Cleveland Browns: Could Be a Good Team, if it Wasn’t for Those Meddling Owners 

A love/hate relationship exists between Cleveland Browns fans and the team’s ownership. Whether this feeling is fair is beside the point. But how much regard should fans expect from the person who signs the checks and keeping the lights on?

Since the team’s founding in 1944, the Browns’ ownership has changed six times. Somewhere along the line, someone holding the keys must have known a thing or two about creating a winning franchise. It was a rather short trip from the top of the heap to wherever we are now.

Browns Owners Over the Years

Arthur McBride 1946 1952 Principal Owner

David Jones 1953 1960 Partial Owner, President/Majority Owner

Ellis Ryan 1953 1960 Partial Owner, President/Partial Owner

Art Modell 1961 1995 Principal Owner

Al Lerner 1999 2001 Principal Owner

Randy Lerner 2002 2011 Principal Owner, Principal Owner/President

Dee Haslam 2012 2025 Principal Owner

Jimmy Haslam III 2012 2025 Principal Owner

Arthur McBride Era- 1946-1952: The catalyst behind the All-American Football Conference (AACF) franchise known as the Cleveland Browns is Arthur “Micky” McBride. His first official act was hiring Paul Brown as his Head Coach. McBride wisely understood what many owners cannot grasp. He trusted his experts. He gave Brown complete control of the football side of things while McBride looked after the business end. The result? By 1950, the team had won five championships and posted an 83-13- 3 record.

David Jones and Ellis Ryan Era- 1953-1960: McBride sold the Browns in June 1953 for $600,000. The price was twice as large as any other professional football team at the time. The new owners, David Jones and Ellis Ryan, enjoyed great success with their new franchise. The formula was similar to McBride’s. They let the coach do his job while they ran the front office. This era was marked by continued dominance. The team played in three championship games and boasted legendary players like Otto Graham, Lou Groza, and Jim Brown.

Art Modell Era- 1961-1995: In March 1961, Art Modell bought the Cleveland Browns for just under 4 million dollars. Unlike previous owners, he was a “hands on” and led the team on a rollercoaster of elation and contention lasting for the next three and a half decades.

Art Modell made some good decisions, and the team had some successful years under his direction. The 1964 Championship was a pinnacle. However, the team had just 14 postseason appearances in 35 years.

Modell was at the heart of controversial decisions like firing Head Coach Paul Brown or badgering Jim Brown to the point that the superstar retired rather than play for Modell. The most infamous (and infuriating) decision he made was to move the beloved team to Baltimore after the 1995 season.

Al Lerner Era-1999-2001: Football returned to Cleveland in 1999 when Al Learner brought the team back to the city. The sky-high expectations were unfulfilled and the Browns struggled. Owner Al Lerner passed away before his team succeeded.

Randy Lerner Era-2002-2011: In 2002, Randy Lerner took over ownership as directed by his late father. Lerner stayed at the Browns helm for roughly a decade to satisfy a promise made to his father. However, his interest was with his English Premier League soccer team. His lack of passion for the NFL showed and the Browns had a single winning season (10–6 in 2007) during Randy Lerner’s time as owner.

Dee and Jimmy Haslam Era- 2012- present: While Randy Lerner’s lack of attention was detrimental to the Browns, current owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam are overly involved in football operations. These actions are equally destructive to the team. Haslam inexplicably inserts himself into hiring (and firing) situations in which he is underqualified to make decisions. For example,

* Hiring Hue Jackson as head coach proved disastrous, as the team won THREE games under his watch.

* Promoting Freddie Kitchens from Running Backs Coach to Head Coach in the span of one year was preposterous. The talented roster imploded on his watch, but Kitchens was clearly in over his head.

* Drafting Johnny Manziel based on the recommendation of a random fan is so outlandish that it shouldn’t be real.

* Moving heaven and earth to bring Deshaun Watson to the team is widely considered the worst trade move in NFL history.

* Totally mishandling the search for a Head Coach after the 2025 season while simultaneously alienating a prolific Defensive Coordinator.

When ownership is viewed as a whole, it is easy to see where things went off the rails. The early days of the Cleveland Browns’ success were marked by a clear division of roles. Art Modell became the first hands-on owner, and it did not always benefit the team. Randy Lerner paid little attention to the tea, and it showed. Now in the Haslam era, ownership shows a remarkable lack of trust in the professionals employed to run the football operations. Naturally, hindsight is 20/20. But the criticism heaped on the Haslams is earned. To paraphrase William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”