The Cleveland Browns have fired executive Vice President Sashi Brown.
Brown was hired as the Browns’ executive vice president/general counsel on Jan. 16, 2013 and was promoted to executive vice president of football operations on Jan. 3, 2016.
The firing is not unexpected since the Browns are 0-12 this season and have gone 1-27 under Brown's guidance.
The team passed up a chance to draft quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Deshaun Watson in the past two drafts and Cleveland has shown little sign of improvement since Brown took over.
Brown had no experience in evaluating players as he primarily handled the team's salary cap before he was promoted by the Haslams.
Brown issued the following statement regarding the decision:
I want this to be real and clear, the way I know Cleveland and Browns fans can appreciate: Our win-loss record since I became executive vice president isn’t going to cut it.
We worked hard. I am so grateful to the people I worked with throughout my four-plus years with the Browns, particularly the people I worked with the past two years. We embarked on a mission to rebuild the Browns for long-term, sustainable success. We were committed and aggressive in our approach, even if unorthodox at times. We made dramatic changes and put in place a foundation on which championships can be built.
Obviously, the Browns have not yet achieved the turnaround we wanted for a franchise and the best fans in the NFL, who deserve it more than any other in sports. I know that turnaround is coming.
I thank Dee and Jimmy and the rest of the Haslam family for taking a chance on me. And when that turnaround happens, wherever I am, I will smile – more than a little bittersweetly – and say, to myself, “Go Browns!”
Owner Jimmy Haslam issued the following statement Thursday:
We have great appreciation and gratitude for Sashi’s commitment and leadership to our organization but believe transitioning to someone with strong experience and success in drafting and building consistently winning football teams is critical to the future of the Cleveland Browns. Today we informed Sashi that we were going in a new direction. The 2018 draft and offseason is pivotal for our franchise, we need to ensure that we maximize our opportunity for success; with our picks, free agency and building our roster. Hue Jackson will remain our coach and will return for the 2018 season but we feel it is necessary to take significant steps to strengthen our personnel department. We have begun the process of having productive conversations regarding leadership of our football operations and will provide further updates when appropriate. We thank Sashi for all his hard work and dedication to the Cleveland Browns.
