Quarterback debates.

Arguments about college QBs who would be the best fit in Cleveland.

Baker Mayfield's Instagram account.

There are a ton of ways to fire up, and divide, the Browns' fan base. But a subject that did as well as almost any other was Sashi Brown, whose social media backing was (and sometimes still is) so vocal that some defenders could be confused with burner accounts.

In two years with Brown in charge of the Browns' football operations, the team was 1-31, had the two worst seasons in franchise history and was outscored by an average of 11.4 points per game.

The other side of that — the one that causes the Twitter arguments — is Brown and the front office handed a salary-cap situation over to new general manager John Dorsey that was one of the best in the league, plus a bevy of 2018 draft picks that included four of the top 35 overall selections, including two of the top four.

Dorsey and the reconfigured front office were put in a position to succeed, and there's a lot of buzz about the Browns finally being on track. But make no mistake, Dee Haslam agrees with those who believe there had to be a better way to turn things around than what we've witnessed the last two seasons.

"The way we did it, I don't know that I would repeat," the Browns owner said. "In other words, I don't know that a fan has the desire or the stomach to go through what we've been through the last few years. And I will tell you this, we don't have it. It was just way too hard, way too emotional. Granted, we're in the best shape you could possibly be as far as cap space and being able to get some of these amazing players, but it was really hard. Really, really, really hard. I know it's hard on our fan base, and we bled every Sunday night, too. It was brutal.

"We can never do that again. I wouldn't recommend that to any sports team, that that's the way to do it. The ultimate outcome is really great, but living through it is really hard. Now, companies have done it. You have to sometimes. We're going to wipe this out, we're going to rebuild, you understand that process, right? You have to transform and you have to constantly innovate. But sometimes it's better to transform and innovate in a slower way. But we knew from the very beginning that we didn't want to be a mediocre team, and we could tell the way we were doing things, we'd be mediocre forever. The fans may have been OK with that. We weren't. We want to be a great team. And I think these fans want to be a great team, too, and deserve it."

Brown was fired on Dec. 7, and the team named Dorsey as his replacement later that day.

Since then, the Browns traded one of their five top-65 picks (the last of the bunch) for Tyrod Taylor, dealt a pair of picks for wide receiver Jarvis Landry, parted ways with all three QBs who took a snap last season, made a flurry of moves in free agency and selected Mayfield first overall. (And those are just a few of the headlines.)

When I interviewed Dee Haslam last month for a Crain's Women of Note profile that was published this week, she was blunt about the missteps that have been made since the Haslams purchased the team from Randy Lerner in 2012. She was also grateful for the contributions of Brown and others, whom she feels have helped the Browns get to a point at which they think they're poised for success.

"Let's look at it this way: Every part of our story leads us to here," Haslam said. "We made every mistake in the book and you learn from that, and the people that were part of that contributed to where we are today. You have to give credit to where credit's due along the way."

I asked if she and Jimmy have worried about fans getting fed up with all of the losing and not coming back. (The reported attendance for the seven games at FirstEnergy Stadium last season was the worst for the franchise since 1984.)

Again, Haslam minced zero words.

"We don't blame 'em," she said about fans being frustrated. "I mean we're sitting there in the stadium with them. My mother quit watching. 'Dee, I can't watch you anymore. That's just terrible.' "

It's way (WAY) too soon to know if this is the plan that will work, if Mayfield is the long-awaited franchise QB and, more immediately, if Hue Jackson can last beyond a third season.

But the Haslams seem to be as excited, and anxious, as many of you.

"The story's not written yet," Dee said. "That's what's so hard, to sit here on the verge of what we think is going to be good outcome, but not really know, is hard. We know we have a really solid base right now. We just don't know how everything is going to come together, how are they going to do on injuries, all of the things that can happen. But we are excited and we do look forward to it, and we do understand how hard this has been on our fans."