CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jimmy Haslam's blockbuster announcement Tuesday that Browns CEO Joe Banner and GM Mike Lombardi are gone only came as half of a shock to me.

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The writing was on the wall for Mike Lombardi's departure as long ago as Dec. 30 when the Browns conducted their press conference to address the firing of Rob Chudzinski.

That day, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was asked why Lombardi was not part of the press conference or other big Browns moments.

“I’ve never really thought about it, to be honest,'' Haslam responded.

It was telling, that it never really occurred to Haslam that Lombardi wasn't there. Then, on the day coach Mike Pettine was hired, Farmer turned down a second interview with the Miami Dolphins for their GM job, and Haslam pumped him up after the Pettine presser, calling Farmer a rising star in the NFL. I bounced my hunch that Lombardi was gone off two NFL GMs that day, and neither had heard the whispers yet.



I also asked Farmer and Banner during Super Bowl week if Farmer was promised the GM job here, and both said no.

But it all added up to one thing: Lombardi was persona non grata with the team and not long for Cleveland.

The Banner departure, on the other hand, came as a complete shock to me -- but it shouldn't have. Here's why: The day Pettine was hired, Banner said the toughest decision of the entire coaching search was passing up a chance to interview Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn a second time. He praised Quinn and predicted he'll be an excellent head coach someday. It was clear that Banner wanted to wait for Quinn, and that Haslam pulled the trigger on hiring Pettine.

I asked Haslam about that on Tuesday, and he said, "I was really committed to coach Pettine.''

Some other thoughts rattling around my brain in the aftermath of this huge overhaul:

• The Peyton Manning Factor: Haslam currently has no CEO in the front office. My guess is that he'll offer that job to Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning someday. He loves Manning, they're great friends, and he's watched what John Elway has done in running the Broncos. Manning will play at least one more season to break Brett Favre's record for TD passes, but might be lured into a CEO role after that. The day Haslam agreed to purchase the Browns, I asked him if he'd bring Manning aboard, and he praised Manning, saying among other things, "he's very smart.''

• What does this mean for quarterback Brian Hoyer? Lombardi has long loved Hoyer and brought him to Cleveland. The new staff seems to love him too, but what if the Browns draft a quarterback with their No. 4 overall pick? If Hoyer wants a chance to start now that he's proven he can win, Texans coach Bill O'Brien, who coached Hoyer in New England, would probably at least be intrigued. Would the Browns part with him? Maybe not. But if they're looking for a good backup for their rookie, they can try to trade for Redskins backup Kirk Cousins, whom offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan really likes.

• Banner saved Haslam: Haslam had no idea what he was doing when he first purchased the Browns, and couldn't have gotten up and running without Banner. Banner hired tremendous people, including president Alec Scheiner, and helped secure financing for the stadium improvements. He also helped secure naming right for FirstEnergy Stadium and completely redesigned the Browns facility in Berea. But Banner took a huge risk in bringing Mike Lombardi in as his general manager, and it indirectly led to his own departure.



Lombardi was never accepted by the local media, and when it came to the coaching search, some candidates were leery of him. Others were wary of Banner and some had issues with both. Whether the concerns of the candidates were real or perceived, it's a fact that some shied away from the Browns because of the two -- and Haslam knew it.

• Would Rob Chudzinski have been fired if this shakeup had happened before the end of the season? Some insiders have told me that Haslam really liked Chudzinski ("Chud was Haslam's guy,'' said one source) and probably would have given him at least another year. "Those are hard decisions,'' Haslam said Tuesday. "I think we made the right decisions, we're really excited about coach Pettine.'' Too bad Chudzinski had to lose his dream job in the midst of this upheaval.

• Who are some of the candidates that didn't want to come? I've been told that O'Brien and Ken Whisenhunt didn't want to coach here because of either Banner, Lombardi or both. O'Brien didn't even interview for the job this year. Wisconsin coach Gary Anderson also took himself out of the running.



• A sea change? One NFL GM told me today "I will do business with the Browns again -- and I'm not the only one that feels this way.'' I don't think a lot of teams felt this way, but at least a few did.

