History of the Cleveland Browns
Encyclopedia
This article details the history of the Cleveland Browns
American Football Club.
and head coach (and Ohio coaching legend) Paul Brown
and started play in 1946. At the time, Cleveland was home to the 1945 NFL champion Cleveland Rams, led by the NFL
's hottest star, MVP quarterback Bob Waterfield
, who was married to star actress Jane Russell
. However, fans supported the Browns over the Rams from the moment they were created, and the Rams ended up fleeing to Los Angeles before the Browns had ever played a game.
The franchise conducted a team naming contest in 1945. The most popular submission was "Browns" in recognition of Paul Brown, already an established and popular figure in Ohio sports. Brown at first objected to the name and the team selected from the contest entries the name "Panthers." However, after an area businessman informed the team that he owned the rights to the name Cleveland Panthers from an earlier failed football team, Brown rescinded his objection and agreed to the use of his name.
As a franchise, the Browns were immediately successful. Dominating the new All-America Football Conference
, the Browns won all four league championships, including the 1948 season in which they became the first pro football team to finish the season and playoffs unbeaten and untied - 24 years before the NFL's first perfect team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins
. Cleveland's undefeated streak (including ties) reached 29 games, including 18 straight wins. In an effort to increase league parity, the Browns were forced to relinquish the rights to some of their younger players, such as quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who went to the Baltimore Colts in 1948.
The team saw a record setting average attendance of 57,000 a game in its first season. However, by the end of 1949, Cleveland's AAFC wins had gotten to be so expected that only 22,550 Browns fans attended the 1949 championship game against the Browns' main AAFC competitors, the San Francisco 49ers
. Because of this, the AAFC and the NFL agreed at the end of the 1949 season to merge, and the Browns, the 49ers and the Colts joined the NFL.
, Marion Motley
, Dante Lavelli
, Frank Gatski
and Lou Groza
and a defense led by Bill Willis
and Len Ford
. After going 10-2 in the regular season, the Browns defeated the New York Giants
8-3 in a playoff game and then beat Cleveland's previous NFL tenants, the Los Angeles Rams, 30-28, in the NFL Championship game, on a last-second field goal by Groza.
1951: The Browns went 11-1, facing the Rams in a rematch. A fourth quarter, 73-yard touchdown pass by Norm van Brocklin
to Tom Fears
put Los Angeles in the lead for good. The 24-17 loss was the Browns first in a championship game.
1952: Finishing 9-8, the Browns faced the Detroit Lions
in the championship game. A muffed punt, several defensive stands and a 67-yard touchdown run by Doak Walker
all combined to help the Lions win 17-7, frustrating the Browns for the second consecutive year. On the upside, Ray Renfro
became a star with 722 yards receiving and 322 yards rushing.
1953: Owner Arthur McBride sold his controlling interest in the team in June 1953 for $600,000 to a group headed by David Jones which included Ellis Ryan, an insurance man and former president of the Cleveland Indians
, Saul Silberman, owner of Randall Park Race Track and Homer Marshman, the attorney who'd founded the Cleveland Rams. The price tag was twice as large as that brought by any other pro football team up until that time.
1954: The Browns finished 9-3 and met up with Detroit in the championship for a third consecutive year. This time, however, the Browns were relentless on both sides of the ball, intercepting Bobby Layne six times and forcing three fumbles. Otto Graham
threw three touchdowns and ran for three more, en route to a 56-10 thrashing and the Browns' second NFL crown. Graham contemplated retirement after the championship but ended up returning.
1955: Another successful campaign for the Browns. Chuck Noll
had a productive season at linebacker with five interceptions, Graham passed for 15 touchdowns and ran for six more, and the team, who finished 9-2-1, won their third NFL Championship game in six seasons 38-14, once again against the Los Angeles Rams in LA. When Coach Brown took out Graham late in the game, the Rams fans gave him a standing ovation.
For Browns fans, it was a bittersweet year as Graham retired after the season due to injuries, ending the greatest run of pro success ever: in ten years of existence, the Cleveland Browns reached ten championship games and won seven championships.
1956: The Browns floundered without Graham behind center. Three quarterbacks --(George Ratterman
, Babe Parilli
and Tommy O'Connell
) -- were used, none of them throwing more touchdowns than interceptions. The team's 5-7 record saw the Browns shut out of a championship game for the first time in team history and post the only losing season in the Browns' first 28 seasons.
, who easily became the NFL's leading rusher (and NFL Rookie of the Year) with 942 yards in a 12-game regular season. Once again at the top of the division at 9-2-1, they advanced back to the championship game against their nemeses from Detroit. But the Lions dominated from start to finish, causing six turnovers and allowing the Browns' two quarterbacks (Tommy O'Connell
and Milt Plum
) only 95 yards passing in a 59-14 rout.
In 1958 Jim Brown ran for 1,527 yards, almost twice as much as any other running back. In his nine seasons in the league, he crossed the 1,000-yard barrier seven times. The only snag in their getting back to another championship was the New York Giants
. They lost to New York on the last week of the season after a spirited fourth-quarter comeback, then, due to their equal 9-3 records, faced the Giants again in a tiebreaker game with the winner going to the finals. This one was never in doubt: Jim Brown was limited to 8 yards and the team committed four turnovers as they were shut out 10-0.
In 1959 the Browns started 6-2 but finished 7-5, out of championship contention, despite Brown once again leading the league in rushing with 1,329 yards. In 1960, Plum threw for 21 touchdowns and set a record for passing efficiency that stood into the 1980s, and Brown's 1,257 yards was again best in the NFL, but the team still finished second at 8-3-1.
Art Modell
purchased the team in 1961. The season otherwise was typical: a fifth consecutive league-leading season from Jim Brown and a half-decent performance in the standings, but again, at 8-5-1, they were two games out of a berth in the championship. Rumors began circulating that the problem with the team was that Paul Brown's coaching methods had become predictable. In addition, from the time of the Tittle trade, the Browns had acquired a number players and then traded or released them after just a year or two in Cleveland, allowing them to become stars elsewhere. As of the end of 1961, this group included defensive linemen Doug Atkins
, Henry Jordan
and Willie Davis and quarterback Len Dawson
.
In 1962, the differences between Paul Brown and Art Modell came to a head. Before the season started, Brown made a secret trade without informing Modell, giving up Bobby Mitchell
to acquire the rights to Syracuse running back Ernie Davis
, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy
. However, when training camp started, Davis turned out to have a fatal form of leukemia
and never played for the Browns, dying in early 1963. The Browns went only 7-6-1, and Jim Brown didn't lead the NFL in rushing for the only time in his career. After the season, during a newspaper strike in Cleveland (which reduced the public outcry), Modell fired Paul Brown, replacing him with his chief assistant, Blanton Collier
.
The 1963 Browns started off energized and won their first six games before splitting their last eight for an overall 10-4 record and second place in their conference, losing out for the third straight year to the Giants behind Tittle, even though Jim Brown had his best season with an NFL record 1,863 yards.
In 1964, though, the Browns finally climbed back to the top in the NFL with a 10-3-1 record, winning the Eastern Conference in the final game by pummelling the Giants and Tittle 52-20, and then beating the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the championship
for their fourth NFL title and eighth title overall. A key to the improvement was the addition in the college draft of Paul Warfield
, who promptly became the team's leading receiver, and Leroy Kelly
, a star kick returner/running back.
The 1965 Browns picked up where the 1964 Browns left off, despite an injury to Warfield that caused him to miss all but one game, rolling through their schedule with an 11-3 record and winning the Eastern Conference by 4 games. Jim Brown won league MVP for the third time with 1,544 yards, almost doubling the total of the second place finisher, and 17 rushing touchdowns. However, in the NFL Championship game
in frozen Green Bay, the Packers
upset the Browns 23-12.
became the Browns' new rushing threat for the 1966 season, ably filling Brown's shoes with the first of his three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Frank Ryan
's 29 touchdowns also led the league. Entering the final month of the regular season, the Browns had remained in contention, but a costly 26-14 loss in a Thanksgiving Day
game at Dallas put a major dent in their postseason hopes. Blanton Collier's squad placed one game behind the Cowboys with a 9-5 mark and missed the league championship game for the first time in three years.
The 1967 Browns began the season with two losses, defeats that were quickly forgotten with nine wins in the next 11 contests to help the team finish at 9-5 for the second consecutive year. Unlike the previous season, the NFL's new realignment made that record good enough for first place in the short-lived Century Division, and a spot in the new Eastern Conference championship against the Cowboys. Unfortunately, the game between the two squads was over quickly as Don Meredith
passed for two touchdowns, Dave Baynham ran for three and Bob Hayes
generally made the Browns' life miserable on special teams as the Cowboys annihilated the Browns 52-14.
Following another slow start in 1968 Ryan was out at quarterback, in favor of Bill Nelsen
, who had been acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers
in the offseason. In their October 20 game against the undefeated Baltimore Colts, the heavy underdog Browns stunned their opponents with a 30-20 win, sparking an eight-game winning streak. Nelsen's main target was fifth-year receiver Paul Warfield
, who had the best season of his career, with 1067 yards and 12 touchdowns. The team finished the regular season with a 10-4 mark, good enough for another first-place finish and a rematch with Dallas in the Eastern Conference final. After four consecutive losses to their Texas opponents, the Browns ended their frustration by not allowing the Cowboys an offensive touchdown until the final minute. Leroy Kelly
's two long runs for scores paced the offense, with the turning point in a 31–20 victory coming on Dale Lindsey
's return of a Don Meredith interception for a touchdown early in the second half. Cleveland advanced to the NFL Championship against the Baltimore Colts
. Don Cockroft
had an early field goal blocked, and the Browns would not have another chance to score again. Tom Matte
ran for three touchdowns as the Colts shut out the Browns 34-0 to advance to Super Bowl III
.
The 1969 season produced similar results. Nelsen threw 2700 yards and 23 touchdowns (both career highs), and Warfield and Gary Collins both had at least ten touchdown catches. The team finished 10-3-1, again best in the Century Division, and once again played the Cowboys in the conference final. Nelsen threw for 219 yards and Walt Sumner
returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown as the Browns took their second straight Eastern championship by the score of 38-14. But the NFL Championship Game was another disappointment for the Browns. Joe Kapp
of the Minnesota Vikings
scored on the team's first possession and another rout began. The Vikings went up 20-0 by halftime and ended up winning 27-7.
The 1970 AFL-NFL merger
would see the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
and Baltimore Colts
move to the new American Football Conference
aligned with the 10 teams of the American Football League
. While the realignment would greatly benefit the Steelers, the placement of the Browns into the AFC's Central Division would not be as good. The trade of Paul Warfield
to the Miami Dolphins
for a draft choice used on Purdue All American Mike Phipps did not help the Browns either. After defeating the New York Jets
in the first-ever broadcast of Monday Night Football
, the Browns stumbled through the season finishing 7–7.
Coach Blanton Collier
retired for health reasons (deafness) was replaced with Nick Skorich
before the 1971 season. The Browns improved to 9-5, and a first-place finish in the AFC Central. This placed them in the divisional playoff against the Baltimore Colts
; but much like their matchup three years earlier, the game went ugly early. Backup Colts running back Don Nottingham
scored two first-half touchdowns, and it was all Baltimore would need. The Browns season ended in another 20-3 disappointment.
Mike Phipps
was promoted to starting quarterback over Nelsen before the 1972 season. After a sluggish start, the Browns went on an 8–1 tear. That surge was highlighted by late comeback victories against the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers and a playoff-clinching victory at Cincinnati. A 10–4 mark earned them the AFC wild card berth and put them in a divisional playoff against the undefeated Miami Dolphins
. The Browns took a lead in the fourth-quarter on a Fair Hooker
touchdown catch, but Jim Kiick
preserved the Dolphins' perfect season with a late touchdown run for the 20-14 decision.
