CLEVELAND -- Browns owner Randy Lerner has begun talks with truck-stop magnate Jimmy Haslam on giving up controlling interest while committing to keep the team in Cleveland, the club president said Friday.

And get this: Haslam is a self-described "1,000 percent" Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

Jimmy Haslam is a truck-stop magnate and the older brother of Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. AP Photo

"(Lerner) is giving up controlling interest in the team," president Mike Holmgren said at the team's suburban Berea training camp. Holmgren said he and Lerner have discussed the matter throughout the summer.

Holmgren said the talks on the future of the team included the agreed stipulation that the Browns would remain in town.

"The Cleveland Browns are not going anywhere," Holmgren said.

Holmgren said that Lerner's interests have changed during the years and that the owner had told him a while back that, while he loved the team, he would consider selling if and when a reliable buyer came along.

"All the stars aligned in the last few months," Holmgren said.

Lerner disclosed the talks in a statement earlier Friday.

"In connection with current rumors and press inquiries, I can report that I've been approached by Mr. Jimmy Haslam, who is interested in making an investment in the Cleveland Browns. We are currently in negotiations and both sides have agreed to keep that dialogue and its details private," Lerner said in a statement.

"Given that any transaction would require League approval, care has been taken so that this process will not be disruptive to the organization, in particular the football team, as it prepares for the upcoming season. We will share further details or make an announcement if it becomes necessary."

The Browns have been owned by the Lerner family since 1999, when the franchise was reborn after the original club moved to Baltimore.

Randy Lerner, 50, who also owns the Aston Villa soccer club in England, inherited the Browns in 2002 following the death of his father, Al.

Some fans have been unhappy with Randy Lerner, long criticizing him as a disengaged owner of a club that has made the playoffs just once since it was recreated.

Jimmy Haslam is president and CEO of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Pilot Flying J, the largest operator of travel centers and travel plazas in North America with more than 550 retail locations. He is the older brother of Tennessee's Gov. Bill Haslam, who also worked for the family business before he was elected mayor of Knoxville in 2003 and again in 2007, then governor in 2010.