CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey made a strong first sales pitch for the team’s head-coaching vacancy.
The Browns have had just two winning records and one playoff appearance since returning to the National Football League in the 1999 season, but Dorsey is confident that with a rich history and strong support system, the team will be able to attract top candidates for their coach opening.
Dorsey has long considered the Browns to be a bedrock franchise in the NFL, and believes the team will be able to find someone with the same mindset of wanting to turn around the fortunes of the franchise.
“This job is very attractive,” Dorsey said in a mid-season press conference at team headquarters in Berea Wednesday. “I really think this job is very attractive. It’s kind of like, for the same reasons I joined here in 2017. It’s very attractive and any future head coach or candidate, who it may be, he understands the fan base here, which is unbelievable.”
First off, Dorsey believes in the talent on the roster, which he recreated through a myriad of trades, more than a dozen free-agent signings and nine picks in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Two of those talents, quarterback Baker Mayfield and running back Nick Chubb, are leading the offense, while cornerback Denzel Ward has added a ball-hawking mentality to a secondary that struggled to force turnovers in 2017.
Currently, Mayfield ranks third for the most passing touchdowns by a Browns rookie in a single season, as in just eight games, he has thrown for 13 scores, only two away from equaling the record set by another No. 1 overall pick, Tim Couch (15 in 1999).
Additionally, Mayfield has the fourth-most passing yards by a Browns rookie, as his completions have gone for 1,984 yards. Former first-round pick Brandon Weeden holds the record with 3,385 yards, which Mayfield is on pace to break by season’s end.
Since Carlos Hyde’s trade to the Jacksonville Jaguars went through 48 hours ahead of a road loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chubb has become the Browns’ feature running back, rushing for 406 yards and three touchdowns on 78 carries, an average of 5.21 yards per attempt.
Ward leads the Browns with three interceptions.
“There’s a lot of young talents on this team and they will continue to get talent,” Dorsey said. “There’s assets in place. The cap position we’re in right now is great, the draft picks, we have 11 draft picks for the ‘19 season.”
In addition to the talent already on the roster or that which will be added in free agency and the 2019 NFL Draft, Dorsey is confident the next head coach will have all of the support he needs to be successful long-term.
“The support staff, I’ve been around some franchises and I will say this, this is the best support staff there is in the National Football League that I’ve been around,” Dorsey said. “Then, you have ownership. My God, these guys right here are so passionate, but they’re willing to invest.
“There’s not been a thing I’ve asked Dee and Jimmy, ‘Maybe if we do this’ and they say, ‘Sure, let’s do this.’ Those are exciting things for this organization moving forward and anybody, once they understand that, you’ll see, ‘You know what, Cleveland is a good place to be.’”
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