In 1973, Phipps threw 20 interceptions to just nine touchdowns, and no rusher had more than 600 yards. After winning four of their first six games, the Browns slumped before bouncing back with a trio of victories, the last one a dramatic last-minute victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 25. The following week, a fourth quarter rally salvaged a 20-20 tie against the Kansas City Chiefs, but a playoff berth evaporated the following week with a 34-17 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. Cleveland ended the year at 7–5–2, good for third place in the division. Defensive lineman Jerry Sherk
, made the first of four consecutive trips to the NFL Pro Bowl
.
were effective, throwing 24 combined interceptions to only 10 touchdowns. The Browns allowed 344 points, most in the league. It was only the second losing season in 29 years of franchise history, and head coach Nick Skorich
saw his tenure with the team end as a result of the collapse.
Assistant coach and former Green Bay Packer offensive lineman Forrest Gregg
took over in 1975, but the bad fortunes of the team remained with an 0–9 start that finally came to an end on November 23 in a 35-23 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
. Three weeks later, third-year running back Greg Pruitt
paced the team with 214 yards rushing in a rout over the Kansas City Chiefs
, helping the team finish the season 3–11.
Cleveland showed marked improvement with a 9-5 mark in 1976 as Brian Sipe
firmly took control at quarterback. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after a Mike Phipps
injury in the season-opening win against the New York Jets
on September 12. After a 1–3 start brought visions of another disastrous year, the Browns jolted the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers with an 18–16 victory on October 10. Third-string quarterback Dave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones' pile-driving sack of quarterback Terry Bradshaw
fueled the heated rivalry between the two teams. That win was the first of eight in the next nine weeks, helping put the Browns in contention for the AFC playoffs. A loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
in the regular season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running back Greg Pruitt
continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1000 yards, his second-straight four-digit season.
The Browns continued to roll in the first half of the 1977 NFL season
, but an injury to Brian Sipe
by Pittsburgh's
Jack Lambert on November 13 proved to be disastrous. Cleveland won only one of their last five games to finish at 6-8, a collapse that led to Forrest Gregg
's dismissal before the final game of the season. Dick Modzelewski
served as interim coach in the team's 20–19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks
.
On December 27, 1977, Sam Rutigliano
was named head coach, and aided a healthy Sipe in throwing 21 touchdowns and garnering 2900 yards during the 1978 NFL season
. Greg Pruitt
and Mike Pruitt
led a rushing attack that gained almost 2500 yards, but problems with the team's dismal pass defense resulted in the Browns finishing 8-8 on the year.
The 1979 campaign started with four consecutive wins, three of which were in the final minute or overtime. Four more games were won by less than a touchdown. This penchant for playing close games would later earn them the nickname "Kardiac Kids
". Sipe threw 28 touchdown passes, tying him with Steve Grogan
of New England
for most in the league, but his 26 interceptions were the worst in the league. Mike Pruitt had a Pro Bowl season with his 1294 rushing yards, while the defense was still shaky, ranking near the bottom in rushing defense. The team finished 9-7, behind division rivals Houston and Pittsburgh
in a tough AFC Central.
to win a fourth. The Browns won two more games in that fashion by the end of the season, and even lost a game to the Minnesota Vikings
on the last play when a Hail Mary pass
was tipped into the waiting hands of Ahmad Rashad
. Sipe passed for 4000 yards and 30 touchdowns with only 14 INTs (enough for him to be named the NFL MVP), behind an offensive line that sent three members to the Pro Bowl
: Doug Dieken
, Tom DeLeone
and Joe DeLamielleure
. The "Kardiac Kids" name stuck. A fourth-quarter field goal by Don Cockroft
in the final game against the Cincinnati Bengals
helped the Browns capture the division with an 11-5 mark, with the Oakland Raiders
their opponent in the team's first playoff game in eight years. However, a heartbreaking end of this dramatic season came in the closing seconds when Sipe called what became known as "Red Right 88
" and passed toward the end zone, only to watch Oakland's Mike Davis intercept the ball. The pass play had been decided on after several botched attempts at a field goal. The Raiders won 14-12 and went on to win the Super Bowl
. "Red Right 88" has numbered among the list of Cleveland sports curses ever since (see: The Drive
; The Fumble
; The Shot
by Michael Jordan
; 1994 Major League Baseball
strike; Cleveland State basketball coach Kevin Mackey's arrest and conviction for cocaine and Game 7 of the 1997 World Series
).
If 1980 was a dream season, then 1981 was a nightmare. Sipe threw only 17 touchdowns while being picked off 25 times. The Browns went 5-11, and few of their games were particularly close. Tight end Ozzie Newsome
, their only Pro Bowler, had 1004 yards receiving for six touchdowns.
In 1982 Brian Sipe
split quarterbacking duties with Paul McDonald, and both put up similar numbers. The Browns had little success rushing or defending against it, finishing in the bottom five teams in both yardage categories. Despite going 4-5, Cleveland was able to make the playoffs due to an expanded playoff system in the strike-shortened year. They were matched up with the Raiders in the playoffs, but were easily defeated 27-10.
Sipe and the Browns got some of their spark back in 1983. Sipe had 26 touchdown passes and 3566 yards, while Mike Pruitt
ran for 10 scores on 1184 yards. Cleveland even won two games in overtime and another in the fourth quarter. A fourth-quarter loss to the Houston Oilers in their second-to-last game dashed their playoff hopes. At 9-7 the Browns finished one game behind the Steelers, and lost out on a wild-card spot due to a tiebreaker.
1984 was a rebuilding year. Brian Sipe defected to the upstart USFL after the 1983 season, and Paul McDonald was named the starting quarterback. Mike Pruitt
missed much of the season and later ended up on the Buffalo Bills
. Coach Sam Rutigliano
lost his job after a 1-7 start as Marty Schottenheimer
took over. The Browns coasted to a 5-11 record.
, the Browns selected University of Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar
in the Supplemental Draft. As a rookie, Kosar learned through trial by fire as he took over for Gary Danielson
midway through the 1985 season. Progressing a bit more each Sunday, the young quarterback helped turn the struggling season around, as the Browns won four of the six games Kosar started. Two young rushers, Earnest Byner
and Kevin Mack
, played a large part in the teams success as well; each ran for 1000+ yards. The Brown's 8-8 record gave the team the top spot in a weak AFC Central, and they looked poised to shock the heavily favored Miami Dolphins
in the 1986 Divisional Playoff game with a 21-3 lead at halftime. It took Dan Marino
's spirited second-half comeback to win the game for Miami 24-21. While the Browns faithful may have felt the initial sting of disappointment, there was tremendous upside in the loss: Schottenheimer's team, with Kosar at quarterback, reached the playoffs each of the next five seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship game in three of those years.
The Browns broke into the ranks of the NFL's elite—particularly on defense—with a 12-4 showing in 1986
. Behind Kosar's 3,854 yards passing and a defense with five Pro Bowlers (Chip Banks
, Hanford Dixon
, Bob Golic
, Clay Matthews and Frank Minnifield
), the Browns dominated the AFC Central with the best record in the AFC, and one of the NFL's stingiest defenses. With these on their side, the Browns clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the 1987 Divisional Playoff game, the Browns needed some serious heroics (and a bit of luck) to overcome the New York Jets
. The Jets were leading 20-10 with less than four minutes to play, with the Browns in a dire 3rd and 24 situation. As fate would have it, Mark Gastineau
was called for roughing the passer, which gave Cleveland a first down. The drive ended with Kevin Mack
running into the endzone for a touchdown. After going three-and-out the Jets went back on defense, but allowed the rejuvenated Browns to again drive the ball deep into their end of the field. With 11 seconds remaining in regulation, Mark Moseley
kicked a field goal to tie the game. In the first of two ensuing overtime periods, Moseley missed his next attempt, but later redeemed himself by ending the game in what had become the second-longest game in NFL history. Final score Browns 23, Jets 20.
The 1987 AFC Championship game saw the Denver Broncos
arrive in the windswept, hostile confines of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. No one knew at the time, but the Broncos would become Cleveland's arch-nemesis of the Kosar era. As it had been the previous week, the showdown proved again to be it was an overtime heart-stopper. But this time, it was John Elway
and the Broncos who came away the victors. Pinned in on their own two yard line with 5:11 left to play and the wind in his face, Elway led his now infamous (or, for the Bronco's fans, 'legendary') 98-yard drive, which is now known by NFL historians as simply "The Drive
"). With 37 seconds on the clock, Elway's 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson tied the game at 20 apiece. The 79,973 Browns fans in attendance were silenced when Rich Karlis
' field goal attempt just made it inside the right-side upright to win the game for Denver early into overtime.
The Browns success was replicated in 1987
, with 22 touchdown passes and 3000 yards for Kosar, and eight Pro Bowlers: Kosar, Mack, Dixon, Golic, Minnifield, linebacker
Clay Matthews, wide receiver
Gerald McNeil
and offensive lineman Cody Risien
. At 10–5, the Browns won the AFC Central again. Cleveland easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts
38–21 in the divisional playoff and travelled to Denver for a rematch with the Broncos in the AFC Championship. With the score 21-3 in favor of the Broncos at halftime, Kosar led a third-quarter comeback with two touchdowns by Earnest Byner
and another by Reggie Langhorne
. Early in the fourth quarter, Webster Slaughter
's 4-yard touchdown catch tied it at 31-31. The Broncos regained the lead with a 20-yard Sammy Winder
touchdown with less than five minutes to go, setting the stage for another Browns comeback...or so they thought. Kosar drove the Browns to the Broncos' 8 yard line with 1:12 to go, and handed off to Byner. When it looked like he had an open route to the end zone, he was stripped of the ball by Jeremiah Castille
. The Broncos recovered what became known as "The Fumble
". After taking a safety, the Broncos shocked the Browns again, 38–33.
Injuries to Kosar and two of his backups sidelined them for much of the 1988
season, but the Browns still finished 10–6. A final-week comeback victory in a snowstorm at Cleveland Stadium
over the Houston Oilers clinched them a wild-card playoff spot, and a home game rematch against the Oilers in the first round. After Mike Pagel
, in for Kosar, threw a touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter
late in the fourth quarter to pull the Browns within a point at 24-23, the Browns had three chances to recover an onside kick
(due to penalties), but the Oilers recovered and stopped the Cleveland comeback.
Coach Marty Schottenheimer
left the Browns by mutual agreement with Modell shortly after the loss to the Oilers. Modell was tired of losing in the playoffs and Schottenheimer was tired of what he perceived as Modell's interference with his coaching personnel and game strategy. Schottenheimer was quickly hired by the Kansas City Chiefs
for the 1989
season. Bud Carson
was his replacement in Cleveland, but his tenure was short - only one and a half years. The 1989 season, headlined by Slaughter's Pro Bowl-worthy 1236 yards receiving, was a success at 7-3 until a 10-10 tie with Schottenheimer's Chiefs in November led to a 3-game losing streak. Two comeback wins over the Minnesota Vikings
and Houston Oilers in the season's final two weeks kept them in the playoff race. The tie ended up being the Browns' saving grace, with their 9-6-1 record winning them the AFC Central title and first-round bye over the Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers
at 9-7. The Browns narrowly survived a scare from the Buffalo Bills
in their divisional playoff game, when Scott Norwood
missed an extra point that would have pulled Buffalo within 3 points and, later, when Jim Kelly
's desperation pass to the end zone
on the final play of the game was intercepted.
Cleveland's 34-30 win set them up for a rematch with the Broncos in Denver for the AFC Championship. While their two previous matchups went down to the wire, this one was never in doubt. The Broncos led from start to finish, and a long Elway touchdown pass to Sammy Winder put the game way in the fourth quarter. Denver easily won 37-21.
