Right now, all Cleveland Browns fans are paying close attention to who will be the team’s next head coach. However, many of them cannot ignore the past when deciding how much to trust the front office to make the right decision.
On the latest episode of The Top Dawgs Show, Phil Taylor questioned the Browns and who they will choose next, partly because of what they have done in the past. He noted that Cleveland had hired Mike Vrabel last year as a consultant and then let him go.
Now, Vrabel is about to enjoy his first Super Bowl as head coach of the New England Patriots, while the Browns are scrambling to find a new leader to guide them.
“I want to start believing the curse. We literally had Mike Vrabel in our building as a consultant,” Taylor said.
"We literally had Mike Vrabel in our building as a consultant." #DawgPound@PhilTaylor98 wonders if the Browns' actual coaching mistake came last year. 🤔
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— The Top Dawgs Show (@TopDawgShow) January 27, 2026
Vrabel was indeed a consultant for the Browns last year after multiple seasons as the HC of the Tennessee Titans. Browns fans are left to wonder what could have happened had Cleveland fired Kevin Stefanski last year and hired Vrabel instead.
But this isn’t the only time the team has let someone talented slip through their fingers. For example, Sean McDermott, who was recently let go by the Buffalo Bills, was once in the running to coach the Browns, but that didn’t work out.
According to reports, multiple people within the Browns organization were sold on McDermott, but owner Jimmy Haslam chose Hue Jackson instead.
If the Browns really are cursed, it’s their own doing, and it is because of choices like that from Haslam. A good owner needs to know when to take a step back and let his hired crew do their job; otherwise, the wrong decisions will be made.
The fear is that the Browns are doing the same thing again. They are currently trying to find a new head coach, but fans cannot fully believe in a front office that has taken the wrong approach repeatedly throughout its history. There is a chance that Haslam and his staff have learned from their mistakes, and this “curse” of bad coaching choices could be broken.
But there is also a very good chance that history repeats itself, and candidates who have recently walked away from Cleveland will find great success next year as the Browns continue to suffer.
NEXT: Browns Receive Encouraging Update About Nate Scheelhaase
