The Browns were terrible long before Jimmy Haslam showed up. But since buying the team in 2012, he's fired three coaches and the Browns have had four consecutive losing seasons, the worst coming in 2015 when they won just three games. That led to wholesale housecleaning in the front office and on the coaching staff (again), which means rebuilding (again), and the realization that things will likely get worse before they get better (again).

"I can't guarantee we're going to have a winning season after going 3-13,'' Haslam said Sunday, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot. "I know we'll be a better football team, and we're directionally correct. These guys will work hard and play hard, and our fans will appreciate that. (But) we have a long way to go. ...

"I don't want to go there,'' Haslam said, when asked to speculate on how many wins the Browns could have in 2016. "That's one of those trick, gotcha questions. We could win four or five games and feel good about things or we could win eight. We'll all know when we stand here on Jan. 1st if we're improving. We're going to have a young team.''

Of course, Haslam is responsible for getting the Browns to this point. When the team struggled early in his tenure, Haslam's response was to fire people. That's not uncommon in the NFL, but it is ironic given that he was previously a minority owner in Pittsburgh, which has had exactly three head coaches since 1969. The Steelers also have six Super Bowl titles in that time, and haven't had a losing season under current coach Mike Tomlin, who was hired in 2007.

But the reality is that the Browns are a young team, and it's unlikely they'll have much success this season. But if Haslam can stay out of the way -- and let the analytics-driven front office and coach Hue Jackson develop these players -- it's not unreasonable to expect winning to follow ... eventually.

Not surprisingly, Jackson has set his sights slightly higher than four or five wins.

"Hey, he's the owner. He can say whatever he likes (laughter),'' the first-year coach said. "I really respect that, but at the same time, that's just not how I'm built. I don't know what that number is going to be. I don't know if it's going to be four or 14. I don't know, but I know we're chasing and I don't want a number.''

A big part of any turnaround will rest with the quarterback. And while Jackson hasn't named a starter, Robert Griffin III, who struggled in recent seasons with the Redskins, is the favorite. About that: Haslam asks Browns fans for patience while RG3 hopes to rediscover his career in Cleveland.

"He's obviously a tremendous athlete,'' Haslam said. "He's been a model person since he's been here, worked hard. Early in his career, he showed potential to be a big-time quarterback. Hue can have a very positive impact. All of us need to be patient with Robert. He hasn't played in two years, and he's still only 26 years old. It seems like Robert has been around (forever) because he broke in at 22 and had that big year, but he's only played a half-year, three quarters of a year since then, but we'll see.''

Yes, yes we will.