In 1990
things began to unravel. Kosar threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (10) for the first time in his career; and the team finished last in the league in rushing offense, and near the bottom in rushing defense. Carson was fired after a 2-7 start, and the team finished 3-13, second-worst in the league. After the season Bill Belichick
, defensive coordinator of the then-Super Bowl
champion New York Giants
, was named head coach, setting off a chain of events that some fans believe led to the demise of the original franchise.
, finishing 6-10. Kosar was markedly better, with a ratio of 18 touchdowns to 9 interceptions, and Leroy Hoard
had a breakout season.
In 1992
, with Kosar sitting out much of the season and Mike Tomczak
in under center, Cleveland was in the thick of the AFC Central race before dropping their final three games to finish 8–8.
The 1993
season saw Belichick make the decision to bench Bernie Kosar in favor of Vinny Testaverde
, who had been signed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
. In spite of his diminishing football skills, Kosar was immensely popular in the local fanbase. His subsequent release by the team, prompted a heated reaction from fans, mostly aimed at Belichick. Cleveland won only two of its final nine games after Testaverde took over under center, finishing 7–9 once again.
Cleveland managed to right the ship in 1994
, although the quarterback situation hadn't quite improved, a solid defense led the league for fewest yards allowed per attempt, sending four players (Rob Burnett
, Pepper Johnson
, Michael Dean Perry
and Eric Turner
) to the Pro Bowl. The Browns finished 11-5, making the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. In the AFC Wild Card game against the New England Patriots
, the Browns' defense picked off Drew Bledsoe
three times, with Testaverde completing two-thirds of his passes, to win 20–13. Arch-rival Pittsburgh
ended the Browns' season the following week, however, with a 29–9 blowout in the AFC Divisional game.
Team owner Art Modell
announced on November 6, 1995, that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to Baltimore
for 1996
. The very next day, on November 7, 1995, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved an issue providing $175 million in unguaranteed tax dollars to refurbish the outmoded and declining Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The relocation announcement was met with unprecedented hostility from Browns fans, with over 100 lawsuits filed by fans, the city of Cleveland, and a host of others. Death threats issued against Modell and his family prompted him to leave the city to ensure his own safety. Not wanting to be targeted by fan ire or face threats against their own employees, many of the team's corporate sponsors pulled their support, leaving Cleveland Municipal Stadium devoid of most advertising during the team's final weeks.
The 1995
season was a disaster on the field, too. After starting 3–1, the rumors of relocation, and the eventual announcement, cast a pall on the team, who finished 5–11. When the Dawg Pound
became unruly during their final home game against the Cincinnati Bengals
, destroying sections of the stadium and raining debris, beer bottles, and entire sections of seats and bleachers onto the field, action moving towards that end zone had to be moved to the opposite end of the field to ensure the safety of the players and associated personnel, protecting them from injury. The Bengals lost the game, giving the Browns their only win following the announcement of the impending move.
Through threats of litigation led by Mayor Mike White
, Cleveland accepted an unprecedented legal settlement that would claim to keep the Browns legacy in Cleveland. In February 1996, the National Football League
caved in to media and litigation pressures by announcing that the team would merely be 'deactivated' for three years, and that a new stadium
would be built for a new "reactivated" Cleveland Browns team that would begin play in 1999. Modell would in turn be granted a new "expansion" franchise for Baltimore, the Baltimore Ravens
, retaining the current contracts of players and personnel.
In early 1998 the National Football League
began its search for an owner for the reactivated Browns, finding one later in the year in Al Lerner
, a former limited partner and a friend of Art Modell
. Ironically, it was Lerner who was the primary catalyst for Modell's move to Baltimore. Lerner was the winning bidder against a number of others who sought the team, including cable TV magnates Charles Dolan and Larry Dolan, Cleveland real estate developer Bart Wolstein and New York developer Howard Milstein. During the period from 1996-1998 other franchises, such as Tampa Bay
, blackmailed their home cities with the possibility of moving to Cleveland in order to put pressure on their respective cities to get more governmental funding for their own stadiums. Lerner died of cancer in October 2002, coincidentally four years to the day he was awarded the reactivated Browns franchise. Upon his passing, the team went into trust, controlled by his son, Randy
.
The new team arrived with high hopes and expectations, featuring deep-pocketed ownership and what appeared to be solid general management in the form of former San Francisco 49ers
president Carmen Policy
, general manager Dwight Clark and head coach Chris Palmer
. But with poor players selected in the 1999 expansion draft and 1999–2004 college drafts, the team floundered. Palmer was dismissed after the 2000 season and Policy and Clark were forced out in 2003. The 2001 season nearly saw the Browns achieve a playoff berth, but the Week 15 game with Jacksonville saw their chances evaporate after a disastrous ruling by the referees that a Cleveland pass was incomplete, awarding the Jaguars a 1st down. Infuriated Browns fans pelted them and the visiting team's players and staff with bottles and other debris. With the crowd on the verge of starting a riot, the officiating crew called an end to the game with 48 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter. Commissioner Paul Taliagube then called them on the phone and ordered the game to be completed. After most of the fans had left, the Jaguars and Browns returned to the garbage-strew field to complete the final seconds of the match. With Jacksonville winning 15-10, the Browns were removed from playoff contention and finished the season at 7-9. Palmer was succeeded by former University of Miami
coach Butch Davis
. Despite a 2002 AFC Wild Card qualification, the team saw a dismal record during the next two seasons leading to Butch Davis' resignation in December 2004. Offensive Coordinator Terry Robiskie
, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2004 season.
As Super Bowl XXXIX
approached, there was much speculation over who would become the new head coach. On January 6, 2005, it was announced that Phil Savage
signed on as general manager. Savage was previously an administrative member for the Baltimore Ravens and the Browns before 1995. After the New England Patriots
victory over the Philadelphia Eagles
at the Super Bowl, Patriots' defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel
signed on as the 3rd head coach for the new Browns. Robiskie was kept on as part of Crennel's staff.
With the Browns acquiring Trent Dilfer
from the Seattle Seahawks
and Reuben Droughns
from the Denver Broncos
, the Browns began 2005 on the wrong foot, losing 27-13 at home to their in-state rival, the Cincinnati Bengals
. They would go on the road and pick up their first win of the year against the Green Bay Packers
, 26–24. After losing to the Indianapolis Colts
, they used their Bye Week to regroup and pick up a comeback victory against the Chicago Bears
. However, the Browns couldn't keep the momentum going from their win and dropped four of their next five games. A promising 22–0 shutout of the Miami Dolphins proved to be a mirage when the team lost its next three straight games. In the team's final five games, rookie Charlie Frye
served as the team's starting quarterback, winning two of those contests. However, the two victories produced limited offense, while one humiliating 41-0 loss came at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers
on December 24. The Browns ended their 2005 campaign at 6–10 in last place in the AFC North.
Just prior to the Browns' final game of the 2005 NFL season
, the team's front office became embroiled in a major controversy that threatened to once again send the team into rebuilding mode. A reporter for ESPN went public with a story that Team president John Collins was going to fire general manager Phil Savage
. The resulting uproar from fans and local media was so strong that it was Collins who resigned on January 3, 2006. The role of team "President and CEO" was vacated, with owner Randy Lerner filling in as de facto CEO for the time being.
In the 2007 season
, the team saw a remarkable turnaround on the field. After opening the season with a 34–7 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers
, the Browns traded starting quarterback Charlie Frye
to the Seattle Seahawks
, with backup Derek Anderson
assuming the starting role. In his first start, Anderson led the Browns to a surprise 51–45 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, throwing five touchdown passes, which tied the franchise record. The Browns finished the 2007 season 10–6, their best record since 1994, when they went 11–5. Six players earned Pro Bowl recognition. Coach Crennel agreed to a two-year contract extension.
In 2008, however, the Browns crashed back to ground, finishing 4–12 and coming in dead last in the AFC North. The Browns never contended during the season, and closed out the 2008 campaign with six consecutive games wherein the Browns failed to score a single touchdown. The season was punctuated in Week 16 by an embarrassing 14–0 shutout at Cleveland Stadium at the hands of the two-win Cincinnati Bengals, who with 24 players on injured reserve and starting 2nd stringers on both lines, a backup quarterback, a discarded free-agent running back, and reserve receivers and secondary, completely and thoroughly dominated the game. A 31–0 shutout against Pittsburgh in the season finale closed out the dismal season, resulting in the firing of Crennel and GM Savage.
In 2009, Eric Mangini
was hired as head coach, but the Browns showed little sign of improvement as the season progressed. They defeated the Buffalo Bills 6-3 in Week 5, but after that were hammered repeatedly, scoring an average of 15 points per game. The lowest ebb was a 16-0 shutout on Monday Night at the hands of Baltimore. Afterwards, they faced the equally hapless Detroit Lions, losing by one point in an epic 38-37 game that few saw due to being blacked out on local television. Redemption finally came in Week 14, when Cleveland hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, and despite all odds, beat their unprepared opponent 13-6 in frigid weather conditions. This would prove a major morale booster to the Browns, whose last win over the Steelers had been in 2003. Although no longer able to achieve a playoff berth, Cleveland won its final three games. The season ender saw them trump the Jaguars to finish 5-11.
During the 2010 off-season, Cleveland conducted a total overhaul of its QB corps. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson were traded to Denver and Arizona, respectively. Meanwhile, Jake Delhomme was acquired from Carolina and Seneca Wallace from Seattle. They also drafted Colt McCoy from the University of Texas. With Delhomme starting, the Browns dropped three in a row against Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Baltimore before beating Cincinnati in Week 4. After this, they fell to Atlanta, and then were routed by Pittsburgh. In Week 7 however, Cleveland gained an upset 30-17 victory over the Saints, marking the third year in a row that they beat a defending champion. After their bye week, the Browns pulled off another upset by beating New England 34-14, now with McCoy starting. For Eric Mangini, this game was personal owing to his past relations with Patriots coach Bill Belichick (Mangini had revealed the New England videotaping scandal in 2007, earning him the lasting enmity of Belichick). Cleveland next hosted the Jets and after a valiant effort, brought the game into overtime with a 20-20 tie. New York ultimately won on a touchdown with 20 seconds left on the clock.
After barely beating the 1-11 Panthers and 6-6 Dolphins, the Browns fell to Buffalo 13-6 followed by the rest of the AFC North. After being crushed by the Steelers on the season ender, they finished with another 5-11 record, leading to Eric Mangini's firing.
With Pat Schurmer taking over as HC, the Browns lost 27-17 to Cincinnati in Week 1 of 2011, defeated Indianapolis 27-19, and then edged past Miami 17-16. Two losses followed against Tennessee and Oakland, but Cleveland beat Seattle 6-3 in a battle of field goals to reach .500
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
American Football Club.
1946–1949: The AAFC years
The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1944 by owner Arthur 'Mickey' McBrideArthur B. McBride
Arthur B. "Mickey" McBride was the founder of the Cleveland Browns professional football team. McBride was a real estate developer and operator, active in Chicago, Cleveland and Florida. He also operated taxicab companies in Cleveland, Akron and Canton, Ohio, a printing company, and a horse...
and head coach (and Ohio coaching legend) Paul Brown
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...
and started play in 1946. At the time, Cleveland was home to the 1945 NFL champion Cleveland Rams, led by the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's hottest star, MVP quarterback Bob Waterfield
Bob Waterfield
Robert "Bob" Stanton Waterfield was an American football player.Waterfield attended Van Nuys High School, in Van Nuys, California and went on to play college football for UCLA. In 1943 he led the Bruins to the Pacific Coast Conference football championship...
