Belichick Releases Kosar & The Aftermath of 1993

*Originally published on Suite101.com in 2010 as a 3-part series; revisions made pertaining to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and combining the 3 parts of the series into 1 article.

Quarterbacks Bernie Kosar’s and Vinny Testaverde’s careers crossed paths in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and Head Coach Bill Belichick.  Kosar had followed an exciting decade by quarterback Brian Sipe—the Browns’ all-time leading passer—and “The Kardiac Kids” by joining the team via unique circumstances and helping lead them to five consecutive NFL playoff appearances from 1985-1989.  Despite injuries and subpar seasons from 1990-1992, Kosar maintained the admiration and respect of teammates and fans.  

Under more traditional circumstances, Belichick would take over the team as a first time Head Coach in 1991.  Meanwhile, Testaverde would join Cleveland as a veteran backup in 1993.  The unpopular rookie coach stunned the Cleveland fan base by cutting the fan-favorite Kosar due to diminishing skills.  As a result, the 1993 NFL season became a transitional time for Kosar, Belichick, Testaverde, and the Cleveland Browns franchise. 

After Kosar’s departure, Testaverde became the Browns' primary quarterback and experienced more success as his career continued.  While Kosar quietly closed out his career away from Cleveland, the original Cleveland Browns franchise moved to Baltimore, becoming the Baltimore Ravens.  The Cleveland Browns eventually resurfaced as an expansion team, while Bill Belichick eventually resurfaced as a successful Head Coach for the New England Patriots. 

Browns Draft Bernie Kosar in 1985

Fate.  A stroke of luck.  A favorable ruling.  Whatever fans and members of the Cleveland Browns organization called it, Youngstown native Bernie Kosar—a lifetime Browns fan and winner of a college football National Championship at the University of Miami—found himself in a very unique situation in the spring of 1985.  Kosar had earned 1985 NFL drafting eligibility from Commissioner Pete Rozelle for finishing his undergraduate education early.  In fact, Kosar still had two years of NCAA football eligibility when he graduated from Miami. 

In addition to the traditional NFL Draft where teams could select players coming from college, an annual supplemental draft was created to help the NFL recruit additional players.  At the time, the United States Football League (USFL) had run its football season during the NFL offseason, recruiting a number of star college players away from the NFL.  However, a number of players seemed to migrate to the NFL after playing in the USFL.  Thus, the annual supplemental draft allowed players from the USFL, as well as players from the Canadian Football League and players not drafted in the main collegiate draft, to join the NFL. 

Both the Minnesota Vikings and the Browns had their eyes on drafting Kosar in 1985.  While the Vikings swung a trade to obtain the second pick in the 1985 NFL Draft, the Browns traded to obtain the first pick in the 1985 NFL Supplemental Draft.  Amidst confusion over when Kosar was officially ruled draft-eligible, Commissioner Rozelle gave Kosar the option to enter either draft.   Ultimately, Kosar skipped the traditional draft and joined his hometown Cleveland Browns as the first pick of the 1985 NFL Supplemental Draft.

Belichick and Testaverde Join the Browns

Success also brought Bill Belichick and Vinny Testaverde to Cleveland.  As Defensive Coordinator for the New York Giants, Belichick helped lead the Giants to two Super Bowl victories in two appearances.  This included the 1986 NFL Championship, in which the Giants defeated the Denver Broncos.  This victory immediately followed “The Drive”—the 1986 AFC Championship Game in which Quarterback John Elway began his Hall of Fame legacy, breaking the hearts of the Browns organization and its fans.  After winning two Super Bowls as a Defensive Coordinator, Belichick was majority owner Art Modell’s coveted selection to become Head Coach of the Browns. 

Two years later, Testaverde finished his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  He had been a respected teammate of Kosar at the University of Miami.  After Kosar had left for the NFL, Testaverde became the new starting quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes, winning the Heisman Award for his outstanding play during the 1986 NCAA Football season.  Then, Testaverde was selected as the first pick of the 1987 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay.  He experienced modest success for the struggling Buccaneers, as he managed to throw for more interceptions than touchdowns during his time there, including a disappointing 35 interceptions and only 13 touchdowns in his first year as the Buccaneers’ primary starter in 1988.  Still, Testaverde became a better NFL quarterback and was welcomed into the Cleveland Browns family by Belichick and Kosar.   

