Cleveland Browns: A Franchise Addicted to Failure, Enabled by Clueless Coaching and Inept Ownership

By: Donovan Martin Sr, Editor in Chief

The Cleveland Browns have finally done what everyone knew they would have to do: pulled Joe Flacco from the starting quarterback spot and handed the ball to Dylan Gabriel, with Shador Sanders officially slotted in as backup. It was inevitable, and it played out exactly as predicted from the first snap of the season.

The story was painfully obvious from day one. Start Flacco, watch him stumble through games, pile up three-and-outs, and then eventually scramble to a mid-season switch. It’s the same script Browns fans have been handed for decades: predictable failure wrapped in organizational incompetence.

And let’s be honest—this was never about performance, never about giving players a fair shot. This was about arrogance. Rather than fostering a true quarterback competition, a real mano-a-mano test to see who deserved to lead, the Browns staged a coronation. Flacco was crowned before the first whistle blew, while Sanders was treated like an afterthought and Gabriel was given little more than clipboard duty.

The result? The Browns wasted weeks of football. Their defense—the league’s top-ranked unit—was left stranded by an offense that couldn’t move the ball. Stadiums grew quieter, the fan base grew angrier, and the team once again fell into the pit it seems to enjoy living in.

The truth is brutal: the Cleveland Browns are allergic to competent football management. Every big decision feels like it was made with a coin toss, not a football mind. When you have one of the league’s most loyal and long-suffering fan bases, yet continuously deliver this circus, it’s not bad luck—it’s bad leadership.

The Browns act as if mediocrity is their mission statement. They don’t just flirt with disaster; they court it, wine and dine it, and proudly bring it to Sunday games. Other franchises pivot quickly when mistakes are obvious, but Cleveland doubles down until the losses pile too high to ignore.

Now, as Gabriel steps into the starting role and Sanders hovers in the wings, Browns fans are left with two questions: why wasn’t this the plan from the start, and what kind of accountability will the organization ever face? If history is any guide, the answer to both is bleak.

The real insult here isn’t just the mishandling of talent—it’s the complete disregard for fans who pay good money to sit in emptying stadiums and watch a team that looks like it prefers life at the bottom. A proud fan base is being handed brown paper bags and told to wait for “next year” for the umpteenth time.

This isn’t football management. This is negligence disguised as strategy. Until the ownership admits it doesn’t know what it’s doing—or better yet, sells the team to someone who does—Browns fans will keep getting the same tired show. And that’s why people are tuning out.

Cleveland doesn’t lose because of fate. They lose because they choose to.