, who was married to star actress Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
. However, fans supported the Browns over the Rams from the moment they were created, and the Rams ended up fleeing to Los Angeles before the Browns had ever played a game.
The franchise conducted a team naming contest in 1945. The most popular submission was "Browns" in recognition of Paul Brown, already an established and popular figure in Ohio sports. Brown at first objected to the name and the team selected from the contest entries the name "Panthers." However, after an area businessman informed the team that he owned the rights to the name Cleveland Panthers from an earlier failed football team, Brown rescinded his objection and agreed to the use of his name.
As a franchise, the Browns were immediately successful. Dominating the new All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
, the Browns won all four league championships, including the 1948 season in which they became the first pro football team to finish the season and playoffs unbeaten and untied - 24 years before the NFL's first perfect team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Cleveland's undefeated streak (including ties) reached 29 games, including 18 straight wins. In an effort to increase league parity, the Browns were forced to relinquish the rights to some of their younger players, such as quarterback Y.A. Tittle, who went to the Baltimore Colts in 1948.
The team saw a record setting average attendance of 57,000 a game in its first season. However, by the end of 1949, Cleveland's AAFC wins had gotten to be so expected that only 22,550 Browns fans attended the 1949 championship game against the Browns' main AAFC competitors, the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. Because of this, the AAFC and the NFL agreed at the end of the 1949 season to merge, and the Browns, the 49ers and the Colts joined the NFL.
1950-56: NFL
1950: The Browns won their fifth championship in their inaugural NFL season, behind a potent offense that included Otto GrahamOtto Graham
Otto Everett Graham, Jr. was a professional American football and basketball player who played for the Cleveland Browns in both the All-America Football Conference and National Football League, as well as the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League.-Early life:Born in Waukegan,...
, Marion Motley
Marion Motley
Marion Motley was a professional football player, a fullback for the Cleveland Browns, and briefly for the Pittsburgh Steelers.-Early years:...
, Dante Lavelli
Dante Lavelli
Dante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference and National Football League from 1946 to 1956...
, Frank Gatski
Frank Gatski
Frank Gatski was an American football player.Gatski was born on March 18, 1919 in Farmington, West Virginia....
and Lou Groza
Lou Groza
Louis Roy Groza was an American football placekicker and offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns....
and a defense led by Bill Willis
Bill Willis
William Karnet Willis was one of the dominant American football players of the 1940s and 1950s, and is an inductee in the College and Professional Football Halls of Fame. Willis was one of the first African American football players to play professional football...
and Len Ford
Len Ford
Leonard Guy Ford, Jr. was an American football defensive end. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976.He played two years for the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference...
. After going 10-2 in the regular season, the Browns defeated the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
8-3 in a playoff game and then beat Cleveland's previous NFL tenants, the Los Angeles Rams, 30-28, in the NFL Championship game, on a last-second field goal by Groza.
1951: The Browns went 11-1, facing the Rams in a rematch. A fourth quarter, 73-yard touchdown pass by Norm van Brocklin
Norm Van Brocklin
Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL...
to Tom Fears
Tom Fears
Thomas Jesse Fears was a Mexican-American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League, playing nine seasons from 1948 to 1956.-Early life:...
put Los Angeles in the lead for good. The 24-17 loss was the Browns first in a championship game.
1952: Finishing 9-8, the Browns faced the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in the championship game. A muffed punt, several defensive stands and a 67-yard touchdown run by Doak Walker
Doak Walker
Ewell Doak Walker, Jr. was an American football player who is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was a teammate of Bobby Layne in high school and the NFL.-Early life:...
all combined to help the Lions win 17-7, frustrating the Browns for the second consecutive year. On the upside, Ray Renfro
Ray Renfro
Raymond Renfro was an American professional football player. Renfro attended the University of North Texas and played in twelve NFL seasons from 1952-1963 for the Cleveland Browns. He is the father of former Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Mike Renfro. Ray died at the age of 67...
became a star with 722 yards receiving and 322 yards rushing.
1953: Owner Arthur McBride sold his controlling interest in the team in June 1953 for $600,000 to a group headed by David Jones which included Ellis Ryan, an insurance man and former president of the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, Saul Silberman, owner of Randall Park Race Track and Homer Marshman, the attorney who'd founded the Cleveland Rams. The price tag was twice as large as that brought by any other pro football team up until that time.
-
- The Browns started the season winning 11 straight games, but finished with a loss to the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the final week, and then lost the 1953 Championship game in a rematch with the Lions. The game was, however, closer than the year before. With the score tied at 10 going into the final quarter, Lou GrozaLou GrozaLouis Roy Groza was an American football placekicker and offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns....
kicked two field goals to put Cleveland up 16-10. But Detroit's Bobby LayneBobby LayneRobert Lawrence "Bobby" Layne was an American football quarterback who played for 15 seasons in the National Football League. He played for the Chicago Bears in 1948, the New York Bulldogs in 1949, the Detroit Lions from 1950–1958, and the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1958–1962...
threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jim DoranJim DoranJames Robert Doran is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys . He played college football at Iowa State University. He was a two-way player, playing both on offense and defense...
with less than two minutes left and the Lions went on to win 17-16.
- The Browns started the season winning 11 straight games, but finished with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles
1954: The Browns finished 9-3 and met up with Detroit in the championship for a third consecutive year. This time, however, the Browns were relentless on both sides of the ball, intercepting Bobby Layne six times and forcing three fumbles. Otto Graham
Otto Graham
Otto Everett Graham, Jr. was a professional American football and basketball player who played for the Cleveland Browns in both the All-America Football Conference and National Football League, as well as the Rochester Royals in the National Basketball League.-Early life:Born in Waukegan,...
threw three touchdowns and ran for three more, en route to a 56-10 thrashing and the Browns' second NFL crown. Graham contemplated retirement after the championship but ended up returning.
1955: Another successful campaign for the Browns. Chuck Noll
Chuck Noll
Charles Henry "Chuck" Noll is a former professional American football player and coach, and a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. He served most notably as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League from 1969 to 1991...
had a productive season at linebacker with five interceptions, Graham passed for 15 touchdowns and ran for six more, and the team, who finished 9-2-1, won their third NFL Championship game in six seasons 38-14, once again against the Los Angeles Rams in LA. When Coach Brown took out Graham late in the game, the Rams fans gave him a standing ovation.
For Browns fans, it was a bittersweet year as Graham retired after the season due to injuries, ending the greatest run of pro success ever: in ten years of existence, the Cleveland Browns reached ten championship games and won seven championships.
1956: The Browns floundered without Graham behind center. Three quarterbacks --(George Ratterman
George Ratterman
George William Ratterman was an American Football player in the All-America Football Conference and the National Football League.-Early life:...
, Babe Parilli
Babe Parilli
-Biography:Parilli was born in the Pittsburgh industrial suburb of Rochester, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Kentucky as an All-American starting quarterback for the Wildcats under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant....
and Tommy O'Connell
Tommy O'Connell
Tommy O'Connell is a retired American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who played in five NFL and two American Football League seasons from 1953–1957 and 1960-1961 for 3 different teams...
) -- were used, none of them throwing more touchdowns than interceptions. The team's 5-7 record saw the Browns shut out of a championship game for the first time in team history and post the only losing season in the Browns' first 28 seasons.
1957-65: The Jim Brown years
The Browns responded in 1957 when they drafted fullback Jim BrownJim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...
, who easily became the NFL's leading rusher (and NFL Rookie of the Year) with 942 yards in a 12-game regular season. Once again at the top of the division at 9-2-1, they advanced back to the championship game against their nemeses from Detroit. But the Lions dominated from start to finish, causing six turnovers and allowing the Browns' two quarterbacks (Tommy O'Connell
Tommy O'Connell
Tommy O'Connell is a retired American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who played in five NFL and two American Football League seasons from 1953–1957 and 1960-1961 for 3 different teams...
and Milt Plum
Milt Plum
Milton Ross Plum was an American football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns , Detroit Lions , Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants of the National Football League.-Career:...
) only 95 yards passing in a 59-14 rout.
In 1958 Jim Brown ran for 1,527 yards, almost twice as much as any other running back. In his nine seasons in the league, he crossed the 1,000-yard barrier seven times. The only snag in their getting back to another championship was the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. They lost to New York on the last week of the season after a spirited fourth-quarter comeback, then, due to their equal 9-3 records, faced the Giants again in a tiebreaker game with the winner going to the finals. This one was never in doubt: Jim Brown was limited to 8 yards and the team committed four turnovers as they were shut out 10-0.
In 1959 the Browns started 6-2 but finished 7-5, out of championship contention, despite Brown once again leading the league in rushing with 1,329 yards. In 1960, Plum threw for 21 touchdowns and set a record for passing efficiency that stood into the 1980s, and Brown's 1,257 yards was again best in the NFL, but the team still finished second at 8-3-1.
Art Modell
Art Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
purchased the team in 1961. The season otherwise was typical: a fifth consecutive league-leading season from Jim Brown and a half-decent performance in the standings, but again, at 8-5-1, they were two games out of a berth in the championship. Rumors began circulating that the problem with the team was that Paul Brown's coaching methods had become predictable. In addition, from the time of the Tittle trade, the Browns had acquired a number players and then traded or released them after just a year or two in Cleveland, allowing them to become stars elsewhere. As of the end of 1961, this group included defensive linemen Doug Atkins
Doug Atkins
Douglas Leon Atkins is a former American football defensive end who played for the Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints in the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Tennessee under legendary head coach Robert Neyland...
, Henry Jordan
Henry Jordan
Henry Wendell Jordan was an American football defensive tackle who played for two teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns, during his thirteen-year National Football League career. He played in the NFL from 1957 to 1969.Jordan attended Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia...
and Willie Davis and quarterback Len Dawson
Len Dawson
Leonard Ray "Len" "Lenny" Dawson is a former American collegiate and Professional Football quarterback who attended Purdue University and went on to play for three professional teams, most notably the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs...
.
In 1962, the differences between Paul Brown and Art Modell came to a head. Before the season started, Brown made a secret trade without informing Modell, giving up Bobby Mitchell
Bobby Mitchell
Robert Cornelius Mitchell is a former American football halfback and flanker in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins. Mitchell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983.-Early life:Mitchell was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas and attended...
to acquire the rights to Syracuse running back Ernie Davis
Ernie Davis
Ernest "Ernie" Davis was an American football running back and the first African-American athlete to win the Heisman Trophy. Wearing number 44, Davis competed collegiately for Syracuse University before being drafted by the Washington Redskins, then almost immediately traded to the Cleveland...
, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
. However, when training camp started, Davis turned out to have a fatal form of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
and never played for the Browns, dying in early 1963. The Browns went only 7-6-1, and Jim Brown didn't lead the NFL in rushing for the only time in his career. After the season, during a newspaper strike in Cleveland (which reduced the public outcry), Modell fired Paul Brown, replacing him with his chief assistant, Blanton Collier
Blanton Collier
Blanton Long Collier was an American football coach who led the University of Kentucky and the Cleveland Browns...
.
The 1963 Browns started off energized and won their first six games before splitting their last eight for an overall 10-4 record and second place in their conference, losing out for the third straight year to the Giants behind Tittle, even though Jim Brown had his best season with an NFL record 1,863 yards.
In 1964, though, the Browns finally climbed back to the top in the NFL with a 10-3-1 record, winning the Eastern Conference in the final game by pummelling the Giants and Tittle 52-20, and then beating the Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the championship
NFL Championship Game, 1964
The 1964 National Football League championship game was the 32nd annual championship game. The NFL title game was held on December 27, 1964 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio before a crowd of 79,544...
for their fourth NFL title and eighth title overall. A key to the improvement was the addition in the college draft of Paul Warfield
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...
