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Beleaguered Butch Davis is out as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
Browns president John Collins said Tuesday morning that Davis had resigned after a Monday night meeting with club officials. But a source close to Davis told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Davis was fired. Many are categorizing it as "resigned under pressure."
Davis spoke of the pressure in a statement he released, saying he believed the "intense pressure and scrutiny" surrounding speculation about his job was causing "considerable turmoil and distractions" for the team.
"Instead of the focus each week being specifically on my job, this [his departure] will allow the team to focus on the games and the management to focus and create a new beginning in personnel as well as coaching," Davis said in the statement.
"I accept responsibility for the mistakes that we have made, but it was my and my staff's intention to do everything we could to lay the foundation and build a team that could win a Super Bowl. I hope that some of the decisions we have made will be a part of a brighter future for the Browns organization." There has been no decision on a replacement, but offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie and defensive coordinator Dave Campo are the leading candidates to take over as the interim coach for the rest of the season. Mortensen is reporting that team owner Randy Lerner intends to meet with a group of Browns players to discuss who will be selected as the interim coach.
The Browns dropped their fifth straight game on Sunday, 58-48 at Cincinnati, falling to 3-8. They are in last place in the AFC North and have just five games left in a sinking season filled with close losses and costly injuries -- with 13 players on injured reserve, six of them starters. The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots come to town Sunday.
Davis' departure comes a week after Mortensen reported that Lerner almost fired Davis after a loss to the Jets. The next day, the Browns put out a statement saying that the coaching staff would stay intact through the end of the season.
"Randy could not have been more direct or clear last week (Tuesday)," Collins told Mortensen, referring to the statement that Lerner put out saying Davis would be the coach for the rest of the season. Collins said Davis, 52, approached Lerner on Monday and told the owner that he felt he could not go on as head coach given that it had become clear that he would be fired at the end of the season.
Pressure had been mounting on Davis for weeks as the Browns' season crumbled with a score of injuries to key players and a handful of agonizing losses. Things got so difficult for Davis and his family last week that he sent his wife and son to Florida to avoid all the attention.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Davis agreed to a buyout, but Collins indicated that the Browns would honor the three-plus years remaining on Davis' contract, worth about $12 million.
Collins will address the media today at a 3 p.m. ET press conference at the team's training facility in Berea, Ohio.
Davis became the 10th full-time head coach of the Cleveland Browns on Jan. 30, 2001. In four seasons with the Browns (2001-04), Davis' teams went 24-35 (.407) in the regular season and qualified for the AFC playoffs with a 9-7 record in 2002. The Browns are just 8-19 since the end of the 2002 season, though.
The Browns continually came up short in tight games during Davis' tenure, and this season was no different as the team lost three games by a total of 13 points.
There has been speculation that Davis will pursue a high-profile college job. One newspaper report said there is mutual interest between Davis and the University of Florida. Davis coached at the University of Miami before joining the Browns in 2001.
In his statement, however, he talked up the opportunity to spend time with his family and said, "I have no immediate plans to stay in coaching."
In January, Lerner gave Davis a two-year contract extension through 2007 and the added title of executive vice president, despite the club's 5-11 record in 2003. Lerner felt pressured to keep Davis, thinking the coach was being courted by several college programs.
Davis took the Browns to the playoffs in 2002, their only postseason appearance since returning to the NFL in 1999. But the team endured more than its share of hard-luck losses; sustained an array of costly injuries; underwent a roster-cleaning salary-cap purge in 2003 and a yearlong quarterback controversy last season; and mourned the death of owner Al Lerner.
Davis was on Cleveland's sideline when Browns fans rioted by throwing thousands of bottles on the field in 2001 and when linebacker Dwayne Rudd threw his helmet in the 2002 opener, costing the Browns a victory.
On Monday, Davis recounted some of those moments.
"In four years," he said, "I have seen some of the most bizarre things."
Asked whether he planned to stay with the Browns, Davis said, "Sure. Absolutely."
When he joined the Browns in 2001, Davis promised to lead Cleveland to the Super Bowl. But after a tenure marked by some poor drafting, he leaves far short of that goal, and the team doesn't seem any closer to a title than when Davis arrived.
Davis had total control of all football decisions with Cleveland. His power inside the organization grew when Dwight Clark, the team's director of football operations, resigned in 2002.
Some felt Davis pushed Clark out the door. After Cleveland's disappointing 2003 season, Lerner hired former Green Bay general manager Ron Wolf to assist Davis in assessing the team's roster and preparing for drafts. But Wolf, who rebuilt the Packers into Super Bowl champions, quit after just a few months.
Lerner intends to hire a general manager this winter to work with Cleveland's new coach.
Robiskie is in his fourth season with the Browns, his first as offensive coordinator. His only NFL head coaching experience came with the Washington Redskins in 2000, when he coached the team's final three games after the departure of Norv Turner.
Campo, in his second season with the Browns, was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2000 to 2002, when he was fired. The Cowboys went 15-33 under Campo.
