CLEVELAND: Going back to 1981, to my first season covering the Browns under Sam Rutigliano, a coach has never not been the first to address the media after a game.
Even when Butch Davis had a panic attack or Eric Mangini a meltdown, he always promptly stepped in front of the television cameras, microphones and tape recorders and, in the case of Bill Belichick, mumbled a few words.
But following Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the New York Giants at FirstEnergy Stadium, quarterback Josh McCown took the podium before Browns coach Hue Jackson arrived in the interview room at 4:50 p.m. It was 38 minutes after the team fell to 0-12 and lost its 15th consecutive game dating back to last season.
Habitually late all year, Jackson explained that he’d been meeting with “upper management,” as he does after every game. He said he wasn’t pleading for his job, that he still has the full support of owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam, executive VP Sashi Brown and “his crew.”
“If you guys take that’s what the conversation was, no. I’m not worried about those things at all,” Jackson said. “I’m going to be here. That’s not what the conversations are by any stretch of the imagination.”
Jackson said the discussion centered on things he saw during the game that had to be corrected and how the Browns could get better.
“In these times of toughness and times of crisis, you have to have good strong conversations and I think we all understand that,” Jackson said. “That’s how you don’t go through these things in the future. You work through those things and you talk to them so that you can come [out] on the other side.”
Jackson wouldn’t answer when asked if he thought the Browns’ reboot was too excessive. But it’s not hard to guess some of the subjects that were discussed and why the “good strong conversation” may have been a little stronger than usual.
• An upgrade of the offensive line. This is likely going to require dipping into that salary cap cache because as the Browns have learned, rookie offensive linemen aren’t plug-and-play; they sometimes need a few seasons to develop. The Browns surrendered seven sacks to the Giants on the heels of giving up eight to the Steelers. It was Pittsburgh’s most since Christmas Eve 2005 (also against the Browns); the Giants came in ranked 29th in the league with 18 sacks.
The key play of the game was Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul’s fourth-quarter fumble return for a touchdown after defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins’ sack of Josh McCown. It came eight offensive plays after Browns right guard John Greco left the game with a right mid-foot sprain, with Hankins beating backup guard Alvin Bailey.
Left guard Joel Bitonio is already out with a Lisfranc injury; second-year center Cameron Erving may be a hopeless cause. It won’t matter if the reboot results in the Browns having the first overall pick if they can’t protect the quarterback better.
• Fill the quarterback void. The Browns don’t just need a starter — they need a better backup than Josh McCown. He’s greatly respected (including by me) and I’d hire him in a heartbeat as an assistant coach. But if I were in charge, the 37-year-old would be playing his final four games in orange and brown, if he survives that long.
• Find a bellcow running back. Isaiah Crowell seems to be regressing. He tried to atone for a second-quarter fumble that set up a Giants’ touchdown, but he still finished with 44 yards on 16 carries. While I said the Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott wouldn’t be a league MVP candidate behind this line, he’d be slashing through whatever creases he found better than Crowell.
• Acquire more defensive playmakers, especially pass rushers. The Giants’ Eli Manning was sacked once. The Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t dropped at all, a feat of which the Ravens and Cowboys can also boast when they faced the Browns this season. The Browns need safeties, linebackers, another cornerback and a return man, to name a few. But as they move forward next season, the pass rush must be a priority. They are literally feeling the effects of what it can do.
• Sign Terrelle Pryor and get him help. In his first full season at receiver, the former Ohio State and NFL quarterback is a phenom, even if he does have the maddening habit of losing 5 yards when he’s trying to fight for more. First on the agenda is signing him in free agency, and second is finding more big-play receivers. I can’t imagine how good Pryor could be if he had a legit deep threat on the other side.
• Draft better, scout free agents better. Each week the Browns see a parade of players whom they could have drafted or signed as free agents. The Giants added cornerback Janoris Jenkins, defensive end Olivier Vernon and defensive tackle Damon Harrison in the off-season. Harrison had nine tackles and a forced fumble Sunday; Jenkins five tackles, a sack, two tackles for losses, a quarterback hit and two pass breakups; Vernon four tackles, 1½ sacks, two tackles for losses and five quarterback hits. Any one of those sounds like a season’s worth of plays for a Browns acquisition.
We will likely never know what was said in Sunday’s meeting unless we read it in a Michael Silver-authored bio of Jackson after he retires. But considering the possible subject matter, Jackson’s time of arrival could be considered early.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla.