Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They play in the AFC North division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Cleveland Browns began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and joined the NFL in 1950 after the AAFC folded. Cleveland won all four AAFC titles and had one undefeated season (15–0 in 1948), as well as four NFL Championships.

1946–1949: The AAFC years
The Cleveland Browns were founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference, under businessman Arthur B "Mickey" McBride.[1] Not long after gaining the franchise, McBride named Ohio State Buckeyes coach Paul Brown as vice president, general manager and head coach. The franchise conducted a team naming contest in 1945. The most popular submission was "Browns" in recognition of Paul Brown, already an established and popular figure in Ohio sports. Brown at first objected to the name and the team selected from the contest entries the name "Panthers." However, after an area businessman informed the team that he owned the rights to the name Cleveland Panthers from an earlier failed football team, Brown rescinded his objection and agreed to the use of his name.[2]

Brown parlayed his ties to the Buckeyes and the Navy (where he'd coached a base football team during World War II) into the most extensive recruitment network that had ever been seen at the time in pro football. He used it to assemble a team that, in terms of talent, would have been more than a match for any NFL team—including quarterback Otto Graham, kicker/offensive tackle Lou Groza, wide receiver Mac Speedie, fullback Marion Motley and nose guard Bill Willis. The Browns dominated the AAFC, winning all four of its championships including the 1948 season in which they became the first unbeaten and untied team in professional football history—24 years before the NFL's perfect team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Cleveland's undefeated streak (including 2 ties) reached 29 games, and included 18 straight wins and the 1947 and 1948 AAFC championship games. During the AAFC's four-year run, the Browns lost only four games. The Browns issued occasional challenges to NFL teams, only to be turned down almost out of hand each time.

Thanks in large part to McBride's promotional efforts, the Cleveland area showed terrific support for the Browns from the moment they were created. The team saw a record setting average attendance of 57,000 a game in its first season.[3] The Browns unexpectedly had Cleveland to themselves; the NFL's Cleveland Rams, who had continually lost money while in Cleveland despite winning the 1945 NFL championship, moved to the booming area of Los Angeles after the 1945 season (the team is now located in St. Louis).

1950–56: NFL
The AAFC dissolved after the 1949 season, due largely to the Browns' near absolute domination of the league. Jim Crowley, the AAFC's first commissioner, later said that if the AAFC had held a draft rather than simply encourage its teams to sign as many top players as possible, the league may well have survived. When the NFL agreed to take in three of the AAFC's teams for the 1950 season, it was a foregone conclusion that the Browns would be included. The Browns' first NFL game was against the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. The overwhelming consensus at the time was that the Eagles would blow the Browns off the field; there were still many who thought the Browns were merely the dominant team in a minor league. However, the Browns were determined to prove they belonged. They shredded the Eagles' vaunted defense for 487 yards of total offense en route to a 35–10 blowout. Behind a potent offense that included future Hall of Famers Graham, Motley and Dante Lavelli, the Browns picked up right where they left off in the AAFC. After going 10–2 in the regular season, the Browns defeated the New York Giants 8–3 in a playoff game and then beat Cleveland's previous NFL tenants, the Rams (who were now in Los Angeles), 30–28, in the NFL Championship game. Since the NFL does not recognize the AAFC's records, this technically makes the Browns the most successful expansion team in league history. However, the 1950 Browns were not an expansion team in any sense of the term. During the next season, the Browns went 11–1, facing the Rams in a rematch of the previous year's title game. A 73-yard touchdown pass by Norm van Brocklin to Tom Fears in the fourth quarter put Los Angeles in the lead for good. The 24–17 loss was the Browns' first in a championship game.

Cleveland also advanced to the 1952 NFL championship game, finishing 8–4 to face the Detroit Lions. A muffed punt, several defensive stands, and a 67-yard touchdown run by Doak Walker combined to help the Lions win 17–7, frustrating the Browns for the second consecutive year. On the upside, Ray Renfro became a star with 722 yards receiving and 322 yards rushing. The Browns then started the 1953 season winning 11 straight games, but finished with a loss to the Eagles in the final week, and then lost the 1953 Championship game in a rematch with the Lions. The game was, however, closer than the year before. With the score tied at 10 going into the final quarter, Lou Groza kicked two field goals to put Cleveland up 16–10. But Detroit's Bobby Layne threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jim Doran with under two minutes left and the Lions won 17–16. In 1954, the Browns finished 9–3 and met up with Detroit in the championship for a third consecutive year. This time, however, the Browns were relentless on both sides of the ball, intercepting Bobby Layne six times and forcing three fumbles. Otto Graham threw three touchdowns and ran for three more, en route to a 56–10 thrashing and the Browns' second NFL crown.

