheimer:) "I don't want us to be the best offensive team and I don't want us to be best defensive team. I want us to be the best in the kicking game. Because that's your entire football team . . . players made up of both offense and defense. In time, we will be the best in the league."

The Browns will claim no bests before their time. Too bad it's late November. This could have been interesting. 

•              (Cincinnati) In the Cincinnati locker room, the Bengals crowded around a television, anxiously awaiting the score from Houston. When it was flashed, cornerback Louis Breeden hollered, "Ya-hoo."

"It was a storybook ending," Esiason said.

Indeed it was the same old story for the Browns. 

•              (at Pittsburgh) "I am not in any way disappointed in this football team," said Schottenheimer, whose record dropped to 3-4 as head coach. "They came into a situation against a team that had to win and I'm proud of them. They laid it on the line today."

That they did. Three points short. That made it eight Cleveland losses by a total of 23 points. But unlike the others, the Browns left the field this time with their heads held high. 

•              (at Houston) But, as McDonald would say, "We were able to move the ball when we had to."

Thanks mainly to the Browns' offensive line and to Byner.

The season is over. The ghoulish endings are history. Sundays will never be the same. And for that, Cleveland can be thankful. 

Here’s a yard-game story for you. Once, around 1972 I guess (so I would have been about eleven years old), my Uncle Chuck came home from serving in Viet Nam. When he got together with his brothers, they got involved in various activities- this time, they had several bales of straw stacked up in the wide expanse of my grandfather’s back yard. There were targets tied to the bales, and the bows and arrows were out. My uncles were having fun, laughing and talking smack as they took target practice. 

After a while, they began shooting up into the air. The arrows soared so high, they could barely be seen. When they hit the ground a ways away, they were buried halfway up the shaft. It was awesome. 

They got tired of that after a while, and went inside. I was alone with the bows and arrows. I began shooting at the targets, and tried one into the air. I got it to go pretty high up. I tried again- I pulled the arrow back with all my might, and let it go. Unfortunately, I sacrificed some accuracy for power; the arrow was sailing off to the right. About 100 yards away was an above-ground swimming pool, and the neighbor there was a nice old guy who apparently was holding a pool party for his granddaughter. There were maybe ten teenage girls, all wearing the white swim caps that were popular then. They were splashing in the pool, shouting, giggling, climbing out and jumping back in… Surrounding the pool were short arcs of those old-fashioned lawn chairs made of aluminum tubing and webbing. Adults were sitting in the chairs, and their backs were to me. 

The arrow was rocketing right toward the pool. I was about to kill somebody. I stood in shocked disbelief at how I allowed myself to do such a thing. 

Finally, the arrow stuck the ground, with about 2/3 of the shaft showing, maybe 20 feet from the adults in the chairs. Not only did nobody get hit, but nobody even noticed the arrow! Relief washed over me. But I was not off the hook: I needed to get that arrow out of there before anyone saw it. 

Still alone, I began to saunter in the general direction of the arrow. When I reached a particular bush, I zigzagged over to a tree. I continued in this manner, and didn’t attract any unwanted attention. I was now maybe 30 feet from the buried arrow, and I couldn’t think of any other move but to approach it directly and remove it. If I was sufficiently bold, perhaps I’d get away with it while everyone was still distracted. I stepped to the arrow… I reached for it as I arrived at the spot… I made eye contact with a girl on the pool ladder, and… 

“AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Her screech pierced the happy din of the party. I feel certain it was carried on the nearby chain link fence, and somehow broadcast to 38 states and half of Canada. Amid the dead silence that followed, under the stare of 40 people, I bent over, yanked the arrow out of the ground, and kind of started to walk back to my grandfather’s house. His neighbor came to me, and we stopped walking. We had a seat, and he gave me a neighborly, grandfatherly talk, and that was the end of it. He must have seen how frightened I was- too scared to even be embarrassed- and was very cool about it. My dad never knew about it, until right now. (Just kidding, he’s known for years- but it was I who told him.)

If you would like a hint on exactly when Coach Sam was let go, here’s a good one: the team the Browns lost to was significant. Another hint: it wasn’t the Steelers. It was after the Cincinnati Bengals game, in Week 8. That loss dropped the Browns to a 1-8 record. Coach Marty’s team finished the season at 4-4 including that last game against the Oilers.

Despite what you might read, the Cleveland Browns fans’ biggest rival in the 1970s was the Pittburgh Steelers. It was not the Cincinnati Bengals. However, the Bengals were the biggest rival of Art Modell, and vice versa. As Browns fans know, the Bengals were owned by Paul Brown, who had been fired by Modell. Also fired by Modell was Forrest Gregg, who subsequently was the Bengals’ head coach for a time. Fans like myself didn’t really care if the Browns beat Paul Brown for Art Modell. Some fans actually rooted for PB. But the first Cincinnati loss was the last straw for Sam Rutigliano.

Note the comments above from the New England game. “Red Right 88” (four years prior) was fresh in everyone’s mind; this game stung deeply. The team left the field to the crowd chanting, “Good Bye Sam”.

The Browns franchise had been stable enough that when a head coach was hired, it was common knowledge where he fit among the succession of coaches. Sam Rutigliano was the fifth head coach; Schottenheimer was the sixth. The history of the franchise at the time would span 42 years. (By contrast, Pat Shurmur is the sixth coach of the current era- a period covering 14 seasons.)

Quarterback Paul McDonald showed signs of being an adequate passer in 1984. He suffered from a lot of dropped passes. The Browns also were victims of a horrible season of field goal kicking by Matt Bahr. To their credit, neither player offered excuses. Neither did Coach Sam, although later, when asked what advice he had for Coach Marty, Sam said to tell him to make his field goals.

The win in the finale against the Oilers improved the Browns’ record to 5-11. The season was lamented as the losingest in team history. Writers noted that as an additional insult, the Houston win knocked the Browns down to the seventh pick in the upcoming draft (from third). But the team entered the off season with some confidence and promise. Earnest Byner had emerged over the course of the year. The entire team was stocked with talent, with Mike Baab, Paul Farren, and Robert E Jackson on the offensive line; Ozzie Newsome and Rickey Bolden at tight end; Brian Brennan at wide receiver; Bob Golic, Carl Hairston, Reggie Camp and Sam Clancy on the defensive line; Clay Matthews and Chip Banks at linebacker; Frank Minnifield, Hanford Dixon and Don Rogers in the defensive backfield.

Brian Sipe had moved on to the USFL prior to 1984. Frank Minnifield was a Browns acquisition from that league. Soon, more players would be signed away, players like LB Mike Johnson, OL Dan Fike, KR Gerald McNeil, RB Kevin Mack. They would fortify the team for an extended playoff run, along with the newly acquired quarterback of 1985, a pick taken by the Browns in the supplemental draft, Bernie Kosar.

Thank you for reading. Sources also included clevelandseniors.com, Wikipedia, Steve King, the Cleveland.com Browns game database, various AP news articles.