Holmgren sees hope despite tough year

Associated Press

BEREA

After more than an hour of tackling the Browns’ miserable season and stating he’ll stay with a plan to fix a franchise stuck in a perpetual losing pattern, team president Mike Holmgren delivered a message to Cleveland’s tortured fans.

Holmgren understands their pain, and he again asked for their patience.

One day, he promised, the Browns will prevail.

“We are driven,” Holmgren said. “We put pressure on ourselves to do the right things and get this thing going in the right direction. The next couple years are very important in determining how this is going to go. I’m a little upset with our record, but I’m not discouraged.

“There’s a lot of hope.”

Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert spent 70 minutes in front of the media on Thursday reviewing a 2011 season that ended like so many previous ones for the Browns, who went 4-12 in coach Pat Shurmur’s tumultuous first year and are the only team in the AFC North not in the playoffs.

The Browns’ top brass did little to clarify the team’s muddled quarterback situation with Colt McCoy or if they want to re-sign running back Peyton Hillis following his drama-filled season.

Holmgren said he’s “ticked off” by the losing and didn’t offer any excuses for a strange season in which he anticipated the Browns’ record being a lot closer to .500. And, just because the Browns had one of the league’s worst marks, Holmgren won’t do anything radical to change it.

“We’re going to stay the course,” he said. “We’re going to do it a certain way. I have an owner who supports us that way. He’s been a man of his word with me. He wants to do it. I’m going to do it this way, and that’s the difference. The growing pains are difficult.

“We know what we have to fix. But we’re not going to blow it up and start all over.”

The Browns have gone 9-23 — 1-11 in the division — since Holmgren was hired by owner Randy Lerner.

Holmgren was in a good mood and not as combative as he was during a news conference three weeks ago, when he chastised reporters while the Browns were being criticized and under NFL scrutiny for sending McCoy back into a game at Pittsburgh after he suffered a concussion.

Holmgren used the season-ending news conference to strongly support Shurmur, who came under fire for many moves this season.

“I have the utmost confidence in Pat to get this done,” Holmgren said.