Source: AP
Browns president John Collins said Tuesday morning that Davis had resigned after a Monday night meeting with club officials. But a source close to Davis told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Davis was fired. Many are categorizing it as "resigned under pressure."
Davis spoke of the pressure in a statement he released, saying he believed the "intense pressure and scrutiny" surrounding speculation about his job was causing "considerable turmoil and distractions" for the team.
"Instead of the focus each week being specifically on my job, this [his departure] will allow the team to focus on the games and the management to focus and create a new beginning in personnel as well as coaching," Davis said in the statement.
"I accept responsibility for the mistakes that we have made, but it was my and my staff's intention to do everything we could to lay the foundation and build a team that could win a Super Bowl. I hope that some of the decisions we have made will be a part of a brighter future for the Browns organization." There has been no decision on a replacement, but offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie and defensive coordinator Dave Campo are the leading candidates to take over as the interim coach for the rest of the season. Mortensen is reporting that team owner Randy Lerner intends to meet with a group of Browns players to discuss who will be selected as the interim coach.
The Browns dropped their fifth straight game on Sunday, 58-48 at Cincinnati, falling to 3-8. They are in last place in the AFC North and have just five games left in a sinking season filled with close losses and costly injuries -- with 13 players on injured reserve, six of them starters. The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots come to town Sunday.
Davis' departure comes a week after Mortensen reported that Lerner almost fired Davis after a loss to the Jets. The next day, the Browns put out a statement saying that the coaching staff would stay intact through the end of the season.
"Randy could not have been more direct or clear last week (Tuesday)," Collins told Mortensen, referring to the statement that Lerner put out saying Davis would be the coach for the rest of the season. Collins said Davis, 52, approached Lerner on Monday and told the owner that he felt he could not go on as head coach given that it had become clear that he would be fired at the end of the season.
Pressure had been mounting on Davis for weeks as the Browns' season crumbled with a score of injuries to key players and a handful of agonizing losses. Things got so difficult for Davis and his family last week that he sent his wife and son to Florida to avoid all the attention.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Davis agreed to a buyout, but Collins indicated that the Browns would honor the three-plus years remaining on Davis' contract, worth about $12 million.
Collins will address the media today at a 3 p.m. ET press conference at the team's training facility in Berea, Ohio.
Davis became the 10th full-time head coach of the Cleveland Browns on Jan. 30, 2001. In four seasons with the Browns (2001-04), Davis' teams went 24-35 (.407) in the regular season and qualified for the AFC playoffs with a 9-7 record in 2002. The Browns are just 8-19 since the end of the 2002 season, though.
The Browns continually came up short in tight games during Davis' tenure, and this season was no different as the team lost three games by a total of 13 points.
There has been speculation that Davis will pursue a high-profile college job. One newspaper report said there is mutual interest between Davis and the University of Florida. Davis coached at the University of Miami before joining the Browns in 2001.
In his statement, however, he talked up the opportunity to spend time with his family and said, "I have no immediate plans to stay in coaching."
In January, Lerner gave Davis a two-year contract extension through 2007 and the added title of executive vice president, despite the club's 5-11 record in 2003. Lerner felt pressured to keep Davis, thinking the coach was being courted by several college programs.
Davis took the Browns to the playoffs in 2002, their only postseason appearance since returning to the NFL in 1999. But the team endured more than its share of hard-luck losses; sustained an array of costly injuries; underwent a roster-cleaning salary-cap purge in 2003 and a yearlong quarterback controversy last season; and mourned the death of owner Al Lerner.
Davis was on Cleveland's sideline when Browns fans rioted by throwing thousands of bottles on the field in 2001 and when linebacker Dwayne Rudd threw his helmet in the 2002 opener, costing the Browns a victory.
On Monday, Davis recounted some of those moments.
"In four years," he said, "I have seen some of the most bizarre things."
Asked whether he planned to stay with the Browns, Davis said, "Sure. Absolutely."
When he joined the Browns in 2001, Davis promised to lead Cleveland to the Super Bowl. But after a tenure marked by some poor drafting, he leaves far short of that goal, and the team doesn't seem any closer to a title than when Davis arrived.
Davis had total control of all football decisions with Cleveland. His power inside the organization grew when Dwight Clark, the team's director of football operations, resigned in 2002.
Some felt Davis pushed Clark out the door. After Cleveland's disappointing 2003 season, Lerner hired former Green Bay general manager Ron Wolf to assist Davis in assessing the team's roster and preparing for drafts. But Wolf, who rebuilt the Packers into Super Bowl champions, quit after just a few months.
Lerner intends to hire a general manager this winter to work with Cleveland's new coach.
Robiskie is in his fourth season with the Browns, his first as offensive coordinator. His only NFL head coaching experience came with the Washington Redskins in 2000, when he coached the team's final three games after the departure of Norv Turner.
Campo, in his second season with the Browns, was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys from 2000 to 2002, when he was fired. The Cowboys went 15-33 under Campo.
Source: AP