The Story of the 2015 Cleveland Browns

(photo credit: cleveland.com)

The 2015 NFL season was a familiar sight for North Ohio football fans. Since football returned to Cleveland in 1999, fans have seen a stretch of organizational ineptitude only matched by the Sacramento Kings in that time. Over the last 17 years the Browns have had eight head coaches; the other three teams in the division have had a combined six head coaches. '

Finishing 3-13, which tied the second worst record in franchise history, Cleveland's misfortune was perfectly embodied by QB Johnny Manziel.

After a successful tenure at Texas A&M which included a Heisman trophy the Browns selected him in the first round of the 2014 Draft to lead them to glory. However Manziel's tenure in Cleveland was rocky at best, after spending most of his rookie season on the bench the team sent him to rehab over the off-season. Some how his sophomore campaign was even worse.

When he got his chance to start Manziel didn't appear to know the game plan. As the season continued it looked as if Manziel was more interested in partying than being a professional athlete. There was an incident where Manziel wore a wig to a Las Vegas club when his team was preparing for their season finale. Soon after the Browns released the Texas signal-caller.

While Manziel may have been the physical embodiment of the dysfunction of the Browns he was far from the only reason they failed to compete in the division. They finished 30th in scoring offense, 25th in yards gained, 29th in scoring defense and 27th in yards allowed. After seeing a familiar outcome owner Jimmy Haslam decided to clear house. Both Head Coach Mike Pettine and General Manager Ray Farmer were both fired.

Management has made it clear that they'll be going in a new direction. Paul DePodesta who helped pioneer 'Money-ball' in the MLB has joined the front-office. His influence can already be seen with the Browns trading down in the draft to acquire more assets. This marks a distinct shift in Cleveland's approach to team building which was focused on finding a franchise Quarterback. Only time will tell how this approach fares; but at least they're trying something new.