Browns make wholesale front office changes, fire Michael Lombardi

Haslam’s announcement of the firings on Tuesday was at once shocking and expected in a way that only a Browns organization defined by instability can be. The very coaching search that led to the terminations was brought on by the firing of Rob Chudzinski, who got just one season in Cleveland before being canned. In the 17 months that Haslam has owned the team, he has fired two head coaches, two general managers, a CEO and a president. In total, he has employed 56 different coaches.

“There’s no training manual for being an NFL owner,” Haslam told King. “There’s a steep learning curve to do it the right way, and I admit we didn’t get it right at first. But I am determined to do it right, and to get the right people in place.”

A source told NFL.com’s Michael Silver that Weeden is reportedly interested in a “fresh start, with a clean slate and an opportunity to compete to show he has the talent to develop into a productive player in the league.”

The Browns organization is not a stable environment at the moment. Weeden is currently set to play under his third head coach in Mike Pettine, his third general manager in Ray Farmer and third offensive coordinator in fewer than two years.

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“Joe and I, after lots of conversation, mutually agreed it was best for the organization to streamline things,” Haslam said to assembled media, “Accordingly, we’ve announced that Alec Scheiner, as I mentioned, will run our business side and will remain as president. (Mike) Pettine will remain as head coach and Farmer will be general manager.”

Haslam went on to say that there will be no CEO, and that all three Scheiner, Pettine and Farmer will report to him. Banner will likely stay on with the team through the bulk of the offseason to “help transition” over that time period.

“First of all, we wanted to capitalize on the knowledge, experience and character we’re fortunate to have in Ray Farmer,” Haslam said. “Ray has a tremendous football IQ, he’s compelling, and he understands the types of players we need to acquire and develop in order to win in Cleveland. He embraces his partnership with Mike Pettine, which is critical in helping build the right team. Ray will provide excellent leadership in our front office.”

Farmer, 39, now has the task of leading the Browns to success, which has evaded them for most of the last two decades. In an interview with Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Farmer said that the team is close to being competitive once again.