, who promptly became the team's leading receiver, and Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly was an American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League from 1964-73....
, a star kick returner/running back.
The 1965 Browns picked up where the 1964 Browns left off, despite an injury to Warfield that caused him to miss all but one game, rolling through their schedule with an 11-3 record and winning the Eastern Conference by 4 games. Jim Brown won league MVP for the third time with 1,544 yards, almost doubling the total of the second place finisher, and 17 rushing touchdowns. However, in the NFL Championship game
NFL Championship Game, 1965
The 1965 National Football League Championship game was the 33rd championship game for the NFL. The game was played on January 2, 1966 at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin. The game matched the Eastern Conference champions Cleveland Browns who were the defending NFL champions...
in frozen Green Bay, the Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
upset the Browns 23-12.
1966-73: Playoff disappointments
As training camp was beginning in July 1966, Jim Brown shocked the Browns, their fans and the NFL by announcing his retirement. Brown, who had been filming the movie The Dirty Dozen in London, was claimed by some to have been irritated by the Browns' threats of fines for not reporting for training camp and simply retired. Leroy KellyLeroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly was an American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League from 1964-73....
became the Browns' new rushing threat for the 1966 season, ably filling Brown's shoes with the first of his three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Frank Ryan
Frank Ryan (American football)
Frank Beall Ryan is a retired American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Los Angeles Rams , Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins . Although he led the Browns to their last National Football League title in 1964, Ryan is best remembered for being perhaps...
's 29 touchdowns also led the league. Entering the final month of the regular season, the Browns had remained in contention, but a costly 26-14 loss in a Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
game at Dallas put a major dent in their postseason hopes. Blanton Collier's squad placed one game behind the Cowboys with a 9-5 mark and missed the league championship game for the first time in three years.
The 1967 Browns began the season with two losses, defeats that were quickly forgotten with nine wins in the next 11 contests to help the team finish at 9-5 for the second consecutive year. Unlike the previous season, the NFL's new realignment made that record good enough for first place in the short-lived Century Division, and a spot in the new Eastern Conference championship against the Cowboys. Unfortunately, the game between the two squads was over quickly as Don Meredith
Don Meredith
Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player...
passed for two touchdowns, Dave Baynham ran for three and Bob Hayes
Bob Hayes
Robert Lee "Bullet Bob" Hayes was an Olympic sprinter turned American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University...
generally made the Browns' life miserable on special teams as the Cowboys annihilated the Browns 52-14.
Following another slow start in 1968 Ryan was out at quarterback, in favor of Bill Nelsen
Bill Nelsen
William Keith Nelsen was a former football player who played collegiately for the University of Southern California and professionally with both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. He was known for his leadership ability and ability to play with pain, having endured a series of knee...
, who had been acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
in the offseason. In their October 20 game against the undefeated Baltimore Colts, the heavy underdog Browns stunned their opponents with a 30-20 win, sparking an eight-game winning streak. Nelsen's main target was fifth-year receiver Paul Warfield
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...
, who had the best season of his career, with 1067 yards and 12 touchdowns. The team finished the regular season with a 10-4 mark, good enough for another first-place finish and a rematch with Dallas in the Eastern Conference final. After four consecutive losses to their Texas opponents, the Browns ended their frustration by not allowing the Cowboys an offensive touchdown until the final minute. Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly
Leroy Kelly was an American football player. A Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, he played for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League from 1964-73....
's two long runs for scores paced the offense, with the turning point in a 31–20 victory coming on Dale Lindsey
Dale Lindsey
Phillip Dale Lindsey is a former American football linebacker and coach in the National Football League. He also spent time as a coach in the Canadian Football League and the United States Football League...
's return of a Don Meredith interception for a touchdown early in the second half. Cleveland advanced to the NFL Championship against the Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
. Don Cockroft
Don Cockroft
Donald Lee Cockroft is a former American football punter and placekicker who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns...
had an early field goal blocked, and the Browns would not have another chance to score again. Tom Matte
Tom Matte
Thomas Roland Matte was an American football player who played quarterback in college and primarily running back in the NFL in the 1960s and 1970s and earned a Super Bowl Ring. He attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland and is an Eagle Scout...
ran for three touchdowns as the Colts shut out the Browns 34-0 to advance to Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
.
The 1969 season produced similar results. Nelsen threw 2700 yards and 23 touchdowns (both career highs), and Warfield and Gary Collins both had at least ten touchdown catches. The team finished 10-3-1, again best in the Century Division, and once again played the Cowboys in the conference final. Nelsen threw for 219 yards and Walt Sumner
Walt Sumner
Walter Herman Sumner is a former American football player who was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 1969 NFL Draft. A 6'1", 188 lbs. safety from Florida State University, Sumner played in 6 NFL seasons from 1969-1974.At Florida State, he was a two-sport star as an...
returned an interception 88 yards for a touchdown as the Browns took their second straight Eastern championship by the score of 38-14. But the NFL Championship Game was another disappointment for the Browns. Joe Kapp
Joe Kapp
Joseph Robert Kapp is a former professional American and Canadian football quarterback. He is also a former college football head coach of the University of California, and a former general manager of the CFL's BC Lions. Kapp played primarily with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings and the CFL's BC Lions...
of the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
scored on the team's first possession and another rout began. The Vikings went up 20-0 by halftime and ended up winning 27-7.
The 1970 AFL-NFL merger
AFL-NFL Merger
The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...
would see the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
and Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
move to the new American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
aligned with the 10 teams of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
. While the realignment would greatly benefit the Steelers, the placement of the Browns into the AFC's Central Division would not be as good. The trade of Paul Warfield
Paul Warfield
Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...
to the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for a draft choice used on Purdue All American Mike Phipps did not help the Browns either. After defeating the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the first-ever broadcast of Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
, the Browns stumbled through the season finishing 7–7.
Coach Blanton Collier
Blanton Collier
Blanton Long Collier was an American football coach who led the University of Kentucky and the Cleveland Browns...
retired for health reasons (deafness) was replaced with Nick Skorich
Nick Skorich
Nicholas Leonard Skorich was an American football offensive lineman and coach.Skorich played guard at Bellaire High School and the University of Cincinnati before joining the Navy in 1943. After the end of World War II, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had drafted him in 1943...
before the 1971 season. The Browns improved to 9-5, and a first-place finish in the AFC Central. This placed them in the divisional playoff against the Baltimore Colts
History of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
; but much like their matchup three years earlier, the game went ugly early. Backup Colts running back Don Nottingham
Don Nottingham
Don Nottingham was an American football running back who played for the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League...
scored two first-half touchdowns, and it was all Baltimore would need. The Browns season ended in another 20-3 disappointment.
Mike Phipps
Mike Phipps
Michael Elston Phipps is a former professional American football quarterback who played collegiately for the Purdue University Boilermakers , and professionally for both the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears .-College career:After playing high school for Columbus High School in Columbus,...
was promoted to starting quarterback over Nelsen before the 1972 season. After a sluggish start, the Browns went on an 8–1 tear. That surge was highlighted by late comeback victories against the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers and a playoff-clinching victory at Cincinnati. A 10–4 mark earned them the AFC wild card berth and put them in a divisional playoff against the undefeated Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Browns took a lead in the fourth-quarter on a Fair Hooker
Fair Hooker
Fair Hooker is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the 1969 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State....
touchdown catch, but Jim Kiick
Jim Kiick
James Forrest Kiick is a former professional American football running back, who is best known for playing halfback for the Miami Dolphins in the American Football League from 1968 to 1969 and in the National Football League from 1970 through 1974...
preserved the Dolphins' perfect season with a late touchdown run for the 20-14 decision.
In 1973, Phipps threw 20 interceptions to just nine touchdowns, and no rusher had more than 600 yards. After winning four of their first six games, the Browns slumped before bouncing back with a trio of victories, the last one a dramatic last-minute victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 25. The following week, a fourth quarter rally salvaged a 20-20 tie against the Kansas City Chiefs, but a playoff berth evaporated the following week with a 34-17 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals. Cleveland ended the year at 7–5–2, good for third place in the division. Defensive lineman Jerry Sherk
Jerry Sherk
Jerry Martin Sherk is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League for 12 seasons between 1970 until 1981...
, made the first of four consecutive trips to the NFL Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
.
1974–84
The Browns' era of success came to a crashing halt as the team dropped to 4–10 in 1974. Neither Phipps nor rookie QB Brian SipeBrian Sipe
Brian Winfield Sipe is a former professional American football quarterback who played in the National Football League from 1974 to 1983 and the United States Football League from 1984 to 1985....
were effective, throwing 24 combined interceptions to only 10 touchdowns. The Browns allowed 344 points, most in the league. It was only the second losing season in 29 years of franchise history, and head coach Nick Skorich
Nick Skorich
Nicholas Leonard Skorich was an American football offensive lineman and coach.Skorich played guard at Bellaire High School and the University of Cincinnati before joining the Navy in 1943. After the end of World War II, he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had drafted him in 1943...
saw his tenure with the team end as a result of the collapse.
Assistant coach and former Green Bay Packer offensive lineman Forrest Gregg
Forrest Gregg
Alvis Forrest Gregg is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League. During a Pro Football Hall of Fame playing career, he was a part of six championships, five of them with the Green Bay Packers before closing out his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys with a win in...
took over in 1975, but the bad fortunes of the team remained with an 0–9 start that finally came to an end on November 23 in a 35-23 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
. Three weeks later, third-year running back Greg Pruitt
Greg Pruitt
Gregory Donald Pruitt is a former American football running back in the NFL from 1973 through 1984. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, four as a member of the Cleveland Browns and one as a member of the Los Angeles Raiders, the last one as a kick returner...
paced the team with 214 yards rushing in a rout over the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, helping the team finish the season 3–11.
Cleveland showed marked improvement with a 9-5 mark in 1976 as Brian Sipe
Brian Sipe
Brian Winfield Sipe is a former professional American football quarterback who played in the National Football League from 1974 to 1983 and the United States Football League from 1984 to 1985....
firmly took control at quarterback. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after a Mike Phipps
Mike Phipps
Michael Elston Phipps is a former professional American football quarterback who played collegiately for the Purdue University Boilermakers , and professionally for both the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears .-College career:After playing high school for Columbus High School in Columbus,...
injury in the season-opening win against the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on September 12. After a 1–3 start brought visions of another disastrous year, the Browns jolted the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers with an 18–16 victory on October 10. Third-string quarterback Dave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones' pile-driving sack of quarterback Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
fueled the heated rivalry between the two teams. That win was the first of eight in the next nine weeks, helping put the Browns in contention for the AFC playoffs. A loss to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
in the regular season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running back Greg Pruitt
Greg Pruitt
Gregory Donald Pruitt is a former American football running back in the NFL from 1973 through 1984. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, four as a member of the Cleveland Browns and one as a member of the Los Angeles Raiders, the last one as a kick returner...
continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1000 yards, his second-straight four-digit season.
The Browns continued to roll in the first half of the 1977 NFL season
1977 NFL season
The 1977 NFL season was the 58th regular season of the National Football League. The Seattle Seahawks were placed in the AFC West while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slotted in the NFC Central....
, but an injury to Brian Sipe
Brian Sipe
Brian Winfield Sipe is a former professional American football quarterback who played in the National Football League from 1974 to 1983 and the United States Football League from 1984 to 1985....
by Pittsburgh's
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
Jack Lambert on November 13 proved to be disastrous. Cleveland won only one of their last five games to finish at 6-8, a collapse that led to Forrest Gregg
Forrest Gregg
Alvis Forrest Gregg is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League. During a Pro Football Hall of Fame playing career, he was a part of six championships, five of them with the Green Bay Packers before closing out his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys with a win in...
