John Dorsey was let go by the Cleveland Browns earlier this week in what some considered a surprise move. The Browns fired head coach Freddie Kitchens on Sunday, shortly after a season-ending loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
That loss put the team at 6-10 on the season, one year removed from an 8-7-1 record which had many fans thinking 2019 would finally bring a playoff berth. Talk about a lack of leadership and even one assistant coach saying the Cleveland Browns were a "mess" brought an end to the Kitchens era after just one season.
That was despite the fact that the franchise's owners had earlier last week said they didn't believe one year was enough time to evaluate their rookie head coach.
Days after Kitchens was shown the door, talk Dorsey would follow him began to surface.
Head coach candidates wanted a new front office in Cleveland
Not long after Kitchens was officially fired, rumors began circulating that the Browns' top candidate to replace him was Josh McDaniels. The problem, at least in Cleveland, was that other teams were after him as well.
McDaniels is expected to interview with four or five different teams. At the very least, he's known to be talking to the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers as well as the Cleveland Browns. It was said that McDaniels would not even give the Browns a thought if he had to work under John Dorsey.
McDaniels and some of the other coaching hires are all looking at trying to bring in a general manager they have worked with before.
Writers and analysts, all over Ohio, seem to think this is a decent idea as the franchise tries to get up off the mat. There have been rumors the front office and head coach have often not seen eye-to-eye on personnel and game plan decisions. That was reportedly the case even after Dorsey hired Freddie Kitchens.
Dorsey gets local support
For his part, Cleveland fans who talked to the media after Dorsey left were almost universally against the decision. The former Kansas City Chiefs general manager didn't have a winning record in his tenure but the Cleveland Browns did see some improvement over previous GMs. Since being hired in 2017, the team went 13-18-1 under Dorsey and that ranked 20th in the league.
The now-former general manager also added several high-profile players to the roster including Baker Mayfield, Denzel Ward, Nick Chubb, Odell Beckham Jr, Kareem Hunt, and Olivier Vernon.
The fans who talked to WKYC Studios in Cleveland were angry they felt John Dorsey was taking the fall for some bad coaching. Most felt he deserved at least one more season t help pick the next coach.
Instead, the Cleveland Browns have decided they will first hire their new head man, and then they will work with the new hire in order to find the right fit in the front office.