The Browns kept rolling along in 1955. Chuck Noll had a productive season at linebacker with five interceptions, Graham passed for 15 touchdowns and ran for six more, and the team, who finished 9–2–1, won their third NFL Championship game in six seasons 38–14, against the Los Angeles Rams. In 10 years of existence, the Browns reached the title game every year (four in the AAFC, six in the NFL) and won seven of them.

Graham retired before the 1956 season due to injuries, and the Browns floundered without him behind center. Three quarterbacks (George Ratterman, Babe Parilli, and Tommy O'Connell) were used, none of them throwing more touchdowns than interceptions. The team's 5–7 record was the team's first losing season ever.

1957–70: The Jim Brown Era
The Browns responded in 1957 when they drafted fullback Jim Brown out of Syracuse University, who easily became the NFL's leading rusher (and NFL Rookie of the Year) with 942 yards in a 12-game regular season. Once again at the top of the division at 9–2–1, they advanced back to the championship game against Detroit. But the Lions dominated from start to finish, causing six turnovers and allowing the Browns' two quarterbacks (Tommy O'Connell and Milt Plum) only 95 yards passing in a 59–14 rout.

In 1958 Brown ran for 1,527 yards, almost twice as much as any other running back. In his nine seasons in the league, he crossed the 1,000-yard barrier seven times. The only snag in their getting back to another championship was the New York Giants. They lost to New York on the last week of the season after a spirited fourth-quarter comeback, then, due to their equal 9–3 records, faced the Giants again in a tiebreaker game with the winner going to the finals. However, the Giants limited Jim Brown to eight yards and the team committed four turnovers as they were shut out 10–0. In 1959 the Browns started 6–2 but finished 7–5, out of championship contention, despite Brown once again leading the league in rushing with 1,329 yards. In 1960, Plum threw for 21 touchdowns and Brown's 1,257 yards was still best in the NFL, but the team still finished second at 8–3–1. Art Modell purchased the team from David Jones (who had bought the team from McBride in 1953) in 1961. The beginnings of a power struggle between Paul Brown and Art Modell took its toll. Journalist D.L. Stewart recounted in Jeff Miller's book on the AFL, Going Long, "As you well can imagine, Jimmy Brown and Paul were not thick. The buzz was that Jimmy had Modell working for him, and Paul took exception to that."[4] The season otherwise was typical: a fifth consecutive league-leading season from Jim Brown and a half-decent performance in the standings, but again, at 8–5–1, they were two games out of a berth in the championship. After a 7–6–1 record in 1962, Modell fired Brown and replaced him with longtime assistant Blanton Collier. Many of the Browns' younger players—such as Jim Brown and Frank Ryan had chafed under Brown's autocratic coaching style. Collier rode his team with a considerably looser rein. He also installed a much more open offense and allowed Ryan to call his own plays. In Collier's first season, the Browns went 10–4 and finished a game out of the conference title, led by Jim Brown's record 1,863 yards rushing. In 1964, the Browns went 10–3–1 and reached their first title game in 7 years. The Browns throttled the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 27–0, with receiver Gary Collins catching 3 TD passes to earn the MVP award.[5] The Browns would go to three more NFL title games in Collier's eight-year tenure—including 1968 and 1969, after Jim Brown retired. After the 1970 season, Collier retired due to increasing deafness; that same year the Browns finished 7–7 and was replaced by offensive coordinator Nick Skorich.