's dismissal before the final game of the season. Dick Modzelewski
Dick Modzelewski
Richard Blair Modzelewski is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. He also served as interim head coach of the Browns in the final game of the 1977 season...
served as interim coach in the team's 20–19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
.
On December 27, 1977, Sam Rutigliano
Sam Rutigliano
Sam Rutigliano is a former National Football League head coach.Rutigliano, the son of Italian immigrants, played high school football at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. He played college football at Tennessee and Tulsa. He coached at the high school level in New York...
was named head coach, and aided a healthy Sipe in throwing 21 touchdowns and garnering 2900 yards during the 1978 NFL season
1978 NFL season
The 1978 NFL season was the 59th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season from a 14-game schedule to 16. Furthermore, the playoff format was expanded from 8 teams to 10 teams by adding another wild card from each conference...
. Greg Pruitt
Greg Pruitt
Gregory Donald Pruitt is a former American football running back in the NFL from 1973 through 1984. He was selected to five Pro Bowls, four as a member of the Cleveland Browns and one as a member of the Los Angeles Raiders, the last one as a kick returner...
and Mike Pruitt
Mike Pruitt
Michael Pruitt is a former American football running back who played eleven seasons from 1976 to 1986 with the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League...
led a rushing attack that gained almost 2500 yards, but problems with the team's dismal pass defense resulted in the Browns finishing 8-8 on the year.
The 1979 campaign started with four consecutive wins, three of which were in the final minute or overtime. Four more games were won by less than a touchdown. This penchant for playing close games would later earn them the nickname "Kardiac Kids
Kardiac Kids
The Kardiac Kids is a reference to the 1980 Cleveland Browns, who had a penchant for having games decided in the final moments. Finishing 11-5, the Browns captured their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers...
". Sipe threw 28 touchdown passes, tying him with Steve Grogan
Steve Grogan
Steve James Grogan is a former American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. Grogan played for the Patriots for his entire NFL career, from 1975 to 1990.-High school and college:...
of New England
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
for most in the league, but his 26 interceptions were the worst in the league. Mike Pruitt had a Pro Bowl season with his 1294 rushing yards, while the defense was still shaky, ranking near the bottom in rushing defense. The team finished 9-7, behind division rivals Houston and Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
in a tough AFC Central.
The Kardiac Kids
The 1980 season is still fondly remembered by Browns fans. After splitting the first six games by going 3-3, the Browns won three straight games (against Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and Chicago) with fourth-quarter comebacks, and stopped a late comeback by the Baltimore ColtsHistory of the Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
to win a fourth. The Browns won two more games in that fashion by the end of the season, and even lost a game to the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
on the last play when a Hail Mary pass
Hail Mary pass
A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary route in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half....
was tipped into the waiting hands of Ahmad Rashad
Ahmad Rashad
Ahmad Rashād is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. An All-American running back and wide receiver from Oregon known as Bobby Moore, Rashad was the fourth overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft, drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals...
. Sipe passed for 4000 yards and 30 touchdowns with only 14 INTs (enough for him to be named the NFL MVP), behind an offensive line that sent three members to the Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
: Doug Dieken
Doug Dieken
Douglas Heye Dieken is a former American football offensive tackle who played fourteen seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns....
, Tom DeLeone
Tom DeLeone
Thomas Denning DeLeone is a former American football center who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League, with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. He grew up in Kent, Ohio and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1968, where he was on the football, basketball,...
and Joe DeLamielleure
Joe DeLamielleure
Joseph Michael DeLamielleure is a former American football offensive lineman who was an All-American at Michigan State. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 1973 NFL Draft. He won All-Rookie Honors, after finding out a physical condition with his irregular heartbeat was...
. The "Kardiac Kids" name stuck. A fourth-quarter field goal by Don Cockroft
Don Cockroft
Donald Lee Cockroft is a former American football punter and placekicker who played thirteen seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns...
in the final game against the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
helped the Browns capture the division with an 11-5 mark, with the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
their opponent in the team's first playoff game in eight years. However, a heartbreaking end of this dramatic season came in the closing seconds when Sipe called what became known as "Red Right 88
Red Right 88
Red Right 88 was the designation of a Cleveland Browns passing play that was called during the January 4, 1981 American Football Conference divisional playoff game against the Oakland Raiders; in the years since, the term has been used to refer to the game itself and its ending.Trailing 14-12 with...
" and passed toward the end zone, only to watch Oakland's Mike Davis intercept the ball. The pass play had been decided on after several botched attempts at a field goal. The Raiders won 14-12 and went on to win the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
. "Red Right 88" has numbered among the list of Cleveland sports curses ever since (see: The Drive
The Drive
The Drive refers to an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, between the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, in a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, led his team 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds...
; The Fumble
The Fumble
In American football, The Fumble refers to a specific incident in the AFC Championship Game between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos on January 17, 1988 at Mile High Stadium...
; The Shot
The Shot
The Shot is the name of the series-winning basket made by Michael Jordan in the 5th game of the 1989 Eastern Conference First Round against the Cavs, in the Coliseum at Richfield...
by Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
; 1994 Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
strike; Cleveland State basketball coach Kevin Mackey's arrest and conviction for cocaine and Game 7 of the 1997 World Series
1997 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 18, 1997 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, FloridaThe first World Series game in the state of Florida, Game 1 featured a youngster and a veteran facing each other on the mound...
).
If 1980 was a dream season, then 1981 was a nightmare. Sipe threw only 17 touchdowns while being picked off 25 times. The Browns went 5-11, and few of their games were particularly close. Tight end Ozzie Newsome
Ozzie Newsome
Ozzie Newsome Jr. and a 1974 graduate of Colbert County High School in Leighton, Alabama, is a former American football tight end for the Cleveland Browns, an inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the current General Manager of the Baltimore Ravens.-College career:Before his NFL career,...
, their only Pro Bowler, had 1004 yards receiving for six touchdowns.
In 1982 Brian Sipe
Brian Sipe
Brian Winfield Sipe is a former professional American football quarterback who played in the National Football League from 1974 to 1983 and the United States Football League from 1984 to 1985....
split quarterbacking duties with Paul McDonald, and both put up similar numbers. The Browns had little success rushing or defending against it, finishing in the bottom five teams in both yardage categories. Despite going 4-5, Cleveland was able to make the playoffs due to an expanded playoff system in the strike-shortened year. They were matched up with the Raiders in the playoffs, but were easily defeated 27-10.
Sipe and the Browns got some of their spark back in 1983. Sipe had 26 touchdown passes and 3566 yards, while Mike Pruitt
Mike Pruitt
Michael Pruitt is a former American football running back who played eleven seasons from 1976 to 1986 with the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League...
ran for 10 scores on 1184 yards. Cleveland even won two games in overtime and another in the fourth quarter. A fourth-quarter loss to the Houston Oilers in their second-to-last game dashed their playoff hopes. At 9-7 the Browns finished one game behind the Steelers, and lost out on a wild-card spot due to a tiebreaker.
1984 was a rebuilding year. Brian Sipe defected to the upstart USFL after the 1983 season, and Paul McDonald was named the starting quarterback. Mike Pruitt
Mike Pruitt
Michael Pruitt is a former American football running back who played eleven seasons from 1976 to 1986 with the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs in the National Football League...
missed much of the season and later ended up on the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Coach Sam Rutigliano
Sam Rutigliano
Sam Rutigliano is a former National Football League head coach.Rutigliano, the son of Italian immigrants, played high school football at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. He played college football at Tennessee and Tulsa. He coached at the high school level in New York...
lost his job after a 1-7 start as Marty Schottenheimer
Marty Schottenheimer
Martin Edward "Marty" Schottenheimer is the current head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. Over his career, he has served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He has the most wins of any NFL coach...
took over. The Browns coasted to a 5-11 record.
1985-90: The Bernie Kosar years
In 19851985 NFL season
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.-Major rule changes:...
, the Browns selected University of Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar
Bernie Kosar
Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.-Early life and high school career:A Hungarian-American...
in the Supplemental Draft. As a rookie, Kosar learned through trial by fire as he took over for Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson
Gary Danielson is a former professional football player, a quarterback in the National Football League . He played for the Detroit Lions from 1976 to 1984 and for the Cleveland Browns in 1985, 1987, and 1988...
midway through the 1985 season. Progressing a bit more each Sunday, the young quarterback helped turn the struggling season around, as the Browns won four of the six games Kosar started. Two young rushers, Earnest Byner
Earnest Byner
Earnest Alexander Byner is a former American football running back in the National Football League and is currently a running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars...
and Kevin Mack
Kevin Mack
James Kevin Mack is a former professional American football player who played running back.-Early life:Mack was born in Kings Mountain, North Carolina...
, played a large part in the teams success as well; each ran for 1000+ yards. The Brown's 8-8 record gave the team the top spot in a weak AFC Central, and they looked poised to shock the heavily favored Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the 1986 Divisional Playoff game with a 21-3 lead at halftime. It took Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
's spirited second-half comeback to win the game for Miami 24-21. While the Browns faithful may have felt the initial sting of disappointment, there was tremendous upside in the loss: Schottenheimer's team, with Kosar at quarterback, reached the playoffs each of the next five seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship game in three of those years.
The Browns broke into the ranks of the NFL's elite—particularly on defense—with a 12-4 showing in 1986
1986 NFL season
The 1986 NFL season was the 67th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXI when the New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win their first league title in 30 years.-Major rule changes:...
. Behind Kosar's 3,854 yards passing and a defense with five Pro Bowlers (Chip Banks
Chip Banks
William Chip Banks is a former professional American football linebacker.He graduated from Lucy Craft Laney High School, Augusta, GA.-Professional career:...
, Hanford Dixon
Hanford Dixon
Hanford Dixon is a former professional American football cornerback who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Dixon made the Pro Bowl three times, in 1986, 1987 and 1988. He was drafted by the Browns out of The University of Southern Mississippi with the 22nd pick in the...
, Bob Golic
Bob Golic
Robert Perry "Bob" Golic is a retired American football player, as well as a television and radio personality. He played as a defensive tackle who played for the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, and the Los Angeles Raiders in the NFL.Golic played high school football at St...
, Clay Matthews and Frank Minnifield
Frank Minnifield
Frank Minnifield is a former American football player who played defensive back for the Cleveland Browns from 1984-92.Minnifield attended Henry Clay High School in Lexington...
), the Browns dominated the AFC Central with the best record in the AFC, and one of the NFL's stingiest defenses. With these on their side, the Browns clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the 1987 Divisional Playoff game, the Browns needed some serious heroics (and a bit of luck) to overcome the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Jets were leading 20-10 with less than four minutes to play, with the Browns in a dire 3rd and 24 situation. As fate would have it, Mark Gastineau
Mark Gastineau
Marcus Dell Gastineau is a former American football player who was a leading defensive end for the New York Jets from 1979 to 1988. A five-time Pro Bowler, his 100½ quarterback sacks in only his first 100 starts in the NFL made him one of the quickest and most feared pass rushers of his generation...
was called for roughing the passer, which gave Cleveland a first down. The drive ended with Kevin Mack
Kevin Mack
James Kevin Mack is a former professional American football player who played running back.-Early life:Mack was born in Kings Mountain, North Carolina...
running into the endzone for a touchdown. After going three-and-out the Jets went back on defense, but allowed the rejuvenated Browns to again drive the ball deep into their end of the field. With 11 seconds remaining in regulation, Mark Moseley
Mark Moseley
Mark DeWayne Moseley is a former professional American football placekicker in the National Football League who played for the Philadelphia Eagles , the Houston Oilers , the Washington Redskins , and the Cleveland Browns . He won the Most Valuable Player Award during the strike-shortened 1982 season...
kicked a field goal to tie the game. In the first of two ensuing overtime periods, Moseley missed his next attempt, but later redeemed himself by ending the game in what had become the second-longest game in NFL history. Final score Browns 23, Jets 20.
