Everyone who knows John Dorsey will tell you he is a football guy. A hardcore scout at heart who doesn't mince his words; it may even be part of the reason he found himself out in Kansas City despite a successful run as Andy Reid's general manager. Dorsey is now with the Browns and he continues not to mince his words.
Appearing on Aaron Goldhammer's "Really Big Show" on WKNR 850, Dorsey threw the previous regime (read: Sashi Brown, who was recently fired) under a bus, while simlutaneously praising Hue Jackson and basically declaring his roster a bunch of JAGs.
"You know what? You've got to get a guy like [Hue Jackson] players,'' Dorsey said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "And you know what? I'll come straight out with it. The guys who were here before, that system, they didn't get real players."
OUCH. "That system" is an interesting way to put it; it basically says "the whole analytics thing" right? That's despite Dorsey pointing out that he was fine checking out the analytics during his initial Browns press conference. Might not want to hang anything permanent in your office, Paul DePodesta. It's entirely possible that Dorsey will purge the Browns of the analytics plan based solely on player acquisition in the past.
That's his prerogative, but let's make sure to remember when Dorsey is making a bunch of great selections in the 2018 NFL Draft that the analytics group who ran the Browns were the ones that acquired all the picks in the first place.
One could also wonder how this reflects on Jackson. Dorsey implied he still believes in Hue, who he thinks can thrive as a coach if he actually has some players on the roster.
"As Bill Parcells would always say, 'you are your record' and you know what? There it is, so that's the truth-teller in this thing,'' said Dorsey. "And I'm going to do my darnedest to get Hue players.
"And that's all I can ask for, and that's all I'm going to do. I like the man."
Again, we'll see how this plays out. The Browns are 0-13 and have the Ravens, Bears and Steelers remaining. 0-16 isn't just on the table, it might be likely. Dorsey was apparently asked to guarantee Jackson's job and politely declined.
"I live in the present and I build for the future," Dorsey said. "Right now the sun's out, the tarps are coming out, we're practicing outside, we're getting ready to play the Baltimore Ravens and that's my sole focus. And then it's also getting familiar with the whole layout and the organizational structure."
In other words, if Jackson goes 0-16 he's not out of the woods. It is difficult to retain a head coach who goes 1-31 over a two-year span, regardless of what players are on the roster. Anyone who thinks that Jimmy Haslam's statement about Jackson sticking around for 2018 is a stone-cold lock is fooling themselves.
Jackson has done a nice job of positioning himself in a good spot where he continually has job security. But Dorsey is a new sheriff in town and he does not appear to be messing around. Anyone and everyone on the Browns roster and coaching staff should be motivated to produce a strong finish because it appears jobs are very much on the line.
