Grossi: Browns Job May Interest Tressel

[swerb]

Talk about some conflicted feelings on this one.

Personally, I think this is Grossi basically saying ...

"I am the beat writer for one of the perennially worst teams in the NFL. Now 2 weeks removed from the last game, I am bored. Lets stir the pot, rile some folks up, get my name out there in some national media circles, and see if this ilicits an official response from Tressel."

Some interesting points nonetheless. And Grossi is not the first reporter to say that sources deep inside OSU have confirmed that The Sweater Vest is intrigued by the Browns job.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/plainde ... xml&coll=2

Iowa's Ferentz is Big Ten's hot name, but Browns job might interest OSU coach

Sunday, October 22, 2006
Tony Grossi
Plain Dealer Reporter

It's no secret that Browns General Manager Phil Savage is good friends with Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. So is Baltimore General Manager Ozzie Newsome, as well as other team executives in the NFL.

It has been speculated in NFL circles that whichever GM goes looking for a head coach next, Ferentz would be the first choice of each.

Now it appears that Savage and Newsome both could be in the market for head coaches after this season.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel is on the hot seat for his team's 1-4 record this year (7-14 overall) and his inability to pull the trigger and reassign embattled offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon.

Ravens coach Brian Billick was given an ultimatum last year by owner Steve Bisciotti to make the playoffs or be gone. Feeling that heat, Billick this week fired offensive coordinator Jim Fassel with the team at 4-2.

Under Savage, the Browns have striven for continuity and stability - which is the major reason Carthon was allowed to come back despite some pointed criticism after last season by Trent Dilfer. Dilfer was sent packing instead.

If the Browns' season continues to flow down the sewer and owner Randy Lerner allows Savage one more coaching change, Savage could face a dilemma. How could he pick Ferentz, a good coach, over Ohio State's Jim Tressel, a better one?

Most assume Tressel aspires to no other job than the one he has. According to a source close to the OSU situation, however, the Browns might be the only NFL job that would interest Tressel.

Remember that Tressel, born in Mentor, spent most of his childhood in Berea learning the coaching trade from his father, Lee, a legend at Baldwin-Wallace College.

If the Crennel Era indeed crashes and burns, Lerner will need to pull out something magical to stem a mass exodus of his stadium suite-holders. The place already has far too many vacancies for a football-mad market like Cleveland.

Hiring Tressel also would keep the Browns from having to start entirely from scratch.

Two Browns offensive assistant coaches - Jeff Davidson and Jeff Uhlenake - played at Ohio State, though not during Tressel's coaching tenure there as an assistant coach (1983-85) or as the head coach (2001-present). Also, Terry Robiskie's son, Brian, a sophomore receiver, currently is a rising star for the Buckeyes.

Further, defensive backs coach Mel Tucker was an assistant under Tressel until 2005, when he turned down the chance to be OSU defensive coordinator to join the Browns. There is no known connection to Tressel with Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, though Grantham coached at Big Ten rival Michigan State from 1996 to '98 - prior to Tressel rejoining OSU.

If Savage is allowed to continue as GM - Lerner almost fired him after one season - Savage would want to retain the 3-4 defense installed by Crennel and Grantham because his scouts have been trained to look for players to fit that system.

Keeping the same defense would allow Tressel to concentrate on a complete overhaul of the fullback-oriented offense currently running the team into the ground.

[mark]

Grossi is full of shit.

This will never happen. I am a huge Tressel fan---been watching him my whole life. He is, however, a college coach. Why leave his dream job to coach a professional football team in disarray?

Grossi is grasping at straws.

[swerb]

Mark, I tend to agree. Nothing in sports surprises me anymore. Still, this is just Grossi trying to stir the pot and get his name in the news IMO.

[furls]

The article really does not make sense.

Look at these statements and please tell me how they are related?

Hiring Tressel also would keep the Browns from having to start entirely from scratch.

Two Browns offensive assistant coaches - Jeff Davidson and Jeff Uhlenake - played at Ohio State, though not during Tressel's coaching tenure there as an assistant coach (1983-85) or as the head coach (2001-present). Also, Terry Robiskie's son, Brian, a sophomore receiver, currently is a rising star for the Buckeyes.

Further, defensive backs coach Mel Tucker was an assistant under Tressel until 2005, when he turned down the chance to be OSU defensive coordinator to join the Browns.

It is clear that someone is trying to generate a connection between the sweater vest and the Browns. What is to say that he would retain any of the coaches. I know that if I were taking over a team that was failing miserably, I would probably dump the whole staff. I think it is pretty insane to think that JT would leave Columbus and then be force fed a staff. I am pretty sure he would want to bring his own.

Nothing would surprise me, but I found this so poorly written and lacking in facts of any sort that it is not even remotely credible. What we have here is the famous "Source close to Tressel." Is that a guy who had a couple of beers with JT and during the course of BSing he said, "Well, If I was going to coach in the NFL, the only job I would take is the Browns."?

Why Jim Tressel would not go to Cleveland:

1.) He makes NFL head coach money now, ~2.5million per year + any perk that is legal for an NCAA coach.
2.) He is probably the biggest "celebrity"/public figure in Columbus, including the Governor.
3.) He has not shown an egomaniacal propensity to have to prove himself at level x. I could see Pete Carroll going back to the NFL before JT.

Why Jim Tressel should not go to Cleveland:

1.) All he can do is tarnish his legacy there. I doubt highly if he can win there because frankly, this team is SEVERAL years away from winning and frankly, NFL coaches who do not win for several years become ex-NFL coaches, regardless of the circumstances.
2.) His approach is much more conducive to leading YOUNG players. The motivational tools and styles of an NCAA coach generally do not translate to millionaires.

[consigliere]

Tressel is going nowhere. Grossi must have been three sheets to the wind when he wrote that.

[yargs7]

Thank you Furls. You hit the nail on the head...again. The next person who runs across Grossi should punch him right in the mouth and direct him to the nearest drug rehab center.

[yargs7]

http://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/ ... 6610250318

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