The 1987 AFC Championship game saw the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
arrive in the windswept, hostile confines of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. No one knew at the time, but the Broncos would become Cleveland's arch-nemesis of the Kosar era. As it had been the previous week, the showdown proved again to be it was an overtime heart-stopper. But this time, it was John Elway
John Elway
John Albert Elway, Jr. is a former American football quarterback and currently is the executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He played college football at Stanford and his entire professional career with the Denver Broncos...
and the Broncos who came away the victors. Pinned in on their own two yard line with 5:11 left to play and the wind in his face, Elway led his now infamous (or, for the Bronco's fans, 'legendary') 98-yard drive, which is now known by NFL historians as simply "The Drive
The Drive
The Drive refers to an offensive series in the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship Game played on January 11, 1987, between the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns. Broncos quarterback John Elway, in a span of 5 minutes and 2 seconds, led his team 98 yards to tie the game with 37 seconds...
"). With 37 seconds on the clock, Elway's 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson tied the game at 20 apiece. The 79,973 Browns fans in attendance were silenced when Rich Karlis
Rich Karlis
Richard John Karlis is a former American Football placekicker who played nine seasons for the Denver Broncos, the Minnesota Vikings, and the Detroit Lions in the National Football League from 1982 to 1990...
' field goal attempt just made it inside the right-side upright to win the game for Denver early into overtime.
The Browns success was replicated in 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
, with 22 touchdown passes and 3000 yards for Kosar, and eight Pro Bowlers: Kosar, Mack, Dixon, Golic, Minnifield, linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
Clay Matthews, wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Gerald McNeil
Gerald McNeil
Gerald McNeil is a former professional American football player. He was a wide receiver who often returned punts and kickoffs...
and offensive lineman Cody Risien
Cody Risien
Cody Lewis Risien is a former American football offensive tackle who played eleven seasons in the National Football League with the Cleveland Browns...
. At 10–5, the Browns won the AFC Central again. Cleveland easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
38–21 in the divisional playoff and travelled to Denver for a rematch with the Broncos in the AFC Championship. With the score 21-3 in favor of the Broncos at halftime, Kosar led a third-quarter comeback with two touchdowns by Earnest Byner
Earnest Byner
Earnest Alexander Byner is a former American football running back in the National Football League and is currently a running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars...
and another by Reggie Langhorne
Reggie Langhorne
Reginald "Reggie" Devan Langhorne , is a former professional American football player. He played in the NFL for 9 seasons from 1985 to 1993, playing for the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts during that time....
. Early in the fourth quarter, Webster Slaughter
Webster Slaughter
Webster Melvin Slaughter is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League from 1986 to 1998....
's 4-yard touchdown catch tied it at 31-31. The Broncos regained the lead with a 20-yard Sammy Winder
Sammy Winder
Sammy Winder is a former professional American football running back who spent his entire professional career playing for the Denver Broncos, from 1982 to 1990....
touchdown with less than five minutes to go, setting the stage for another Browns comeback...or so they thought. Kosar drove the Browns to the Broncos' 8 yard line with 1:12 to go, and handed off to Byner. When it looked like he had an open route to the end zone, he was stripped of the ball by Jeremiah Castille
Jeremiah Castille
Jeremiah Castille is an American professional football player. A 5'10", 175-lb. defensive back from the University of Alabama, Castille was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 1983 NFL Draft. He played in six seasons in the NFL from 1983–1988 for the Buccaneers and...
. The Broncos recovered what became known as "The Fumble
The Fumble
In American football, The Fumble refers to a specific incident in the AFC Championship Game between the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos on January 17, 1988 at Mile High Stadium...
". After taking a safety, the Broncos shocked the Browns again, 38–33.
Injuries to Kosar and two of his backups sidelined them for much of the 1988
1988 NFL season
The 1988 NFL season was the 69th regular season of the National Football League. The Cardinals relocated from St. Louis, Missouri to the Phoenix, Arizona area becoming the Phoenix Cardinals but remained in the NFC East division....
season, but the Browns still finished 10–6. A final-week comeback victory in a snowstorm at Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium
Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...
over the Houston Oilers clinched them a wild-card playoff spot, and a home game rematch against the Oilers in the first round. After Mike Pagel
Mike Pagel
Mike John Pagel , was a former professional American football player who was selected by the Baltimore Colts in the 4th round of the 1982 NFL Draft. A 6'2", . quarterback from Arizona State, Pagel played in 12 NFL seasons from 1982-1993...
, in for Kosar, threw a touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter
Webster Slaughter
Webster Melvin Slaughter is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League from 1986 to 1998....
late in the fourth quarter to pull the Browns within a point at 24-23, the Browns had three chances to recover an onside kick
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
(due to penalties), but the Oilers recovered and stopped the Cleveland comeback.
Coach Marty Schottenheimer
Marty Schottenheimer
Martin Edward "Marty" Schottenheimer is the current head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. Over his career, he has served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. He has the most wins of any NFL coach...
left the Browns by mutual agreement with Modell shortly after the loss to the Oilers. Modell was tired of losing in the playoffs and Schottenheimer was tired of what he perceived as Modell's interference with his coaching personnel and game strategy. Schottenheimer was quickly hired by the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
for the 1989
1989 NFL season
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement...
season. Bud Carson
Bud Carson
Leon H. "Bud" Carson was an American football coach best known for his role on the Pittsburgh Steelers' championship teams of the 1970s.-Player:Carson played defensive back for North Carolina from 1949 to 1951, then entered the Marines.-Georgia Tech:...
was his replacement in Cleveland, but his tenure was short - only one and a half years. The 1989 season, headlined by Slaughter's Pro Bowl-worthy 1236 yards receiving, was a success at 7-3 until a 10-10 tie with Schottenheimer's Chiefs in November led to a 3-game losing streak. Two comeback wins over the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
and Houston Oilers in the season's final two weeks kept them in the playoff race. The tie ended up being the Browns' saving grace, with their 9-6-1 record winning them the AFC Central title and first-round bye over the Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
at 9-7. The Browns narrowly survived a scare from the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in their divisional playoff game, when Scott Norwood
Scott Norwood
Scott Allan Norwood is a former American football placekicker in the NFL who played for the Buffalo Bills. Norwood was an integral part of its offense during the late 1980s and early 1990s, and kicked in Buffalo's first two Super Bowl appearances...
missed an extra point that would have pulled Buffalo within 3 points and, later, when Jim Kelly
Jim Kelly
James Edward Kelly is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and the USFL's Houston Gamblers....
's desperation pass to the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
on the final play of the game was intercepted.
Cleveland's 34-30 win set them up for a rematch with the Broncos in Denver for the AFC Championship. While their two previous matchups went down to the wire, this one was never in doubt. The Broncos led from start to finish, and a long Elway touchdown pass to Sammy Winder put the game way in the fourth quarter. Denver easily won 37-21.
In 1990
1990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
things began to unravel. Kosar threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (10) for the first time in his career; and the team finished last in the league in rushing offense, and near the bottom in rushing defense. Carson was fired after a 2-7 start, and the team finished 3-13, second-worst in the league. After the season Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
, defensive coordinator of the then-Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
champion New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, was named head coach, setting off a chain of events that some fans believe led to the demise of the original franchise.
1991-95: Bill Belichick and Modell's move
The Browns saw only a slight improvement under Belichick in the 19911991 NFL season
The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills....
, finishing 6-10. Kosar was markedly better, with a ratio of 18 touchdowns to 9 interceptions, and Leroy Hoard
Leroy Hoard
Leroy Hoard is a retired American football running back who played for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, and Minnesota Vikings of the NFL...
had a breakout season.
In 1992
1992 NFL season
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that...
, with Kosar sitting out much of the season and Mike Tomczak
Mike Tomczak
Michael John "Mike" Tomczak is a former American football player. Tomczak played quarterback for several NFL teams including the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers....
in under center, Cleveland was in the thick of the AFC Central race before dropping their final three games to finish 8–8.
The 1993
1993 NFL season
The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...
season saw Belichick make the decision to bench Bernie Kosar in favor of Vinny Testaverde
Vinny Testaverde
Vincent Frank Testaverde is a former NFL quarterback. Testaverde last played for the Carolina Panthers and had previously played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots. Testaverde holds the NFL record for having...
, who had been signed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
. In spite of his diminishing football skills, Kosar was immensely popular in the local fanbase. His subsequent release by the team, prompted a heated reaction from fans, mostly aimed at Belichick. Cleveland won only two of its final nine games after Testaverde took over under center, finishing 7–9 once again.
Cleveland managed to right the ship in 1994
1994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
, although the quarterback situation hadn't quite improved, a solid defense led the league for fewest yards allowed per attempt, sending four players (Rob Burnett
Rob Burnett
Robert Barry Burnett is a former defensive end who played in the NFL for 14 seasons.-High school and college:Burnett attended Newfield High School located in Long Island, New York...
, Pepper Johnson
Pepper Johnson
Thomas "Pepper" Johnson is a former American football linebacker, and the current defensive line coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League.-College:...
, Michael Dean Perry
Michael Dean Perry
Michael Dean Perry is a former American football defensive lineman and the younger brother of William Perry. His parents are Mrs. Inez S. Perry [deceased] and Hollie Perry, Sr. of Aiken, South Carolina. He learned to play football from his older brothers...
and Eric Turner
Eric Turner
Eric Ray Turner was a defensive back who played for the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders. He died of intestinal cancer at the age of 31, two weeks after claiming he was not gravely ill...
) to the Pro Bowl. The Browns finished 11-5, making the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. In the AFC Wild Card game against the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, the Browns' defense picked off Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe
Drew McQueen Bledsoe is a former football quarterback in the National Football League, best known as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots from 1993-2001. During the 1990s, he was considered the face of the Patriots franchise...
three times, with Testaverde completing two-thirds of his passes, to win 20–13. Arch-rival Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
ended the Browns' season the following week, however, with a 29–9 blowout in the AFC Divisional game.
Team owner Art Modell
Art Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
announced on November 6, 1995, that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
for 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
. The very next day, on November 7, 1995, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved an issue providing $175 million in unguaranteed tax dollars to refurbish the outmoded and declining Cleveland Municipal Stadium.
The relocation announcement was met with unprecedented hostility from Browns fans, with over 100 lawsuits filed by fans, the city of Cleveland, and a host of others. Death threats issued against Modell and his family prompted him to leave the city to ensure his own safety. Not wanting to be targeted by fan ire or face threats against their own employees, many of the team's corporate sponsors pulled their support, leaving Cleveland Municipal Stadium devoid of most advertising during the team's final weeks.
The 1995
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
season was a disaster on the field, too. After starting 3–1, the rumors of relocation, and the eventual announcement, cast a pall on the team, who finished 5–11. When the Dawg Pound
Dawg Pound
The Dawg Pound is the name of the bleacher section behind the east end zone in Cleveland Browns Stadium, the home field of the Cleveland Browns. It is known for its extremely zealous fan base.-Formation:...
became unruly during their final home game against the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
, destroying sections of the stadium and raining debris, beer bottles, and entire sections of seats and bleachers onto the field, action moving towards that end zone had to be moved to the opposite end of the field to ensure the safety of the players and associated personnel, protecting them from injury. The Bengals lost the game, giving the Browns their only win following the announcement of the impending move.
Through threats of litigation led by Mayor Mike White
Michael R. White
Michael Reed White is an American politician of the Democratic party and was the 55th and longest-serving mayor of Cleveland, Ohio encompassing three four-year terms, from 1990 to 2002...