1971–84: The Kardiac Kids
Skorich led the Browns to a division title in 1971 and a wild-card berth in 1972. In the latter year, the Browns nearly defeated the Dolphins in the second round—the closest the Dolphins would come to losing a game that season (until the Dolphins played the Steelers in the Conf. Championship game, beating the Steelers by only 4 points compared to the Browns 6. They barely missed the playoffs in 1973. However, the Browns' era of success came to a crashing halt as the team dropped to 4–10 in 1974. Neither Mike Phipps nor rookie QB Brian Sipe was effective; they threw 24 combined interceptions to only 10 touchdowns. The Browns allowed 344 points, most in the league. It was only the second losing season in franchise history, and it cost Skorich his job. Assistant coach Forrest Gregg took over in 1975, but the Browns stumbled out of the gate with an 0–9 start that finally came to an end on November 23 in a 35–23 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Three weeks later, third-year running back Greg Pruitt paced the team with 214 yards rushing in a rout over the Kansas City Chiefs, helping the team finish the season 3–11. Cleveland showed marked improvement with a 9–5 mark in 1976 as Brian Sipe firmly took control at quarterback. Sipe had been inserted into the lineup after a Phipps injury in the season-opening win against the New York Jets on September 12. After a 1–3 start brought visions of another disastrous year, the Browns jolted the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers with an 18–16 victory on October 10. Third-string quarterback Dave Mays helped lead the team to that victory, while defensive end Joe "Turkey" Jones's pile-driving sack of quarterback Terry Bradshaw fueled the heated rivalry between the two teams. That win was the first of eight in the next nine weeks, helping put the Browns in contention for the AFC playoffs. A loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the regular season finale cost them a share of the division title, but running back Greg Pruitt continued his outstanding play by rushing for exactly 1,000 yards, his second-straight four-digit season. The Browns continued to roll in the first half of the 1977 NFL season, but an injury to Brian Sipe by Pittsburgh's Jack Lambert on November 13 proved to be disastrous. Cleveland won only one of their last five games to finish at 6–8, a collapse that led to Forrest Gregg's dismissal before the final game of the season. Dick Modzelewski served as interim coach in the team's 20–19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. On December 27, 1977, Sam Rutigliano was named head coach, and he aided a healthy Sipe in throwing 21 touchdowns and garnering 2,900 yards during the 1978 NFL season. Greg Pruitt and Mike Pruitt led a rushing attack that gained almost 2,500 yards, but problems with the team's dismal pass defense resulted in the Browns finishing 8–8 on the year. The 1979 campaign started with four consecutive wins, three of which were in the final minute or overtime. Four more games were won by less than a touchdown. This penchant for playing close games would later earn them the nickname "Kardiac Kids". Sipe threw 28 touchdown passes, tying him with Steve Grogan of New England for most in the league, but his 26 interceptions were the worst in the league. Mike Pruitt had a Pro Bowl season with his 1,294 rushing yards, while the defense was still shaky, ranking near the bottom in rushing defense. The team finished 9–7, behind division rivals Houston and Pittsburgh in a tough AFC Central. The 1980 season is still fondly remembered by Browns fans. After going 3–3 in the first six games, the Browns won three straight games with fourth-quarter comebacks, and stopped a late comeback by the Baltimore Colts to win a fourth. The Browns won two more games in that fashion by the end of the season, and even lost a game to the Minnesota Vikings on the last play when a Hail Mary pass was tipped into the waiting hands of Ahmad Rashad. Sipe passed for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns with only 14 interceptions(enough for him to be named the NFL MVP), behind an offensive line that sent three members to the Pro Bowl: Doug Dieken, Tom DeLeone and Joe DeLamielleure. The "Kardiac Kids" name stuck. A fourth-quarter field goal by Don Cockroft in the final game against the Cincinnati Bengals helped the Browns capture the division with an 11–5 mark, with the Oakland Raiders their opponent in the team's first playoff game in eight years. However, a heartbreaking end of this dramatic season came in the closing seconds when Sipe called what became known as "Red Right 88" and passed toward the end zone, only to watch Oakland's Mike Davis intercept the ball. The Raiders went on to win the Super Bowl, and "Red Right 88" has numbered among the list of Cleveland sports curses ever since. If 1980 was a dream season, then 1981 was a nightmare. Sipe threw only 17 touchdowns while being picked off 25 times. The Browns went 5–11, and few of their games were particularly close. Tight end Ozzie Newsome, their only Pro Bowler, had 1,004 yards receiving for six touchdowns. In 1982 Sipe split quarterbacking duties with Paul McDonald, and both put up similar numbers. The Browns had little success rushing or defending against it, finishing in the bottom five teams in both yardage categories. Despite going 4–5, Cleveland was able to make the playoffs due to an expanded playoff system in the strike-shortened year. They were matched up with the Raiders in the playoffs, but were easily defeated 27–10. Sipe and the Browns got some of their spark back in 1983. Sipe had 26 touchdown passes and 3,566 yards, while Mike Pruitt ran for 10 scores on 1,184 yards. Cleveland even won two games in overtime and another in the fourth quarter. A fourth-quarter loss to the Houston Oilers in their second-to-last game dashed their playoff hopes. At 9–7 the Browns finished one game behind the Steelers, and lost out on a wild-card spot due to a tiebreaker. 1984 was a rebuilding year. Brian Sipe defected to the upstart USFL after the 1983 season, and Paul McDonald was named the starting quarterback. Mike Pruitt missed much of the season and later ended up with the Buffalo Bills. Coach Sam Rutigliano lost his job after a 1–7 start as Marty Schottenheimer took over. The Browns coasted to a 5–11 record.

