Cleveland Browns Being Sold – Mike Holmgren Likely Out

Jim Haslam, current minority owner of the Pittsburgh Stealers, is in negotiations to buy the Cleveland Browns from Randy Lerner. From what I’m hearing, the deal seems close to done and should be presented to the league for approval as early as next week.

The biggest fallout from this is that Mike Holmgren, in his third year as the team’s president, is expected to be relieved of his duties by the new ownership. Former Eagle’s GM Joe Banner is deeply involved in the negociations, and is expected to be names the new president of the Browns after the sale in finalized.

This would be a big blow to Holmgren, who is in the 3rd year of a 5 year deal. He is trying to rebuild the Browns and turn them into a contender before he retires, and was expected to only have 1-2 more years left before that deadline. Holmgren will now likely enter retirement early, having never been able to remove the stigma of not being a good executive.

Knowing that Holmgren plans on retiring soon, I doubt another team will turn over their reigns to him. Team’s tend to look for at least a 5 year commitment.