Written by Dave Kolonich

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Today’s roundup could have easily been labeled Coming and Going Edition, but ultimately the following four stories all comprise something of a Berea rarity – that of the unmistakable signs of organizational progress.

Or, in other words – we could be onto something here.

News Herald – Brown Relieved of Advisor Role

Jim Brown is no longer working for the Browns as an executive adviser, The News-Herald has learned.

Browns president Mike Holmgren and Brown met, and the end result was Brown will still be involved with the team he starred for from 1957-65, but not in the official capacity he has held in recent years, team spokesman Neal Gulkis confirmed Thursday.

 

 

Gulkis insisted Brown has not been fired.

“He’s still part of the Browns family,” Gulkis said. “He’s the greatest running back of all time. He’ll talk with Randy (Browns owner Randy Lerner), Mike and Eric (head coach Eric Mangini) and the players like he has in the past. He spoke at the rookie minicamp. His role hasn’t really changed.”

No matter how I phrase the following, it will be interpreted as some sacrilegious statement against the greatest living Browns’ legend.  However, in the simplest terms, removing any sort of legitimate influence from Brown is long overdue.

Beyond his Hall of Fame excellence – on the field – there is nothing to suggest that Brown’s opinions regarding the current franchise should be given any serious weight.  He is certainly not a contemporary of the modern league, has never been a coach or scout, or has any real front office expertise.

Having said all this, what exactly is his value to the organization – other than as basically a mascot?

Demeaning as it may sound, other than having Brown around as another voice for younger players to hear, or ideally, as some sort of counselor, the Hall of Famer doesn’t bring much to the table beyond a symbolic value.

Of course, on the surface – it doesn’t hurt the organization to have Brown watch the occasional practice or speak at charity luncheons, but his role in the past as an “advisor” to Randy Lerner helped to complicate an already dysfunctional system of management.

And this is where we get to the “progress” portion of the story.

Because it appears that Mike Holmgren is beginning to shape a functional system of management – these “voices” of the past are no longer necessary.  Because Holmgren has basically become the defacto owner of the franchise – or at least has become the organizational leader that Lerner could not be/and was not willing/unable to find before – the likes of accessory advisors are no longer needed in Berea.

Like this guy…

PD – Brown, Warfield Out

Two Browns Hall of Famers apparently are ending their official affiliations with the club.

Jim Brown is out as executive adviser with the Browns, and Paul Warfield’s status as special assignment scout and adviser to the general manager could soon change.

Warfield, who has worked for the club in various capacities since 1981, was given his most recent role by former General Manager Phil Savage. Warfield doesn’t have an office in Browns headquarters but contributed to the scouting process and attended all scouting meetings under Savage.

New GM Tom Heckert said Warfield “doesn’t know” if he wants to continue in the role.

“If he wants to continue, we want him,” Heckert said.

So, again – what exactly is the role Warfield was filling?

Again, not to belittle the on-field accomplishments or even local ties of a former Browns’ great, but I have to question whether Warfield’s scouting expertise is comparable to other team scouts – ones who perform the job on a daily basis.

And again – the question of legacy comes into play here.  Like Brown, Warfield’s greatest asset is his name and ties to the organization.  In some respects, his “position” with the Browns is an equivalent to a “son-in-law” type of job.

Or, in other words – will the Browns’ scouting ranks – recently revamped under Holmgren and Heckert suffer without Warfield?

What exactly are we losing here?  The guy who delivered us Paul Hubbard?

Speaking of which…

PFT – Savage Gaining Philly Influence

Though former Browns G.M. Phil Savage remains only a consultant with the Eagles, he has done enough good work for the team to give him the juice to help land a job for one of his former employees.

The Eagles have hired former Ravens and Browns scout Daniel Jeremiah, who spent the 2009 season and most of the 2010 offseason using his experience as a scout to build a promising niche in the media world as a draft expert.  He had amassed more than 18,000 Twitter followers on his “MoveTheSticks” account, and he had become a semi-regular on some of the ESPN pre-draft programming.

