Newsletter: Steelers Game Firing Trend, and The Future Of The Running Back Room
The ugly trend in bad Browns seasons after late-season Steelers games, and looking at options to improve the Browns 2025 running back room.
With Thursday Night Football just around the corner, and the division-leading Steelers, I don’t think we can avoid a topic that is hovering. Coming off a disappointing showing in New Orleans the seats are getting more warm by the day and head coaching candidate buzz is starting to pick up.
After some quick research, the trend is definitely there. Between 2008 and 2018, the Browns fired six head coaches directly after games against the Pittsburgh Steelers:
Romeo Crennel: Dismissed after a 31–0 loss to the Steelers on December 28, 2008.
Eric Mangini: Let go following a 41–9 defeat to Pittsburgh on January 2, 2011.
Pat Shurmur: Fired after a 24–10 loss to the Steelers on December 30, 2012.
Rob Chudzinski: Released after a 20–7 loss to Pittsburgh on December 29, 2013.
Mike Pettine: Dismissed following a 28–12 loss to the Steelers on January 3, 2016.
Hue Jackson: Fired after a 33–18 loss to Pittsburgh on October 28, 2018.
You are reading that correctly. The Browns did fire a coach on three straight calendar years after late-season losses to the Steelers — technically three of four total seasons as Shurmur had two football seasons as the head coach.
Look, this could all be circumstantial, but the trend is alarming at best. Something about Jimmy Haslam’s past with the Steelers organization brings out his firing tendencies when they beat the Browns during the team’s worst moments.
Perhaps he has turned the corner on this trend and won’t pull the same stunt. Don’t forget the Browns do play the Steelers again on December 8th, but given this game will be on national television with a loaded crowd of Steelers fans, all the temptation will return for Haslam. I don’t like the vibe here at all.
Coming up, Cody Suek takes you through the future of the Browns running back room and his preference for how they go about fixing a position group that has disappointed in 2024.
The Cleveland Browns will soon find themselves in a bind that’s as familiar to fans as the chilly winter winds off of Lake Erie—needing to fill a crucial roster spot in the offseason. For the first time since 2018 (excluding injury), that roster spot will be at the running back position.
Ever since being selected with the number 35 overall selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, running back Nick Chubb has been among the best at the position. In fact, the veteran ranked in the top-5 in rushing yards over expected per attempt for each season from 2018 thru 2022 and has posted career marks of 3.89 yards after contact per attempt and a 15.4 percent explosive run rate. He has been remarkable for the orange and brown, but the knee injury suffered in 2023 and the wear and tear of his career thus far may cause the Browns to move on this offseason.
With Chubb playing on the final year of his contract (and doubts surrounding a possible extension) and fellow running back Jerome Ford under contract for one more season, the Browns face a dilemma: Who will step in to carry the load? It’s time to start scouting the next keeper of the Browns backfield that currently ranks 25th in EPA per rush and is getting stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage at the 5th-highest clip in the league.
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