"We have been nothing but supportive of Butch, the staff and the players," Collins said. "Our focus was getting to January and maybe February and figuring out what the next step was."

Collins said he was "personally disappointed" that Davis had resigned.

"You could not be unaware of pressures coming from the media," Collins said. "Players were disappointed with the record, the season and the injuries, but that did not factor in any action that we had with Butch. That was Butch's decision."

Davis's Browns often had the look of a team untethered.

In 2002, linebacker Dwayne Rudd cost them a victory in their opener against Kansas City when he threw his helmet in celebration, incurring an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty that allowed the Chiefs' Morten Andersen to kick a 30-yard field goal to win the game.

After going 16-16 in Davis's first two seasons, the Browns endured a breathless quarterback controversy between Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb that resulted in a 5-11 record in 2003.

Davis's final game with the Browns on Sunday epitomized the team's talent and wildly inconsistent ways. Cleveland scored 48 points against the Cincinnati Bengals and lost by 10.

"I accept responsibility for the mistakes that we have made," Davis said, "but it was my and my staff's intention to do everything we could to lay the foundation and build a team that could win a Super Bowl. I hope that some of the decisions we have made will be a part of a brighter future for the Browns organization."

Although Davis said yesterday that he had "no immediate plans to stay in coaching," he has been linked to the vacant University of Florida coaching job. At Miami, he led the Hurricanes to a 51-20 record and went 4-0 in bowl games.