1985–90: Kosar and the Broncos Rivalry
In 1985, the Browns selected University of Miami quarterback Bernie Kosar in the Supplemental Draft. As a rookie, Kosar learned through trial by fire as he took over for Gary Danielson midway through the 1985 season. Progressing a bit more each Sunday, the young quarterback helped turn the struggling season around, as the Browns won four of the six games Kosar started. Two young rushers, Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack, played a large part in the team's success as well; each ran for 1,000+ yards, a feat that has not been repeated since. The Browns' 8–8 record gave the team the top spot in a weak AFC Central, and they looked poised to shock the heavily favored Miami Dolphins in the 1986 Divisional Playoff game with a 21–3 lead at halftime. It took Dan Marino's spirited second-half comeback to win the game for Miami 24–21. While the Browns faithful may have felt the initial sting of disappointment, there was tremendous upside in the loss: Schottenheimer's team, with Kosar at quarterback, reached the playoffs each of the next five seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship game in three of those years. The Browns broke into the ranks of the NFL's elite—particularly on defense—with a 12–4 showing in 1986. Behind Kosar's 3,854 yards passing and a defense with five Pro Bowlers (Chip Banks, Hanford Dixon, Bob Golic, Clay Matthews and Frank Minnifield), the Browns dominated the AFC Central with the best record in the AFC, and one of the NFL's stingiest defenses. With these on their side, the Browns clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. In the 1987 Divisional Playoff game, the Browns needed some serious heroics (and a bit of luck) to overcome the New York Jets. The Jets were leading 20–10 with less than four minutes to play, with the Browns in a dire 3rd and 24 situation. As fate would have it, Mark Gastineau was called for roughing the passer, which gave Cleveland a first down. The drive ended with Kevin Mack running into the end zone for a touchdown. After going three-and-out the Jets went back on defense, but allowed the rejuvenated Browns to again drive the ball deep into their end of the field. With 11 seconds remaining in regulation, Mark Moseley kicked a field goal to tie the game. In the first of two ensuing overtime periods, Moseley missed his next attempt, but later redeemed himself by ending what had become the second longest game in NFL history. Final score Browns 23 Jets 20. The 1986 AFC Championship game saw the Denver Broncos arrive in the windswept, hostile confines of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. No one knew at the time, but the Broncos would become Cleveland's arch-nemesis of the Kosar era, having only lost once to the Browns in a span that still continues to this day. As it had been the previous week, the showdown proved again to be it was an overtime heart-stopper. But this time, it was John Elway and the Broncos who came away the victors. Pinned in on their own two yard line with 5:11 left to play and the wind in his face, Elway led his now famous 98-yard drive, which is now known by NFL historians as simply "The Drive"). With 37 seconds on the clock, Elway's 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Jackson tied the game at 20 apiece. The 79,973 Browns fans in attendance were silenced when Rich Karlis' field goal attempt just made it inside the right-side upright to win the game for Denver early into overtime. The Browns success was replicated in 1987, with 22 touchdown passes and 3,000 yards for Kosar, and eight Pro Bowlers: Kosar, Mack, Dixon, Golic, Minnifield, linebacker Clay Matthews, wide receiver Gerald McNeil and offensive lineman Cody Risien. At 10–5, the Browns won the AFC Central again. Cleveland easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts 38–21 in the divisional playoff and traveled to Denver for a rematch with the Broncos in the AFC Championship. With the score 21–3 in favor of the Broncos at halftime, Kosar led a third-quarter comeback with two touchdowns by Earnest Byner and another by Reggie Langhorne. Early in the fourth quarter, Webster Slaughter's 4-yard touchdown catch tied it at 31–31. The Broncos regained the lead with a 20-yard Sammy Winder touchdown with under five minutes to go, setting the stage for another Browns comeback... or so they thought. Kosar drove the Browns to the Broncos' 8 yard line with 1:12 to go, and handed off to Byner. When it looked like he had an open route to the end zone, he was stripped of the ball by Jeremiah Castille. The Broncos recovered what became known as "The Fumble". After taking an intentional safety, the Broncos had shocked the Browns again, 38–33. Injuries to Kosar and two of his backups sidelined them for much of the 1988 season, but the Browns still finished 10–6. A final-week comeback victory in a snowstorm at Cleveland Stadium over the Houston Oilers clinched them a wild-card playoff spot, and a home game rematch against the Oilers in the first round. After Mike Pagel, in for an injured Don Strock (recently signed ex-Dolphins quarterback), threw a touchdown pass to Webster Slaughter late in the fourth quarter to pull the Browns within a point at 24–23, the Browns had three chances to recover an onside kick (due to penalties), but the Oilers recovered and stopped the Cleveland comeback. Schottenheimer left the Browns by mutual agreement with Modell shortly after the loss to the Oilers. Modell was tired of losing in the playoffs, and Schottenheimer was tired of what he perceived as Modell's interference with his coaching personnel and game strategy. Schottenheimer was quickly hired by the Kansas City Chiefs for the 1989 season. Bud Carson was his replacement in Cleveland, but his tenure was short - only one and a half years. The 1989 season, headlined by Slaughter's Pro Bowl-worthy 1,236 yards receiving, was a success at 7–3 until a 10–10 tie with Schottenheimer's Chiefs in November led to a 3-game losing streak. Two comeback wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Oilers in the season's final two weeks kept them in the playoff race. The tie ended up being the Browns' saving grace, with their 9–6–1 record winning them the AFC Central title and first-round bye over the Oilers and Pittsburgh Steelers at 9–7. The Browns narrowly survived a scare from the Buffalo Bills in their divisional playoff game, when Scott Norwood missed an extra point that would have pulled Buffalo within 3 points and, later, when Jim Kelly's desperation pass to the end zone on the final play of the game was intercepted. Cleveland's 34–30 win set them up for a rematch with the Broncos in Denver for the AFC Championship. While their two previous matchups went down to the wire, this one was never in doubt. The Broncos led from start to finish, and a long Elway touchdown pass to Sammy Winder put the game away in the fourth quarter. Denver easily won 37–21. In 1990 things began to unravel. Kosar threw more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (10) for the first time in his career; and the team finished last in the league in rushing offense, and near the bottom in rushing defense. Carson was fired after a 2–7 start, and the team finished 3–13, second-worst in the league. After the season Bill Belichick, defensive coordinator of the then-Super Bowl champion New York Giants, was named head coach.

