Cleveland Browns: Joe Banner fired

Former Cleveland Browns CEO Joe Banner left Cleveland this week and headed back to Philadelphia. (Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Browns CEO Joe Banner packed up his belongings this week and departed Cleveland for good, feeling like he left the team in great hands and great shape.

He also regrets that he won't get to enjoy the success when it comes.



His tenure with the Browns lasted only 16 months, ending abruptly in February when he and former Browns general manager Mike Lombardi were fired by owner Jimmy Haslam after a tumultuous coaching search that landed Mike Pettine.



Feeling like his management team splintered during the search, Haslam cut loose two of his top lieutenants and the streamlined the flow chart.



According to friends, Banner was "blindsided'' by the move after he had helped position the club for sustained success.



Since that time, he's turned down more than 50 interview requests, speaking only to the Philadelphia Inquirer in March. Still reeling from the blow, he also turned down several job opportunities in the NFL and isn't sure he'll ever venture back in.



"I'm not going to do anything for now, and whether or not I'm going to come back and do something in football is up in the air,'' he told cleveland.com in a phone interview.



Banner was originally set to remain with the Browns until May, but left the Berea facility in early March and closed the book on his truncated career with the team. For the most part, he's kept to himself since then, spending time with his wife Helaine and their three children, who were equally rocked by his ouster.



Banner returned this week to Philadelphia, where he spent nearly 20 years helping to turn the Eagles into a perennial contender for his childhood friend Jeffrey Lurie, and will contemplate his next move.



In the meantime, he leaves Cleveland feeling like he accomplished many of the goals he set for the Browns when took over as CEO in October of 2012.



Discovering Pettine and Farmer

"The most significant thing is that the building is now filled with outstanding people,'' Banner said. "That will translate into a very good experience on and off the field for these fans. These are some of the best and bright people in the world of sports. You can make the case that some of them are the very best in the league at what they do.''



Banner cited newcomers such as team president Alec Scheiner, whom he lured from the Cowboys, and Executive Vice President General Counsel Sashi Brown, who came from the Jaguars. But he's most proud of finding Pettine and general manager Ray Farmer, who are working in concert and drawing rave reviews.



"I've been watching Mike Pettine for years,'' said Banner. "I believe he has the ingredients to be a very successful head coach in this league, primarily because of the defensive schemes he's come through. I think it's by far the best in the league. He's worked in winning programs in Baltimore and New York and he's worked for three guys in John Harbaugh, Rex Ryan and Doug Marrone who have different styles and different strengths.



"He's just a strong guy. He knows what he believes in and he'll lead both the players and the coaching staff in a very strong, effective way. If you follow his career and talk to people that have worked with him, I believe he'll be very successful and I know everybody there believes that.''



Banner likens his discovery of Pettine to that of Andy Reid, who led the Eagles to five NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl.



"I don't know if Pettine will last 14 years, but it was a similar situation with a guy that was not on anybody's radar,'' Banner said.



Banner is equally pleased with the choice of Farmer, who had spent the previous seven seasons as Chiefs' Director of Pro Personnel, and was overlooked for promotions. Banner hired him as assistant general manager, and he replaced Lombardi in February.



"I knew Ray as a player in Philly and he was a smart, high character guy,'' said Banner. "I saw him get his first job down in Atlanta and I asked a couple of people about him there who told me he was a smart, hardworking, intelligent guy. And then he went to Kansas City and kind of got lost in the shuffle a little there. We spent some some extended time with him and and felt he had what it would take to be a really good general manager.''



Banner noted that it took months for the Browns to land him.



"First we had to convince Ray, and then we had to convince the Chiefs to let him go,'' said Banner. His family was very comfortable in Kansas City, he knew Andy Reid, he believed in Andy Reid and he had a good relationship with (Chiefs Chairman and CEO) Clark Hunt. Then, after we hired him, we had to convince him to not take the (GM) job in Miami.''



Watching Farmer and Pettine operate together over the past few months, Banner is more convinced than ever that they were the right choices.



"On the football side, how good Mike is and how good Ray is will determine how good this team is over the next three to five years,'' said Banner. "And both guys were under the radar.''



