Bill Cowher Says No to Browns, Declines Randy Lerner Offer to Become Head Coach

December 29, 2008 By 2 Comments

To my good friends at Cowher09.com, it looks like the dream has died.

According to report posted less than an hour ago by Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain-Dealer, Randy Lerner said today that Bill Cowher told him on Saturday night that he wasn’t interested in becoming the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

“Speculation for his replacement had been centered on Cowher for several weeks, but Lerner said Monday that he met with Cowher on Saturday night and that Cowher said he would not return to coaching in 2009 and asked Lerner to take him off the Browns list of candidates.

Cowher told Lerner that he was comfortable with his lifestyle in North Carolina at this time.”

Bill Cowher Says No to BrownsLerner has reportedly already asked for permission to speak with Scott Pioli, the Executive Vice President of the New England Patriots, whose availability was made more immediate by the Patriots’ failure to make the playoffs despite 11 wins.

Also included in the Cabot report is something that made me feel like puking.

Apparently he “appeared interested” when told that the New York Jets had fired Eric Mangini. I did not realize this, but Mangini once worked for the Browns. And Mangini famously worked for Scott Pioli when coaching under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots.

Why did this make me feel like puking? Because I don’t like Eric Mangini. For someone who has done very little at the head coaching level in the NFL, Mangini seems to have a monstrous ego. And I’m sorry, but after four years of Romeo Crennel I want to see some fire on the sidelines, not Magini’s constant looks of disbelief and displeasure, as if every call he makes is perfect and it is always the players’ fault for screwing things up.

Please Randy Lerner, do not bring the Mangina to Cleveland.

As discussed in yesterday’s post, there appear to be a wealth of qualified NFL coordinators that Randy Lerner is interested in as the future coach of the Browns. That list includes:

  • Steven Spagnuolo of the New York Giants
  • Jim Schwartz of the Tennessee Titans
  • Jason Garrett of the Dallas Cowboys (another PLEASE NO for me)
  • Rex Ryan of the Baltimore Ravens
  • Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots

A lot will obviously depend on who Lerner hires to make the GM decisions. If that is Scott Pioli, you would have to think that Mangini and McDaniels would have a prime opportunity to land the head job with Cleveland.

I have to admit, I am pretty disappointed that Bill Cowher has turned down the Browns offer. There is obviously no more proven coach available than Bill Cowher, and his fire and intensity could have been just what the doctor ordered for a talented Browns roster that oftentimes seems to lack the killer instinct to make the big plays when necessary.

If there is anything separating the Browns from the hated Steelers, it is that: a killer instinct. Just having Bill Cowher couldn’t turn Brandon McDonald into Troy Polamalu or D’Qwell Jackson into James Harrison, or even DA and Brady Quinn into Ben Roethlisberger. But there is no doubt that Bill Cowher would have brought credibility and hope to Cleveland more than any other possible candidate.

And after a 4-12 season that shattered so many preseason hopes for Browns fans, hope and optimism is something we need right now.

It is up to Randy Lerner to somehow find a way to turn lemons into lemonade and give Browns fans something more than platitudes like “there’s always next year” to cope with the horror of 2008.

Unfortunately, Bill Cowher will not be part of the solution.

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Filed Under: Featured Column, NFL Tagged With: bill cowher, Cleveland Browns, randy lerner
About Jerod Morris

A proud graduate of Indiana University, Jerod Morris founded Midwest Sports Fans in August of 2008 and has been its Managing Editor every day since. Follow him on Twitter (@JerodMorris) for MSF updates, sports discussion, and a compelling daily assortment of funny and interesting links.
In addition to his work at MSF, Jerod hosts the fast-growing Indiana basketball postgame show The Assembly Call and provides regular music recommendations at IndieChristmas.com. He also helped develop the Synthesis Managed WordPress Hosting platform on which MSF and all of his other sites are run.

  • Midnight Writer

    Jrod,

    I am also very disappointed that Bill Cowher said no to Browns owner Randy Lerner.

    I also wonder why.

    Was it because he wanted to spend one more year with his family and not get into coaching until 2010?

    Was it because Cowher has so much loyalty to the Rooney family, owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers?

    Or was it because Cowher did not want to get mired in the mess that is the Cleveland Browns?

    This last question bothers me the most.

    One, we know Lerner has money and reports were the offer for the next Browns coach reached the $9 million mark.

    That’s a lot of money to walk away from.

    Perhaps Cowher has been courted by other NFL teams who he belives will come with flowers and candy ready to pursue the Steelers Super Bowl-winning coach.

    I would like Scott Pioli, but agree with Jrod that Eric Mangini as head coach, would not work.

    Actually, I would like to see Randy Lerner choose Bill Parsels to be the next Browns general manager; then let Persells choose the Browns coach.

    I would also like Browns former quarterback Bernie Kosar to become the team president and serve as the “face” of the team.

    The wretched performance of the Cleveland Browns this past season also makes me sick to my stomach.

    Especially since I was excited beyond belief of what 2008 could be: Brady Quinn tossing TD passes to Braylon Edwards; Josh Cribbs breaking through to an open field and finding the end zone. You get the picture.

    Did Cowher say no to Lerner because the Cleveland Browns are cursed?

    I hope not, but can’t say for sure.

    What do you think?

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    @Midnight Writer, I think Bill Cowher a) does not want to alienate Steelers fans by going to Cleveland, b) wants to find a more stable franchise to pin his legacy too, and c) realized that using the Browns would give him tremendous leverage. Browns fans idolize Bill Cowher, so seeing them get all worked over him potentially replacing Crennel can only make him look even more attactive to teams like the Jets, for whom Cowher is apparently interested in coaching.

    I don’t know if it as much about “curses” as it is that Cowher is used to being with the most stable organization in football, and the thought to stepping into the annual flux of the Browns probably was not too attractive.

    It is the Browns loss to be sure, but I will be very optimistic if we are able to land Scott Pioli.