February 1st, 2010 by Wayne A. Lett; Browns 24/7 Staff
The Cleveland Browns today announced the addition of Matt Thomas as Vice President – Football Administration. He takes over the role previously held by Dawn Aponte, who accepted the position of Senior Vice President of Football Operations with the Miami Dolphins.
Thomas joins the club after spending the past 12 seasons with the Dolphins (1998-09), including 2009 as Vice President – General Counsel and Football Administration. During his tenure with the team he held numerous football administrative functions, which included assisting with the management of the salary cap, player contract negotiations, football budgeting and acting as a liaison with the NFL Management Council on salary cap compliance and other labor and legal matters. Thomas is a graduate of the University of Denver, University of South Dakota School of Law and the New York University School of Law.
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Filed under: Cleveland Browns News
January 20th, 2010 by Wayne A. Lett; Browns 24/7 Staff
The Cleveland Browns today announced the additions of Jon Sandusky, Keith Gilbertson, John Spytek and A.J. Durso to the clubs personnel department. In addition, the team signed defensive back Chris Roberson as a free agent for the 2010 season.
Sandusky joins the Browns as Director of Player Personnel after spending the previous nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, with the last two as Director of Pro Personnel. He spent his first six seasons with the club as a pro scout after joining the Eagles as an intern in the personnel department in 2001. A native of State College, Pa., Sandusky was a safety for Penn State from 1996-99. He is the son of former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Gilbertson, who brings more than 30 years of coaching experience to Cleveland, joins the team as Director of Pro Personnel. Read more…
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January 14th, 2010 by Wayne A. Lett; Browns 24/7 Staff
Written by VetteDawg; Browns 24/7 Fan Contributor
This is probably the best bad season that the Browns have ever had. After being 1 – 11, the team was thought to be the worst in the league. Four weeks and four wins later the Browns were one of the hottest teams heading into the playoffs. Except they weren’t heading to the playoffs.
The Browns went into the 2009 season with new coaches, a lot of new players and a new GM. April’s draft saw the Browns trading back multiple times while adding draft picks and NY Jets players. These Jets players would help Eric Mangini transition the Browns from the Romeo Crennel style to the more stringent Mangini style of coaching. Becoming a more disciplined team is a theme of the 2009 season.
Andra Davis and Sean Jones are free agents that are not retained. They are replaced by Eric Barton and Abram Elam from the Jets. On offense Alex Mack is drafted number one while Floyd Womack and John St. Clair are brought in to help solidify the offensive line. Brian Robiski and Mohamed Massaquoi are wide receivers taken at the top of the second round to add fire power to the offense. Read more…
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Filed under: Op/Ed Articles
January 13th, 2010 by Wayne A. Lett; Browns 24/7 Staff
Donovan McNabb starting QB for the Cleveland Browns in 2010.
That thought has recently been running through my mind as much as the jubilation of knowing our team is in the great hands of Holmgren, Heckert, Wiedmeier, and Mangini (gosh that sounds like a law firm).
Let’s dive into the possibility and facts surrounding such a huge deal for both teams.
Fact: The Cleveland Browns must get better at the quarterback position.
It is no secret that Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn struggled in starts. Cleveland finished the season with four straight wins but it was due to a strong running game and stiff defense, rather than good or even average QB play.
New Browns President Mike Holmgren stated in his recent press conference: “I will say this, for a team to do well, the quarterback has to play well. How they won games at the end it wasn’t the quarterback but the ratio of runs to passes in the last four weeks of the season were remarkable. Normally you can’t win that way. You can have the greatest running game in the world and play good defense, but if you only throw six balls a game you are not going to win. We’ve got to look at that. I want whoever is playing quarterback for the Cleveland Browns to be the right guy, and I want him to succeed because when he succeeds the team will do well.”
How do I go from needing to get better at QB to having McNabb in brown and orange? Read more…
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January 11th, 2010 by Wayne A. Lett; Browns 24/7 Staff
The Cleveland Browns today named Tom Heckert, Jr. as the club’s General Manager and Bryan Wiedmeier as Executive Vice President – Business Operations. Heckert joins the Browns after spending the previous nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (2001-09), including the last four as General Manager (2006-09). Wiedmeier comes to the club following a 29-year stint as a member of the Miami Dolphins’ front office, three of which he was the team’s President and Chief Operating Officer (2006-08).
“I want to thank Randy Lerner and Mike Holmgren for this tremendous opportunity,” Heckert said. “I also want to thank Jeffrey Lurie, Andy Reid and Joe Banner for an outstanding nine-year run with a first-class organization. It was the Eagles who allowed me to climb the NFL personnel ladder, and I am proud of what we were able to accomplish there. I will always have fond memories of my stay in Philadelphia. I am eager to get started with the Browns, a team for which my father worked and that I rooted for growing up. Working alongside some of the most experienced and successful people in this business in Mike, Eric Mangini and Bryan, I believe we have the foundation in place to re-establish the Browns as one of the top franchises in the NFL.” Read more…
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Filed under: Cleveland Browns News
Browns name Matt Thomas VP of Football Administration; Aponte Out!
