Consistent Cleveland Browns leadership should be main source of optimism for fans | Ulrich

BEREA — Joel Bitonio has been approached by Browns fans who confronted him with the ultimate pressure.

“I've had some older fans that are like, 'Oh, I remember I was 10 years old in 1964, and I've got to see one more [championship] before I pass away,'” Bitonio told the Beacon Journal on Sunday.

The longest-tenured Browns player on the 2024 roster, Bitonio wants to see Cleveland win its first Super Bowl as much as anyone.

“I'm going into year 11 here, so I feel like I'm part of the fan base,” said Bitonio , a six-time Pro Bowl left guard . “I'm rooting for the Browns for the rest of my life, no matter what happens.”

An estimated 1,600 Browns loyalists joined Bitonio and the rest of the team for the eighth practice of training camp , the first one open to fans this summer at the franchise's headquarters. The first seven practices were held at The Greenbrier in West Virginia.

Cheering children clad in orange Lou Groza Titans Youth Football jerseys formed a human tunnel for Browns players to walk through as they took the field.

As stretching began, guard Zak Zinter fulfilled rookie lineman duties by running toward the fan-filled bleachers and starting the ubiquitous “here we go Brownies” chant.

Optimism is warranted.

“We have the players here, we have the talent here, we have the coaching staff here to make a run as far as we want to go, as long as we put in the work,” said Bitonio, a second-round pick by the Browns in the 2014 draft.

Consistent leadership under coach Kevin Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry has redefined the Cleveland Browns

With a roster as talented as the one the Browns possess, they definitely should be viewed as a playoff-caliber team. After all, they have appeared in the playoffs twice in the last four seasons (2020 and 2023).

Whether they have a realistic path to reach the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans is another matter. An appearance would require quarterback Deshaun Watson to regain his Pro Bowl form circa 2018-20 with the Houston Texans.

Although not inconceivable, it's a stretch to believe Watson will do it coming off back-to-back Browns seasons defined by inconsistency, an 11-game suspension in 2022 tied to more than two dozen women accusing him of sexual misconduct or sexual assault during massage appointments and a season-ending injury and subsequent surgery in 2023 on his throwing shoulder.

“Continuity” and “stability” aren't fun words to shout in unison from the stands, but they're actually the main reasons fans should be positive about the Browns for the foreseeable future.

The contract extensions coach Kevin Stefanski and General Manager Andrew Berry received two months ago, plus owner Jimmy Haslam's publicly stated desire for chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta to remain a key organizational figure, are the greatest signs of the franchise's health.

In January 2020, Stefanski became the sixth full-time head coach and Berry the sixth head of football Jimmy and Dee Haslam hired since they bought the Browns in 2012.

Despite holding a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers before they purchased the Browns, the Haslams had no clue how to run an NFL club . After cycling through regime after regime, they leaned on DePodesta to guide the searches leading to the Stefanski and Berry hires.

Stefanski and Berry aren't perfect, yet they have proved in four-plus years on the job they are talented, intelligent and competent. They are also compatible with each another and willing to address issues when they emerge.

A lack of locker-room chemistry haunted the Browns in 2022, when they went 7-10. Stefanski and Berry responded by prioritizing team bonding the next year, with extended stays at The Greenbrier for training camp, in Philadelphia for joint practices and in Los Angeles for practices between two regular-season games out west.

Then, amid an absurd amount of significant injuries to key players, the Browns went 11-6 last season before their magical run with former Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco ended in a 45-14 wild-card loss to the Texans.

If the Deshaun Watson trade flops, Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry should not take the fall

Advancing deep into the postseason is obviously the next step, one Stefanski and Berry can and should have every opportunity to take regardless of whether the Watson era lasts as long as they originally envisioned.

Should Watson fail to turn around his individual performance — he has been up and down in this training camp — shipping away three first-round draft picks and more to the Texans and giving him a five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed contract in March 2022 will be called the worst trade in NFL history.

However, Browns ownership wanted the Watson deal, a massive swing in an attempt to upgrade from quarterback Baker Mayfield, and drove the decision to a substantial degree, even consulting the Haslams' daughters for approval in light of the off-field allegations stemming from Watson's time with the Texans.

Jimmy Haslam used to say the Browns were “directionally correct” when they clearly weren't. Stefanski and Berry have managed to make it a truism while everyone involved is still in wait-and-see mode with Watson.

“To keep the leadership in place, you have the same standards,” Bitonio said. “Everything's just a little bit more focused, a little easier.”

The Cleveland Browns finally have leaders who are secure enough to not constantly worry about their jobs and become distracted

Chaos reigned earlier Bitonio's career. The Browns went 3-13, 1-15 and 0-16 in his second, third and fourth NFL seasons. He and long snapper Charley Hughlett are the only remaining players from the infamous 1-31 stretch in 2016-17.

Were Browns fans angry and frustrated? Of course. Were many of them loyal anyway? You bet.

“Every Week 1, we'd drive in, me and [former Browns center] JC [Tretter], and I just remember seeing how packed the Muni Lot was, how packed the stadium was, how loud it was for that Week 1,” Bitonio said. “[The fans were] like, 'Hey, this team's going to win the Super Bowl.' I'm like, 'Did we have the talent to win the Super Bowl? Heck, no.' But the fans were passionate.”

Stefanski and Berry are secure with their standing in the organization. Proof came this offseason when they added a wildly popular and highly respected NFL figure as a coaching and personnel consultant: Akron-born Walsh Jesuit High School graduate Mike Vrabel .

More 2024 Cleveland Browns news: Za'Darius Smith vows to bring the sacks this year for defense along with the energy

It's a refreshing change from Browns bigwigs constantly looking over their shoulders.

“I think there was times when some of our coaches would ride that roller coaster of emotions,” Bitonio said. “They're reading the press clippings. They're reading everything. They're kind of worried about what outside noise is saying.

“We've had the continuity [recently], and we don't have to worry about that. We have the coaches here, we have everything here and it's easy for us to just kind of focus on the week ahead.”

What a difference.

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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Consistent Cleveland Browns leadership should be main source of optimism for fans | Ulrich