So, another year, and another losing season for the Cleveland Browns.
Of course, I don't know this for sure.
But then, one can't be certain the sun will rise tomorrow, that Rod Stewart will put out another album of bad covers or that no one reads my Twitter page.
I'll take my chances.
The Browns have three games left, two against all-but-certain playoff teams. They need to win out to go .500. With the Ravens and Steelers left on the schedule, a losing season looks likely.
So the next question becomes what happens to coach Eric Mangini.
Mangini hasn't had a horrible season, with big wins over the Super Bowl-contending Saints and Patriots. But its hard to get too excited about a team that just lost to the Bills, and fumbled five times in the process.
Some people use the logic that the Browns don't have much talent, as if this somehow excuses the coaching staff. Some have said a coach needs more than two years to be successful.
Neither argument holds up.
To the first point, the Browns have shown they have enough talent to win. No one believes them to be a Super Bowl contender, but they have a 1,000-yard rusher in Peyton Hillis, an offensive line highlighted by three first-round draft picks, and a defense that, while inconsistent, hasn't been run over by anyone.
The second argument is about time. In the past, it took time to build a winner. Just ask Chuck Noll, Jimmy Johnson or Marv Levy. All struggled for a few years before building powerhouses.
But things are different now. Tony Sparano took a Dolphins squad that went 1-15 in 2007 to 11-5 the next year. Mike Smith (Falcons) and Sean Payton (Saints) have led similar turnarounds.
The point is, in a league that prides itself on parity, a program doesn't need five years to build anymore.
The last excuse I hear about Mangini is his offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll. They say the coordinator is holding the offense back. Anyone who has watched the Browns in the past two years has got to have some concerns about the team's play-calling. In the game against Buffalo, the Browns seemed to plan on giving it to Hillis every play. When Buffalo answered that, Cleveland appeared as lost as Gilligan.
No one is going to confuse Daboll with great Browns coordinators of the past like Lindy Infante or Jim Shofner. But the truth is that Daboll is a Mangini hire, and the head coach has the authority to overrule a suspect call (like, say, an end-around that was so sloppy it could have doubled as my desk at work).
Basically, the offense is owned by Mangini.
Watching all of this is Browns President Mike Holmgren, a supposed offensive mastermind who coached two franchises to Super Bowl appearances.
Holmgren hasn't ruled out coaching again, and he hasn't said much this season that would give Mangini confidence in his future.
Do I want Mangini to fired? Not necessarily, especially if the Browns win two of their final three.
But I don't expect him back. Mangini is good enough to coach in the NFL, he's even good enough to get a team to the playoffs.
But I never see him lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
That's the kind of coach the Browns need.
