The organization that chased Marty Schottenheimer after the 1988 season because he only made the playoffs, but not the Super Bowl, was desperate for anything even resembling those excellent Brown teams of the late 1980s, coached by Schottenheimer and led by quarterback Bernie Kosar.
The Cleveland Browns haven’t made the playoffs since 2002. They haven’t even contended seriously for postseason play since 2007. They have not advanced to even the second round of the playoffs since 1994. Maybe that’s why the recent ruckus over the comments of radio analyst and former quarterback Bernie Kosar weren’t such a bad thing—if nothing else, they reminded us a day when the Browns were relevant.
The Cleveland Browns have not made the playoffs since 2002 and only broken .500 one time during that dry spell. This summer the team was bought by an owner who’s a self-professed Pittsburgh Steeler diehard, only the archrival of the Browns. Can things get much lower? Or will the arrival of rookie running back Trent Richardson and rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden—two of the most productive skill-position players in college football last year—signal the start of winning football again in Cleveland? TheSportsNotebook breaks down the Browns…