The forgotten man

Not many people would respond to this job opening:

"NFL team with new ownership group of a formerly storied franchise seeking new general manager/personnel director that will be hired after the head coach and will report directly to the CEO. If you've had a disasterous tenure with this franchise before, so be it. You will likely be blamed when/if things fail and just be considered 'part of the process' when/if things succeed. Please contact Jimmy Haslam III and Joe Banner with your interest at 76 Lou Groza Blvd., Berea, OH."

In fact, only two known candidates did emerge. One wound up being hired to be the assistant general manager -- Ray Farmer. The other got the job -- Mike Lombardi.

Lombardi must have been desperate for any NFL job after five years of exile, being relegated to a talking head on television, serving as an "NFL insider" of sorts.

He must have been desperate to know that that job opening was in Cleveland, where he worked in the early 1990s with Bill Belichick and managed to anger media members and fans so bad, that 17 years after the franchise moved to Baltimore and he was told to not come along for the ride, they still held anger and resentment whenever his name came up or he appeared on the radio or television.

He must have been desperate to go to a team that he did nothing but trash from his perch on TV, questioning the moves to acquire several players that are still on the team and that he'll have to look in the eye at team headquarters -- if he ever appears.

He must have been desperate to know that he'll never get credit for anything that goes right with the Browns, but if things go wrong, Banner would not hesitate to hold his carcass in front of him so it can be riddled with bullets from the media, season ticket holders, fans and his own boss, Haslam.

Lombardi is in such a no-win situation that, even when it gets announced that his job title changes from Vice President of Player Personnel to General Manager, he doesn't get to answer questions about it and only a hastily called conference call by Banner would address it.

Lombardi had to feel good to beat out Farmer for the job, but then had to recoil when Farmer was added to the front office and given the title of his assistant. Looks like the Browns have already lined up his replacement, and he's only been on the job for a few months.

Since his disasterous introductary press conference, where the press came out firing with 17 years of pent up ammunition at him, Banner and Haslam, Lombardi has not made a public appearance with his new team.

When the Browns went to the NFL Combine, the only personnel made available to the media were Banner and new head coach Rob Chudzinski. No Lombardi.

When the Browns made their first free agent signings this week -- Ravens linebacker Paul Kruger, Raiders defensive lineman Desmond Bryant and Cardinals linebacker Quinton Groves -- Banner and Chudzinski sat in front of the press with the players and discussed the signings. The general manager? Nowhere to be found.

This week, the Browns sent out their forms to season ticket holders seeking their renewal. On the first page of the pamphlet was a photo of Haslam and Banner together. Below it were photos of Chudzinski, offensive coordinator Norv Turner and defensive coordinator Ray Horton.

Guess who's photo wasn't included? Guess who's name wasn't even mentioned?

Yep, Lombardi.

Perhaps Haslam and Banner didn't realize the deep resentment attached to Lombardi in this region until they actually hired him. But it seems pretty certain that Haslam and Banner have gone out of their way to deemphsize his role within the organization, even with an upgraded title to GM.

The hiring of Farmer didn't come until AFTER Lombardi's grilling by the press. The only way they could hire him was to give him a "promotion," so they had to give him the title of assistant GM. However, there was no official GM, so Lombardi was given the title. So, it seems they begrudgingly gave Lombardi a title only so Farmer could join their front office.

How's that for a ringing vote of confidence?

Lombardi appears to be on a very short leash. The media is just waiting, like dogs salivating over a piece of steak, for Lombardi to screw up so they can tear him apart.

Perhaps Lombardi was brought on as nothing more than a glorified fall guy for Banner and Chudzinski. Think about it.

Banner's dour personality (some say he resembles the Dr. No character from the James Bond movies) did not sit well with Eagles fans, and it was starting to rub some Browns fans the wrong way. Perhaps Banner needed someone who was reviled even worse to make him look better, the Ugly Duckling Theory, if you will.

Browns fans have also been notoriously unkind to head coaches, especially those who came in without any head coaching experience. The last two head coaches -- Eric Mangini and Pat Shurmur -- each barely last two seasons in Cleveland, with the buzzards circling their carcasses even before that second year began.

The only coach to take the Browns to the playoffs during the expansion era -- Butch Davis -- didn't even last four full seasons, resigning with five games left in 2004 due to "panic attacks." Terry Robiskie only won his final game as the interim head coach that year and was so lightly regarded around the NFL, he took a demotion to wide receivers coach when Romeo Crennel was hired.

Crennel lasted four full seasons, but always seemed to be dodging bullets. Only an out-of-nowhere 10-6 2007 season bought him an extension, but when his team slumped to 4-12 the following year and the general manager who hired him, Phil Savage, became an embarassment, he was shown the door.

Some Browns fans were ready to jump on Chudzinski when he was hired, especially when Haslam and Banner talked a lot about seeking a "dynamic leader" to be the head coach. This, despite Chudzinski being a native Ohioan who not only grew up a diehard Browns fan, but was moderately successful in his two previous stints as a Browns assistant coach.

With a figure so reviled like Lombardi in the building, suddenly fan sentiment has softened on Chud. Sure, his hiring of proven commodoties like Turner and Horton to run his offense and defense didn't hurt one bit. But, with the human shield in the building, Chud may not take as many bullets. If his team doesn't get off to a great start, unlike Mangini, Shurmur and every other head coach that preceeded them, Chud won't have to be the fall guy or the target.

I have a feeling that, win or lose, Lombardi won't last very long with the Browns organization. As someone with a large ego, I'm sure it has to bother him to be used as somewhat of a foil in this organization. Even if the Browns do very well this season, Lombardi could leave with his reputation somewhat intact and say that he was only here "to help this regime get off the ground" and go back to the comforts of TV or to another team that will let him be the dominant voice of the organization.

Sure, even though most fans and media know that Banner is the lead voice in the football organization, you don't think they'll pass up the opportunity to rip Lombardi a new one if any of the free agent signings fail to pan out or they have a bad draft? There are some members of the media (one rhymes with Bony Schmossi) who would take personal delight in running Lombardi out of town for the second time, even knowingly overlooking the Banner factor.

This is the hell that is Lombardi's second tenure as the Browns' general manager/director of personnel. He asked for it, and he's going to get it. And, Joe Cleveland certainly doesn't feel sorry for him.

This is what you get when you compile a video list of lowlights and embarassing plays on company time just so you can run a beloved quarterback and ambassador to the town out of it. Joe Cleveland ddn't forget, and neither did a lot of Browns fans and media, apparently.

Happy hunting!

Until next time, remember that Cleveland Rocks!