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"Mike's entitled to his opinion," Joe Banner said. "He ran the team for three years and was able to do what he believed in. It's our turn trying to do what we think is right. Obviously wouldn't have done this if we agreed with his comments."

(David I. Andersen, The Plain Dealer)

BEREA, Ohio -- In response to Mike Holmgren's rip-job of the Trent Richardson trade, Browns CEO Joe Banner stressed Friday that it's "our turn'' now in regard to running the team.

Holmgren said he would've asked to be fired or quit as a head coach if his front office traded away his best player. He suggested that perhaps Rob Chudzinski didn't stand up to Banner because he's a first-year coach.

“Mike’s entitled to his opinion,” Banner said on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike'' show. “He ran the team for three years and was able to do what he believed in. It’s our turn trying to do what we think is right. We obviously wouldn’t have done this if we agreed with his comments.”

Banner stressed that coach Chudzinski supported the trade, which sent last year's No. 3 overall pick to the Colts for a 2014 first-rounder. Last year, the 11-5 Colts picked 24th.

“I think the most important thing for me to say is we don’t do anything with Chud not right in the middle of every discussion, every evaluation,'' Banner said. "Every single time I got off the phone with (Colts general manager) Ryan Grigson I went down, reported to him where we’re at. He’s a very strong believer in where we’re at and where we’re headed and how this is going to help us.''

Banner added, “I think the most important thing is for people to realize we’re all on the same page. This is a collaborative decision that everybody in the organization, from the owner, myself, the head coach, everybody involved felt very strongly was a good thing to do.”

Holmgren, who was let go by owner Jimmy Haslam and Banner last season, told Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle with host Dave "Softy'' Mahler that it was a knee-jerk reaction, one that many Browns players have to be questioning.

"I struggled with it,'' Holmgren said. "Philosophically, if I am the coach and someone came in anywhere and did that, I'd say 'okay fire me, or I'm going to quit. Or we're going to both go into the owner and talk about this and the we'll see who's still standing.'''

Chudzinski stressed that he was on board with the Richardson trade from the start.

“We talked about it all along the way,'' he said. "I was supportive and we had great discussions on it. I’m confident and feel great about our plan to get better.”

He said he wasn't concerned with Holmgren's comments.

"Look, I love Cleveland. I love these fans. I love this team,'' he said. "I feel strongly that I absolutely agree with our plan, what we've done to this point, and bringing a winner to Cleveland. I'm focused on this game and playing in Minnesota and getting our guys ready to play and win, and focus on that alone."

Holmgren, who appears regularly on Mahler's show, also posed the question that many Browns fans are thinking.

"How do you make your team better by trading your best player?'' he said. "He's the best offensive player. He's a valuable, valuable guy.''

Left tackle Joe Thomas said he knows that no one in the locker room is safe, but he felt that way before the trade.

"I don't think it's any different,'' he said. "What my statement was, I stand by that. It's the way everybody is, it's the way it's been since the first day I got in the league. About the only people safe are the ones that came here this year in the first round that were drafted by the guys that are making the calls right now. That's the way it is. I've been through four coaching staffs right now, and GMs and if you're not drafted by them in the year you're currently in, there's no safety in this business.''

He said nothing surprises him after what happened after the first game of his rookie year, when quarterback Charlie Frye was traded.

"So that was kind of the 'welcome to the NFL moment,''' he said. "After that happened, I realized there is no safety in this organization for anybody at any level on the field or coaches or staff or anybody. We fired our G.M. in the middle of the year in my third or fourth year. It happened. That’s the way it goes around here.”

But Thomas supports anything designed to help the team win.

"It doesn’t mean we’re starting over from Day One,'' he said. "It’s a process and we’re trying to build a consistent winner. That’s what their goal is. Every decision they make, that’s kind of a litmus test – is this going to help us build a consistent winner. Obviously the felt the trade of Trent is something that is going to help move us forward to be a consistent winner.’'