1991–95: Bill Belichick and Modell's move
The Browns saw only a slight improvement under Belichick in 1991, finishing 6–10. Kosar was markedly better, with a ratio of 18 touchdowns to 9 interceptions, and Leroy Hoard had a breakout season. In 1992, with Kosar sitting out much of the season and Mike Tomczak in under center, Cleveland was in the thick of the AFC Central race before dropping their final three games to finish 7–9. The 1993 season saw Belichick make the controversial decision of cutting Kosar while back-up Vinny Testaverde, who had been signed from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was injured. The Browns were in first place at the time and the Browns faltered as Todd Philcox became the starter. Kosar was signed by the Dallas Cowboys and a few days later led the Cowboys to a win in place of an injured Troy Aikman. Kosar would win a ring that season as the Cowboys won the Super Bowl with a healthy Aikman. Cleveland won only two of its final nine games finishing 7–9 once again. Cleveland managed to right the ship in 1994, although the quarterback situation hadn't quite improved. A solid defense led the league for fewest yards allowed per attempt, sending four players (Rob Burnett, Pepper Johnson, Michael Dean Perry, and Eric Turner) to the Pro Bowl. The Browns finished 11–5, making the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. In the AFC Wild Card game against the New England Patriots, the Browns' defense picked off Drew Bledsoe three times, with Testaverde completing two-thirds of his passes, to win 20–13. Arch-rival Pittsburgh ended the Browns' season the following week, however, with a 29–9 blowout in the AFC Divisional game.

