(12-28-2017, 03:30 PM)Kane Wrote:

(12-28-2017, 02:33 PM)Cleatwood Wrote: So do you believe he deserves partial credit for how the team is playing this year? Because that’s the point of the thread. 

He doesn’t deserve anything. He did nothing to help this team. Not one thing.

In my original response in this thread I said he did not.
I simply offered up what we could be thankful for during his tenure. Being Caldwell's sacrificial lamb while figuring out how to GM on the fly.


And then someone else chimed in they thought he was the right coach for the state of the roster, ah ha a similar thought process.
Which was followed by another poster saying "nuh uhh no way", to which Rico replied you're entitled to your opinion.
And you thought you'd step in and tell a man he has no opinion or there can't be an opinion on the matter.



What happened was a few posters decided to try to take the discussion in a different direction... seeing as almost no one would credit Gus with A) being a good head coach or 2) being a reason we're successful now.
So we said... hey, olive branch, maybe it was good we had him here for this time for this reason.

Feel free to disagree dude. But don't come up in here talking about people's opinions being invalid or the idea they shouldn't have an opinion on the matter.
You don't think Gus was the right guy for the job when the roster tear down was happening? Fine. State as much, counter, and move along.
Somehow I wish we could see how successful anyone would have been 2013-2015 with that roster.

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(12-28-2017, 03:05 PM)Caldrac Wrote: He wasn't a "sacrificial lamb" either. Not even under Caldwell. Bradley came into this city with him. They were supposed to make it work out. And he couldn't get it done. The only sacrificial lambs around here are the fans and season ticket holders. Who had to put up with this [BLEEP] for four years. One of the worst efforts ever seen in the modern era of the NFL's existence.

Cleveland says "hi".

Say what you want about it. But Caldwell, a rookie GM, hand picked a rookie HC, and decided to completely blow up a roster and start from the scratchiest of scratches.
We all may have had high hopes and dreams. But Bradley was given a unique situation to be real. Not just a bad team making a switch but a bad team starting from square one.
It isn't an excuse for Bradley. It isn't a knock on Caldwell. I don't say it to mean he knew Bradley would fail and we'd be terrible for 4 years. But I doubt any coach, especially a rookie HC, would have been successful with what was dealt those first few years.
Once the roster was restored with actual talent it was already too late. Most wanted him gone before 2016. No coach would have survived that sort of rebuild in my opinion.

Bradley was given a tremendous leash and room to breath. Not many owners or front offices would have tolerated or stomached a .226% W-L average. Cleveland as a front office and as far as ownership goes has been pretty terrible. I'll give you that. But as far as overall coaching and individual responsibility. Bradley is historically the worst head coach in a four year time span in the modern era of football. I think some coaches could have survived that rebuild. I am not saying Caldwell doesn't deserve some of the blame. There's a reason why Coughlin was brought here. 

But Bradley should have been able to manage or do a better job as a coach. His attitude and approach was soft and he seemed to award and condone losing. Which only continued to manifest and fester in the locker room. He didn't crack down on his team. He didn't shake up anybody or anything. He's just not a disciplinarian and this team needed it. He's a nice guy. He knows defense. And when he only has to focus on defense and just eleven starters and some rotational players he can be a quality coach. But I don't see him ever head coaching in the NFL again. He'll be another Rod Marinelli. Who was just as terrible during a three year time span.

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