New Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey came in with something of a Clint Eastwood swagger, kicking in the swinging saloon doors and shooting his mouth off to anyone who would hear him.
In just his first week, when given an opportunity, he would not commit to the team retaining head coach Hue Jackson, even after he had apparently won a power struggle between himself and the just-fired Sashi Brown. He also took a shot at Brown and his regime, arguing that they did not ‘get real players’.
He has since spent his time walking back those comments, which frankly he never should have made in the first place, even if not all in the organization were opposed to his comments. Running back Isaiah Crowell said that he didn’t think he didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, or something in that vein.
I would not be surprised if Dorsey was coached on what he can say in public, based on his change of direction. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam publicly stood behind and supported Jackson, saying that he believes in the second-year head coach and is in it for the long haul.
And his general manager yesterday simply echoed those comments while appearing for a radio interview, simply saying when asked about Jackson’s retention for 2018, “ownership has already spoken on that question”. He basically repeated the same answer when the question was repeated again.
Even that answer, of course, falls well short of a ringing endorsement, though he did later said that he has a “really good relationship” with Jackson and is “excited to work with him”. Regarding his comments about the previous regime failing to get ‘real players’, he had an explanation for that ready at hand: he don’t speech too good.
“It’s pretty easy”, he said. “I’m not a professional wordsmith, I’m a football guy, ok? My intent was to say we don’t have enough good football players. There’s some good football players on this team and if I have my way, we’ll get more football (players). We’ll create that competitive depth at every position”.
He also denied that his comments were intended to refer to anybody else directly in the organization, including Sashi Brown. “I don’t take shots at past regimes or anything like that”, although his prior comments certainly had the appearance of such.
Still, there have been multiple reports that Dorsey has the intention of advising the owners to obtain a new head coach in the offseason, a process in which, of course, he will be a part. The potentially vacancy in Cincinnati naturally lends an added layer of intrigue to the whole ordeal.