The Move
See Cleveland Browns relocation controversy

Modell announced on November 6, 1995, that he had signed a deal to relocate the Browns to Baltimore in 1996—a move which would return the NFL to Baltimore for the first time since the Colts relocated to Indianapolis after the 1983 season. The very next day, on November 7, 1995, Cleveland voters overwhelmingly approved an issue that had been placed on the ballot at Modell's request, before he made his decision to move the franchise, which provided $175 million in tax dollars to refurbish the outmoded and declining Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Modell's plan was later scrapped and taxpayers ultimately paid close to $300 million to demolish the old stadium and construct a new stadium for the Browns on the site of Municipal Stadium.

Browns fans reacted angrily to the news. Over 100 lawsuits were filed by fans, the city of Cleveland, and a host of others. Congress held hearings on the matter. Actor/comedian Drew Carey returned to his hometown of Cleveland on November 26, 1995, to host "Fan Jam" in protest of the proposed move. A protest was held in Pittsburgh during the Browns' game there but ABC, the network broadcasting the game, declined to cover or mention the protest. It was one of the few instances that Steelers fans and Browns fans were supporting each other, as fans in Pittsburgh felt that Modell was robbing their team of their rivalry with the Browns.

Virtually all of the team's sponsors immediately pulled their support, leaving Municipal Stadium devoid of advertising during the team's final weeks.

The 1995 season was a disaster on the field as well. After starting 3–1, the Browns lost 3 straight before the news broke about the team's impending move cut the legs out from under the team. They finished 5–11, including a 2–7 record in the nine games after the announcement. When fans in the Dawg Pound became unruly during their final home game against the Cincinnati Bengals, action moving towards that end zone had to be moved to the opposite end of the field. Several fans set fires in the stands, especially in the "Dawg Pound" section, and assaulted security officials and police officers who tried to quell the growing fires. The Browns won their final game.

1996–1999 (Inactivity)
After extensive talks between the NFL, the Browns and officials of the two cities, Cleveland accepted a legal settlement that would keep the Browns legacy in Cleveland.[6] In February 1996, the NFL announced that the Browns would be 'deactivated' for three years, and that a new stadium would be built for a new Browns team, as either an expansion team or a team moved from another city, that would begin play in 1999. Modell would in turn be granted a new franchise, (the 31st NFL franchise), for Baltimore, the Baltimore Ravens, retaining the current contracts of players and personnel. There would be a new team, but the Browns' name, colors, history, records, awards and archives would remain in Cleveland.[6]

Coincidentally, the only other current NFL team to suspend operations without merging with another, the St. Louis Rams, had once played in Cleveland (they suspended during the 1943 season, at the height of World War II).[7] During this period the threat of relocation to Cleveland was used by several teams, such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Denver Broncos, to help convince the taxpayers in those areas to fund new stadiums.[8]

Cleveland NFL Football LLC (Cleveland Browns Trust) was formed by the NFL. President of the Trust was Bill Futterer, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue was the Trustee. The Trust represented the NFL in the stadium design and construction, managed the sale of suites and club seats, and sold Permanent Seat Licenses and season tickets. Additionally, the Trust reorganized the Browns Backers fan clubs across the United States, resumed coaches shows on television and radio throughout the state of Ohio, and conducted a dramatic one-year countdown celebration that incorporated the first live Internet broadcast in NFL history. The Trust operated its campaign under a Countdown to '99 theme, utilizing Hall of Famers such as Lou Groza and Jim Brown extensively, and sold nearly 53,000 season tickets—a team record in 1998. It remains the only time in professional American football history that a league operated a team "in absentia" in order to preserve the history of the franchise and to build value in that franchise for the future owner. The NFL sold the Browns as an expansion team in 1998 for a North American record $530 million for a professional franchise, more than double any previous selling price for a pro sports team. Commissioner Tagliabue announced that the Browns would be an expansion team, rather than a relocated team, at the owners meeting in March 1998.[7] Some consider the current Baltimore Ravens and the pre-1995 Cleveland Browns organization as one continuous entity, using terms like "The Modell organization" or "Art Modell's Franchise" to denote it.[9] Officially, the National Football League, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens all consider the current Browns team to be a continuation of the team founded in 1946.[7]