, Cleveland accepted an unprecedented legal settlement that would claim to keep the Browns legacy in Cleveland. In February 1996, the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
caved in to media and litigation pressures by announcing that the team would merely be 'deactivated' for three years, and that a new stadium
Cleveland Browns Stadium
-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
would be built for a new "reactivated" Cleveland Browns team that would begin play in 1999. Modell would in turn be granted a new "expansion" franchise for Baltimore, the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
, retaining the current contracts of players and personnel.
1999–2004: Rejoining the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
began its search for an owner for the reactivated Browns, finding one later in the year in Al Lerner
Al Lerner
Alfred "Al" Lerner was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was best known as the Chairman of the Board of credit card giant MBNA and the owner of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League...
, a former limited partner and a friend of Art Modell
Art Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
. Ironically, it was Lerner who was the primary catalyst for Modell's move to Baltimore. Lerner was the winning bidder against a number of others who sought the team, including cable TV magnates Charles Dolan and Larry Dolan, Cleveland real estate developer Bart Wolstein and New York developer Howard Milstein. During the period from 1996-1998 other franchises, such as Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
, blackmailed their home cities with the possibility of moving to Cleveland in order to put pressure on their respective cities to get more governmental funding for their own stadiums. Lerner died of cancer in October 2002, coincidentally four years to the day he was awarded the reactivated Browns franchise. Upon his passing, the team went into trust, controlled by his son, Randy
Randy Lerner
Randolph D. Lerner is an American entrepreneur and sports team owner.Lerner has been the owner of the American football team, the Cleveland Browns, of the National Football League since October 2002, and the Chairman of Aston Villa Football Club of the English Premier League since 2006...
.
The new team arrived with high hopes and expectations, featuring deep-pocketed ownership and what appeared to be solid general management in the form of former San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
president Carmen Policy
Carmen Policy
Carmen Policy is an attorney and American football executive who is best known for his front office work for the San Francisco 49ers during the 1980s and 1990s. Policy, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, joined the San Francisco 49ers in 1983 as vice president and counsel...
, general manager Dwight Clark and head coach Chris Palmer
Chris Palmer (football coach)
Chris Palmer is the offensive coordinator of the American football NFL's Tennessee Titans. He is the former head coach of the Hartford Colonials in the United Football League, and also a former head coach of the Cleveland Browns and former assistant coach of the Houston Texans, Jacksonville...
. But with poor players selected in the 1999 expansion draft and 1999–2004 college drafts, the team floundered. Palmer was dismissed after the 2000 season and Policy and Clark were forced out in 2003. The 2001 season nearly saw the Browns achieve a playoff berth, but the Week 15 game with Jacksonville saw their chances evaporate after a disastrous ruling by the referees that a Cleveland pass was incomplete, awarding the Jaguars a 1st down. Infuriated Browns fans pelted them and the visiting team's players and staff with bottles and other debris. With the crowd on the verge of starting a riot, the officiating crew called an end to the game with 48 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter. Commissioner Paul Taliagube then called them on the phone and ordered the game to be completed. After most of the fans had left, the Jaguars and Browns returned to the garbage-strew field to complete the final seconds of the match. With Jacksonville winning 15-10, the Browns were removed from playoff contention and finished the season at 7-9. Palmer was succeeded by former University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
coach Butch Davis
Butch Davis
Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis, Jr. is an American football coach and former player in the United States. He was the head coach at the University of Miami from 1995 to 2000, the Cleveland Browns of the NFL from 2001 to 2004, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 2007 to 2011.-Early...
. Despite a 2002 AFC Wild Card qualification, the team saw a dismal record during the next two seasons leading to Butch Davis' resignation in December 2004. Offensive Coordinator Terry Robiskie
Terry Robiskie
Terry Robiskie is a former American football player and current wide receivers coach for the Atlanta Falcons.-Playing career:...
, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2004 season.
2005–present
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
approached, there was much speculation over who would become the new head coach. On January 6, 2005, it was announced that Phil Savage
Phil Savage
Phillip "Phil" Savage, Jr. is a former general manager for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He is currently a player personnel executive for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the senior vice president and general manager of the Browns from 2005–2008...
signed on as general manager. Savage was previously an administrative member for the Baltimore Ravens and the Browns before 1995. After the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
victory over the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
at the Super Bowl, Patriots' defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel
Romeo Crennel
Romeo Crennel is the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns and current defensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. Before becoming the head coach of the Browns, Crennel won three Super Bowls in four seasons as the defensive coordinator of the New England...
signed on as the 3rd head coach for the new Browns. Robiskie was kept on as part of Crennel's staff.
With the Browns acquiring Trent Dilfer
Trent Dilfer
Trent Farris Dilfer is a former football quarterback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sixth overall in the 1994 NFL Draft and went on to play for the Baltimore Ravens, Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. He played college football...
from the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and Reuben Droughns
Reuben Droughns
Reuben Droughns is an American football running back who is currently the head coach for the Serbian team Vukovi Beograd, the two-time champions of the Central European Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2000 NFL Draft...
from the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, the Browns began 2005 on the wrong foot, losing 27-13 at home to their in-state rival, the Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
. They would go on the road and pick up their first win of the year against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, 26–24. After losing to the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, they used their Bye Week to regroup and pick up a comeback victory against the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. However, the Browns couldn't keep the momentum going from their win and dropped four of their next five games. A promising 22–0 shutout of the Miami Dolphins proved to be a mirage when the team lost its next three straight games. In the team's final five games, rookie Charlie Frye
Charlie Frye
Charles Frye, , is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Akron.-Early years:...
served as the team's starting quarterback, winning two of those contests. However, the two victories produced limited offense, while one humiliating 41-0 loss came at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
on December 24. The Browns ended their 2005 campaign at 6–10 in last place in the AFC North.
Just prior to the Browns' final game of the 2005 NFL season
2005 NFL season
The 2005 NFL season was the 86th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006...
, the team's front office became embroiled in a major controversy that threatened to once again send the team into rebuilding mode. A reporter for ESPN went public with a story that Team president John Collins was going to fire general manager Phil Savage
Phil Savage
Phillip "Phil" Savage, Jr. is a former general manager for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He is currently a player personnel executive for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the senior vice president and general manager of the Browns from 2005–2008...
. The resulting uproar from fans and local media was so strong that it was Collins who resigned on January 3, 2006. The role of team "President and CEO" was vacated, with owner Randy Lerner filling in as de facto CEO for the time being.
In the 2007 season
2007 Cleveland Browns season
The 2007 Cleveland Browns season began with the Browns attempting to improve upon their 4–12 record from the 2006 season, in which the team finished in fourth place in the AFC North. The Browns also attempted to overcome the many injuries that plagued the team throughout the 2006 season...
, the team saw a remarkable turnaround on the field. After opening the season with a 34–7 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, the Browns traded starting quarterback Charlie Frye
Charlie Frye
Charles Frye, , is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Akron.-Early years:...
to the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, with backup Derek Anderson
Derek Anderson (American football)
Derek Matthew Anderson is an American football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
assuming the starting role. In his first start, Anderson led the Browns to a surprise 51–45 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, throwing five touchdown passes, which tied the franchise record. The Browns finished the 2007 season 10–6, their best record since 1994, when they went 11–5. Six players earned Pro Bowl recognition. Coach Crennel agreed to a two-year contract extension.
In 2008, however, the Browns crashed back to ground, finishing 4–12 and coming in dead last in the AFC North. The Browns never contended during the season, and closed out the 2008 campaign with six consecutive games wherein the Browns failed to score a single touchdown. The season was punctuated in Week 16 by an embarrassing 14–0 shutout at Cleveland Stadium at the hands of the two-win Cincinnati Bengals, who with 24 players on injured reserve and starting 2nd stringers on both lines, a backup quarterback, a discarded free-agent running back, and reserve receivers and secondary, completely and thoroughly dominated the game. A 31–0 shutout against Pittsburgh in the season finale closed out the dismal season, resulting in the firing of Crennel and GM Savage.
In 2009, Eric Mangini
Eric Mangini
Eric Mangini is the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets of the National Football League and current NFL analyst for ESPN.-College:...
was hired as head coach, but the Browns showed little sign of improvement as the season progressed. They defeated the Buffalo Bills 6-3 in Week 5, but after that were hammered repeatedly, scoring an average of 15 points per game. The lowest ebb was a 16-0 shutout on Monday Night at the hands of Baltimore. Afterwards, they faced the equally hapless Detroit Lions, losing by one point in an epic 38-37 game that few saw due to being blacked out on local television. Redemption finally came in Week 14, when Cleveland hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, and despite all odds, beat their unprepared opponent 13-6 in frigid weather conditions. This would prove a major morale booster to the Browns, whose last win over the Steelers had been in 2003. Although no longer able to achieve a playoff berth, Cleveland won its final three games. The season ender saw them trump the Jaguars to finish 5-11.
During the 2010 off-season, Cleveland conducted a total overhaul of its QB corps. Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson were traded to Denver and Arizona, respectively. Meanwhile, Jake Delhomme was acquired from Carolina and Seneca Wallace from Seattle. They also drafted Colt McCoy from the University of Texas. With Delhomme starting, the Browns dropped three in a row against Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and Baltimore before beating Cincinnati in Week 4. After this, they fell to Atlanta, and then were routed by Pittsburgh. In Week 7 however, Cleveland gained an upset 30-17 victory over the Saints, marking the third year in a row that they beat a defending champion. After their bye week, the Browns pulled off another upset by beating New England 34-14, now with McCoy starting. For Eric Mangini, this game was personal owing to his past relations with Patriots coach Bill Belichick (Mangini had revealed the New England videotaping scandal in 2007, earning him the lasting enmity of Belichick). Cleveland next hosted the Jets and after a valiant effort, brought the game into overtime with a 20-20 tie. New York ultimately won on a touchdown with 20 seconds left on the clock.
After barely beating the 1-11 Panthers and 6-6 Dolphins, the Browns fell to Buffalo 13-6 followed by the rest of the AFC North. After being crushed by the Steelers on the season ender, they finished with another 5-11 record, leading to Eric Mangini's firing.
With Pat Schurmer taking over as HC, the Browns lost 27-17 to Cincinnati in Week 1 of 2011, defeated Indianapolis 27-19, and then edged past Miami 17-16. Two losses followed against Tennessee and Oakland, but Cleveland beat Seattle 6-3 in a battle of field goals to reach .500
Trivia
- The Browns are one of only four current NFL teams (along with the Detroit LionsDetroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
, Jacksonville JaguarsJacksonville JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Houston TexansHouston TexansThe Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
) never to have played in the Super BowlSuper BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
.
- Cleveland is the only current NFL city whose franchise has neither played in, nor hosted, a Super Bowl. Due to the fact that Cleveland Browns Stadium is open-air, combined with Cleveland's typically cold winters, and the fact Cleveland lacks enough hotel rooms for such an occasion, it is highly unlikely that Cleveland will host a Super Bowl. As of February 2007, 20 franchises, Cleveland, New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, New York JetsNew York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Baltimore RavensBaltimore RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
, Indianapolis ColtsIndianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
, Denver BroncosDenver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Kansas City ChiefsKansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
, Oakland RaidersOakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Tennessee TitansTennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, Dallas CowboysDallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Seattle SeahawksSeattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
and Carolina PanthersCarolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
have never hosted a Super Bowl. (The 49ers hosted Super Bowl XIXSuper Bowl XIXSuper Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
in January, 1985, even though it was played in Stanford StadiumStanford StadiumStanford Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium on the Stanford University campus, the home of Stanford Cardinal college football team. It originally opened in 1921 as a football and track stadium, an earthen horseshoe with wooden bleacher seating and flooring upon a steel frame...
rather than the 49ers' usual home field then known as Candlestick Park. The RamsSt. Louis RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
hosted two Super Bowls at the Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumThe Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
while the team played there.)