John Dorsey History Says He Can Build Cleveland a Contender

It’s clearer than ever that the Cleveland Browns had designs on hiring John Dorsey for a long time. Some say it goes back five weeks.

However the speed of the deal would suggest the team may have had eyes for him ever since the Kansas City Chiefs made him available a few months ago. It remains the most puzzling decision on the executive level of any team this year. Most believe it came down to money issues. Others think it was head coach Andy Reid making a power play. Regardless it put a proven evaluator on the street and the Browns weren’t going to pass up a chance to get him.

This could be a turning point for the franchise. Dorsey has been a solid GM ever since he ascended to the job back in 2013. Since then his track record is littered with notable names who are now dominating the NFL scene.

• Travis Kelce
• Marcus Peters
• D.J. Alexander
• Tyreek Hill

That’s not counting the host of steady starters he also put on their roster. If he can do more of the same in Cleveland with the treasure trove of picks left behind by Sashi Brown, it could be a big swing of momentum.

Dorsey may have to contend with Hue Jackson first

The problem is Dorsey is walking into a far more volatile situation than he enjoyed in Kansas City. The Browns just got finished with a massive power struggle between Brown and head coach Hue Jackson. It seems the hope for Jackson was to gain more say over the outlay of the roster. It’s surprising owner Jimmy Haslam agreed to that given the coach has one win in two years.

It seems the belief is Jackson and Dorsey are both old school football guys. They should be able to work far better together than Jackson did with the more analytical Brown. Dorsey also has control of the 53-man roster, unlike back in K.C. So it will be interesting to see if this changes things.