Previously a production assistant at ESPN (and still closely tied to men like Chris Mortensen), Jeremiah’s connection to Savage through Jeremiah’s father, prominent evangelist Dr. David Jeremiah, landed Daniel his initial NFL job in Baltimore.  Jeremiah then was hired by the Browns when Savage became G.M. there.

One league source with knowledge of the Savage-Jeremiah dynamics believes that getting Jeremiah a job was one of Savage’s priorities once he landed in Philly, and that Jeremiah undoubtedly was aware of that effort.

Remember the time when the Eagles were considered one of the league’s model franchises?  Seems like it was only….last year?

It looks like career politician/pseudo GM Phil Savage is on the rise again.  This time, it appears he has his targets set on Philadelphia’s GM position, recently given to businessman Howie Roseman.

Can’t you just envision another John Collins/Savage tussle coming in the next couple years?

As for the Jeremiah story – evidentally this future power struggle will be one of Biblical proportions.

But at the least, it won’t be happening here.

Back to the here and now…

Harrison Shows to OTA’s

Browns running back Jerome Harrison, who rushed for 561 yards in the final three games of last season, has been participating in organized team activities this week despite not signing his one-year tender yet.

Harrison was absent today, the one day of the week open to the media, but was here the first two days of the session. Coach Eric Mangini said Harrison’s absence today was unrelated to his contract situation.

Mangini said Harrison is the only unrestricted free agent participating. The absentees are Matt Roth, D’Qwell Jackson, Lawrence Vickers and Abe Elam.

“I think it’s good for everyone to be here because it’s the second round of install and it helps the player and it helps us for when we go to camp,” said Mangini. “I’m glad Jerome is here and I expect him to be here next week.”

Here’s Reason #8,500 that Capitalism – in all its various forms – works:

Did I say Capitalism?  Never mind.  I was thinking of something else.

Here’s Reason #8,500 that Socialism – in all its various forms – works:

The combination of Jerome Harrison’s restricted free agent status and the sudden depth found at his position has created a situation that is most beneficial to the 2010 Browns.  For the first time in well over a decade, the Browns appear set to enter a season boasting a very dynamic group of running backs.

Assuming Harrison realizes that he is completely out of options heading into a contract year, the combination of he and a hungry rookie in Monterio Hardesty is downright exciting.

As it relates to the organization’s bottom line, Harrison has to realize that among the five current unsigned Browns, he has the least amount of leverage – despite claiming the most accomplishments of the group.

Of course, the unfortunate truth facing Harrison is that he is a running back in the NFL, which has become the league’s most disposable position.

Even in late May.

Quite the departure from this time last year, when a broken down Jamal Lewis was still being considered as the “workhorse” of the group.

Finally, in terms of progress – does it get any better than this?

Dorsey Joins CFL

The Toronto Argonauts huddle just got more crowded.

The CFL team announced Wednesday they have signed Ken Dorsey, a former star quarterback at the University of Miami who had stints with the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns.

Dorsey, a 29-year-old native of California, becomes the fifth quarterback on the roster. He joins Gibran Hamdan, Cleo Lemon, Dalton Bell and Danny Brannagan competing to be the starting pivot on a team that has won seven games over the past two seasons.

“He just brings a lot to the table that we’re going to take a look at,” head coach Jim Barker said of Dorsey on a conference call with reporters.

Why should any of us care about the fortunes of either Ken Dorsey or a Canadian football team?

The answer is simple – because Dorsey is no longer here.

Measured in terms of overall progress, the fact that Dorsey is currently competing for a CFL roster spot speaks to the gradual improvement of our franchise.

While certainly Jake Delhomme is not the long-term answer at quarterback, he does represent a dramatic improvement over last year’s historically inept options.  The same could be said for the rest of the depth at the position, which includes two promising young options.

Or, in other words – there’s a possibility that Brett Ratliff – one of above mentioned players – is the odd man out come out September.

While a few years ago, Dorsey was starting games in December.

I would call that progress.