Cleveland has recently announced that Mike Holmgren is the new Browns Team President.  The deal was very generous as the former Packers and Seahawks Coach is set to make $10 million per year.  Some say it is a great move because Holmgren is battle-tested and knows the steps that have to be taken.  Here are five reasons why Holmgren will ultimately fail in Cleveland:

1. Early success by the Browns over the next couple of years will have people chirping about what a great job Holmgren is doing.  Naive people take notice, this is a case of ‘Bill Parcells Syndrome’, when you go somewhere that is rock bottom and have moderate success and the media calls you a genius for “turning things around“.  Nothing stays the same.  If the Browns finish 2009 with three or four wins, and the Holmgren group goes 8-8 next season, fans will be yapping their praise toward Holmgren.
2. The Browns did not check the references.  Didn’t this experiment already happen in Seattle?  Holmgren was paid generously by a city that had never won much and got a Seahawks team to the Super Bowl, as a coach.  With the fancy GM/President hat on his head in Seattle, Holmgren floundered until he was placed exclusively on the sidelines to coach.  A month later, and what I sensed as fear of not being able to get close to the success of the Super Bowl Seahawks team, you started hearing Holmgren say he wanted off of the sidelines and was just tired of coaching.
3. He needs to make moves now, if he is going to make any.  Will Eric Mangini be back as the coach?  Will Brady Quinn return as a quarterback? A Starter?  Will Josh Cribbs, all 180 pounds of him, get moved to running back?  (Brilliant move Browns fans.  You might as well bring back Michael Dean Perry to return kickoffs since Cribbs is busy.)  If Holmgren plans on making changes, he needs to make them at around 4:05 PM on January 3rd when the regular season comes to an end.  In the typical Browns draft style of what feels like picking names out of a hat, Holmgren needs to pick one side of the ball to beef up for next season, probably the needier of the two, defense.  Draft a good linebacker from USC instead of passing on him twice so he can destroy you twice a year in Cincinnati.
4. No Brett Favre.  Brett Favre was in his prime when Holmgren had him in Green Bay.  Now, at age 40, Favre is leading a Minnesota team and has had his name thrown around in the MVP circles.  Did Holmgren underachieve with Favre in Green Bay?  You bet he did.  Favre was the perfect cornerstone to build a team around and there just wasn’t enough winning going on, yet one Super Bowl victory with Reggie White, Sterling Sharpe, and of course Favre made him a “good coach”.
5. Keep the wallet open.  Holmgren will probably can Mangini.  Who is next, Urban Meyer?  The Browns will then be paying several coaches instead of one.  Romeo Crennel is still on the payroll, Mangini would surely collect a check for a few more years, Holmgren is now making rock star money, and whomever is selected to lead the fiasco next year will be handsomely rewarded.  Will there be any money left to pay players with?

Sorry Browns fans, I wish the future had something for you.  If you are content with making the playoffs a couple of times over the next five seasons then rejoice, that plan is now in place.  If you wanted to exceed just making the playoffs, then be bitter about the hiring of Mike Holmgren.

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