1999–2004: Rejoining the NFL
Cleveland returned to the NFL in 1999 with high hopes and expectations, featuring deep-pocketed ownership in Al Lerner. The team's football operations appeared to be in solid hands in the form of president and CEO Carmen Policy and general manager Dwight Clark, both of whom had come from the San Francisco 49ers. Chris Palmer, former offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars, was hired as head coach. It was to be expected that the resurrected Browns would struggle at first, as for all practical purposes they were an expansion team. However, the Browns' first two seasons were awful even by expansion standards. 1999 saw the Browns start 0–7 en route to a 2–14 finish, the worst in franchise history. 2000 was slightly better, with a 3–13 finish—the lone highlight being the Browns' first home win in five years, against the Steelers on September 17. Compounding the fans' frustration was the Baltimore Ravens' win over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV that season. Though the Ravens were considered a "new franchise", the team still had players such as Matt Stover and Rob Burnett who had played for the Browns before the Modell move. Palmer was fired after the season and replaced by University of Miami coach Butch Davis. Under Davis the Browns became more competitive, finishing 7–9 in 2001, three games out of the playoffs. With the team apparently close to being a contender again, Clark was forced to resign after the season, and Davis was named general manager as well as coach. In 2002, the Browns finished 9–7, and thanks to multiple tiebreakers they made the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Facing Pittsburgh in the first round, the Browns led 33–21 with five minutes to go, but ultimately lost 36–33. The Browns did not sustain the momentum, finishing with double-digit losing records in 2003 and 2004. Davis resigned in December 2004 with the team shouldering a 3–8 record; Policy had resigned earlier in the year. Offensive Coordinator Terry Robiskie, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the 2004 season.

2005–present
Before the 2005 season began, Romeo Crennel, a one-time Browns assistant coach under Chris Palmer and, at the time, defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots, was named the Browns head coach. Despite the change, the 2005 and 2006 seasons saw the Browns losing trend continue. Prior to the Browns' final game of the 2005 NFL season, ESPN reported that team president John Collins was going to fire general manager Phil Savage. However, the resulting uproar from fans and local media was strong, and on January 3, 2006 Collins resigned instead. The role of team "President and CEO" was vacated, with owner Randy Lerner filling in as de facto CEO for the time being. In the 2007 season, the team saw a remarkable turnaround on the field. After opening the season with a 34–7 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns traded starting quarterback Charlie Frye to the Seattle Seahawks, with backup Derek Anderson assuming the starting role. In his first start, Anderson led the Browns to a 51–45 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, throwing five touchdown passes, which tied the franchise record. In this same game, alumni from Oregon State University combined for a total of nine touchdowns. The Browns finished the 2007 season 10–6, barely missing the playoffs on tie-breaker rules. Nevertheless, the 10–6 record was the team's best record since 1994. Six players earned Pro Bowl recognition, with Anderson starting for the AFC in place of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.[10] Coach Crennel agreed to a two-year contract extension.[11] The Browns entered the 2008 season with high expectations, and many pundits predicted the team would win the division.[12] The highlight of the season was an upset of the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. However, inconsistent play and key injuries led to a disappointing 4-12 record. The Browns used four starting quarterbacks: Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn and Ken Dorsey were lost to injury; the fourth, Bruce Gradkowski was hired mid-season. Ending with six straight losses, the Browns finished with two consecutive shutouts (a franchise first]) and 24 consecutive quarters without an offensive touchdown.[13] General Manager Phil Savage and Head Coach Romeo Crennel were subsequently fired.[14][15]