Loading up on picks and cash

Of course, Banner and Lombardi gave Pettine and Farmer a good head start by clearing millions of dollars in salary cap space and acquiring extra draft picks for a total of 10 in 2014 -- including the first-round pick and the third-rounder used to select former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.



"The plan was very simple,'' said Banner. "It was to accumulate draft picks and and cap room so we could build on this base, keep our own guys, participate in free agency and have the assets necessary so that if a quarterback became available that we felt was transformational -- either from another team or in the draft -- we'd have all the assets we need to go and get him. That's why we did everything we did in that first year.''



Banner was bashed during the 2013 draft for trading several of his picks for 2014 choices -- including a fourth-rounder for Pittsburgh's 2014 third-rounder. But Farmer and Pettine used that third-rounder, the No. 83 overall, to move up from No. 26 to No. 22 to draft Manziel. Meanwhile, Thomas is working with the second team in Pittsburgh during organized team activities.



Banner was also hammered for dealing 2012 No. 3 overall pick Trent Richardson to the Colts for that No. 26 overall pick, but it gave the Browns a chance at their potential quarterback of the future. Richardson, on the other hand, struggled in Indianapolis, gaining just 458 yards on 157 carries for a 2.9-yard average.



"I still think Richardson will prove to be a solid player, but based on where we were at the time, with the goal we had for accumulating cap room and draft picks, it was a a sound move for the team to make at the time,'' Banner said.



Banner acknowledges that the draft-day trade with Miami for troubled receiver Davone Bess was a mistake, but that it cost the Browns nothing in draft pick compensation. The Browns paid Bess about $4 million for his lost 2013 season, but wrote language into the contract to protect themselves against future guarantees in the event they were forced to cut him. The jury is still out on 2013 No. 6 pick Barkevious Mingo and 2013 free agent pass-rusher Paul Kruger, but both have a chance to excel in Pettine's attack-minded scheme. 2013 third-round pick Leon McFadden is not slated for a starting role at cornerback, and hasn't yet lived up to his draft status.



But Banner cleared about $28 million in cap room for 2014 that enabled the Browns to extend the contracts of Pro Bowlers Alex Mack and Joe Haden, and to sign free agents such as Karlos Dansby, Donte Whitner, Andrew Hawkins and Nate Burleson.



Some of the moves were unpopular -- especially letting kicker Phil Dawson walk in free agency -- but they added up to a bonanza for Farmer and Pettine this offseason. The following is the cap savings for each player cut or not re-signed: Dimitri Patterson $5.5 million, Chris Gocong $5.5 million, Usama Young $2 million, Frostee Rucker $8 million, Ben Watson $3 million, Sheldon Brown $4.5 million, Dawson $3.5 million.



The moves gave Farmer about $55 million to $60 million in cap space with which to start the year, which enabled him to sign Alex Mack to a five-year $42 million extension and Haden to five-year, $68 million extension. The club also has $20 million in remaing cap space, which can be rolled into next year.



"We weren't saying any of those guys were useless,'' said Banner. "But we were trying to build a quality team that had a chance on an ongoing basis to win Super Bowls, and we weren't going to win the Super Bowl last year.''



Banner also noted that the Browns took grief for moves such as signing wide receiver Charles Johnson off the Packers practice squad when it was discovered a few days later that he had a torn anterior cruciate ligament. "But that was fine because he'll be healthy this year and we still owned his rights for four more years,'' Banner said.



Banner and Lombardi also wanted to trade star receiver Josh Gordon because of multiple failed drug tests, but some in the organization, including then coach Rob Chudzinski, felt the Browns had a strong enough support system to keep him on the straight and narrow. When the Browns' highest offer was a second-round pick and players, they opted not to make the move, and Gordon responded by finishing No. 1 in the NFL with 1,646 yards before reportedly failing another drug test this season.



Banner also worked hard on the two-year $120 million renovation of FirstEnergy Stadium, including helping to secure $30 million over the next 15 years from the city of Cleveland.



"When fans walk into the Stadium and see just the first phase of this renovation, I think they're going to have a big 'wow' experience,'' said Banner. "We talked about building a first-class, championship-caliber organization and we had management and ownership backing that up with their own efforts and investments. It was a collective thing, and people are going to walk in and they're going to be proud and excited about what they see.''



Banner won't be around to enjoy the Browns' success if it comes in the next few years, but he'll still feel a part of it.



