Written by Rich Swerbinsky

---

There ... was that so hard? Under direct orders to do so from team owner Randy Lerner, Romeo finally fired his buddy Maurice Carthon last last night, ending the reign of terror of one of the most inept coordinators in recent NFL history. I break down the Carthon era, and look ahead to what the future may hold in Berea in my latest. There.  Now was that so hard?

Ending weeks and weeks of fan angst over the matter, the Browns finally pink slipped embattled offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon late last night.  A myriad of different media outlets are reporting that the orders came from Browns owner Randy Lerner.  Expect the team to officially announce offensive assistant Jeff Davidson as the team's new offensive coordinator today.

The firing puts an end to the most inept run of any offensive coordinator in recent NFL history.  Carthon's Browns offense was dead last in the NFL in points scored last season.  They are presently last in the NFL in offensive yards per game this season.  And the team has been consistently unable to score touchdowns while in the red zone over the course of the last year and a half.

With Carthon, it wasn't just the terrible statistics of his unit.  It was the mind boggling decision making and play calling.  Opposing defenders telling the media after games that they knew what was coming, and that Carthon's scripted starts to games were very predictable.  Consistently taking Kellen Winslow II off the field on third downs.  The bizzare play calls on third and fourth and short.  The infatuation with Lawrence Vickers and the fullback position in general.  Underutilizing talents like Kellen Winslow II and Braylon Edwards.  Refusing to get rookies Jerome Harrison and Travis Wilson incorporated into the game plan.  Calling back to back play action passes down 17 points in the fourth quarter to the Broncos.

It wasn't just the fans that hated Carthon, the players did as well.  Carthon, who made his coaching bones as an assistant to Bill Parcells, carried the same arrogance and lack of personality as his former mentor, but did not have the resume to back it up.  Carthon never called plays before being given those duties here in Cleveland, and it was obvious that the players had no respect for the man or his play calling ability.  Anyone with two eyes and a brain saw the team give up in the second half against the Broncos, effectively drawing their line in the sand with the coaching staff and ownership in the process.

Even an owner as detached as Lerner, across the pond watching his new soccer team play, could see that something had to be done.  The fact Romeo could not drop the hammer on Carthon's ass during the bye week meant that Randy had to step in and force the issue.

If the team continues to perform this miserably, there could be more changes in store in Berea.  I think it's plainly obvious that Romeo Crennel is not a "Phil Savage guy".  However, given the fact that Lerner was set to fire Savage last winter, I don't know if Phil Savage is a "Randy Lerner guy".  And for Lerner himself ... I question whether or not he has the intestinal fortitude to keep fighting this fight with this team.  Given what has transpired, it would not surprise me at all to see Lerner throw his hands in the air, admit failure, and begin looking for buyers for the team.  Especially now that he owns a prominent soccer team in the English Premier League.

Bottom line - I'd be very suprised to see Lerner, Savage, and Crennel all back next year.  One may be gone, hell ... all three may be gone.

And who would have thought we'd be talking this way, just six games into the second year of this new regime?

What a sad state of affairs ...