It was important to us that we communicate directly with you regarding our decision to part ways with General Manager Ray Farmer and Head Coach Mike Pettine. We greatly appreciate Ray's and Mike's dedication and hard work while with the Cleveland Browns. We've made this difficult decision because we don't believe our football team and football operations were positioned well for the future.
We are all disappointed with where we are and clearly understand your frustrations. We take full responsibility and understand you expect better from us. Your support and loyalty to the Browns is beyond compare, and as the stewards of this franchise, we take the task of creating success to heart. We are confident we will build a winning football organization.
Our focus as we move forward is on finding strong, smart leaders with high character who are relentlessly driven to improve our football team, willing to look at every resource possible to improve, and who embrace collaboration to ultimately make the best decisions for the Cleveland Browns.
We will approach the search for our next football coach and executives to lead our football operations with a clear vision regarding what we need to do to build a successful organization. Along with strong leaders, we need to build out a strategic plan, stay disciplined to it, and develop the right systems and processes to make better decisions for short and long-term success. We will be methodical in looking at candidates that epitomize the values we have laid out. While we understand the inherent challenges that come with changes, we've learned valuable lessons during our past four years as owners that will help us make sure we provide our team the best people, leadership and resources to succeed.
Our family is deeply committed to bringing you the winning team you deserve while continuing to try and make a difference in the community.
We are excited for the new opportunities ahead of us and embrace the hard work that needs to be done.
Respectfully and gratefully yours,
Dee and Jimmy Haslam
Owners