Diminishing Skills

Signing on as a free agent, Testaverde joined the Browns as a backup to the beloved Kosar.  To start the 1993 season, Kosar and the Browns went 2-0.  However, Kosar threw for 3 interceptions in Week 3, getting benched in favor of Testaverde.  Testaverde was a little bit better, throwing for 1 touchdown and only 1 interception in the Week 3 victory.  However, the team would lose in their next two games, with Kosar again getting benched in favor of Testaverde. 

With the benching of Kosar in three consecutive games, Coach Belichick had opened up a quarterback competition between Kosar and Testaverde.  The quarterback controversy was confusing to Browns fans, as Kosar remained a fan favorite and one of the leaders of the team.  Yet, Testaverde took over as the starting quarterback in the sixth game of the season, leading the Browns to wins over the division rival Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers in back-to-back weeks.  Cleveland now stood at 5-2, but Testaverde was injured in Week 7, leading Belichick to reluctantly name Kosar as the starting quarterback again. 

Former Browns Head Coach Marty Schottenheimer, who was suspicious of Belichick’s handling of Kosar and other players from the 1985-1989 Browns teams, reportedly called Kosar with the warning that the return to the starting lineup could be short-lived.  In fact, Kosar’s showdown with John Elway and the Broncos in the eighth game of the 1993 season was his final game with the Browns.  Cleveland continued to struggle, with Kosar taking the blame for the offense’s problems.  Yet, Kosar’s teammates still trusted him.  For his final touchdown pass, he and wide receiver Michael Jackson drew up a play as an audible to the play called by Coach Belichick.  

Apparently neither Belichick nor Art Modell could handle Kosar’s imposing presence in the Browns locker room any longer.  Coach Belichick quickly and surprisingly cut Kosar from the roster, citing Kosar’s “diminishing skills”.  True, Kosar had been sacked 21 times in 7 games—four of which Kosar played limited minutes.  Yet, despite not suffering as many sacks, Testaverde’s play had only been modest at best, and Testaverde was still out with an injury.  Regardless, Belichick got rid of Kosar, who was (and remains) one of the most popular players in Cleveland Browns franchise history. 

Cowboys Win Super Bowl, Browns Fail to Make Playoffs

The Browns took the field in game 9 against the Seattle Seahawks with Todd Philcox at quarterback.  The team was clearly shaken up by the loss of Kosar, losing an ugly game 22-5 to the .500 Seahawks.  Philcox tried his best to keep the Browns in playoff contention, throwing for 316 yards in a loss to the Houston Oilers and then throwing for 1 touchdown and also running for 1 touchdown in a close loss to the Atlanta Falcons.  During a victory over the New Orleans Saints, Testaverde reclaimed the quarterback position from Philcox, with both helping the Browns to a victory.  Testaverde finished the 1993 season with 14 touchdowns and 9 interceptions—which was the first time in his career in which he threw for more touchdowns than interceptions.  However, the Browns finished at 7-9 and did not make the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, Kosar joined the defending champion Dallas Cowboys and Jimmy Johnson—who was a coach of Kosar’s at the University of Miami.  Kosar graciously accepted a backup quarterback role to Troy Aikman.  Kosar stepped in when Aikman got hurt that year, including during the 1993 NFC Championship Game.  As the Cowboys closed out their second consecutive Super Bowl victory, Coach Johnson gave the backup Kosar the satisfaction of ending the game with the football in his possession—Kosar knelt down for the final play of Super Bowl XXVIII.    

Testaverde and Kosar Close Out Careers

To Vinny Testaverde’s credit, the Cleveland Browns made the playoffs in 1994.  His stats were again modest, with 16 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.  After 1995, majority owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore, where they became the Baltimore Ravens.  Testaverde had his first Pro Bowl season there, throwing for a career-high 4,177 yards and 33 touchdowns in 1996.  After two losing seasons in Baltimore in 1996 and 1997, Testaverde became the starting quarterback for a successful run by the New York Jets, again making the Pro Bowl in 1998.  As a respected veteran quarterback, Testaverde went on to play for a total of 21 seasons.

Bernie Kosar had a more modest run after leaving Cleveland.  “Diminishing skills” might not have been a fair assessment, but Kosar’s career was definitely hampered by injuries.  Kosar networked with another Miami friend—this time Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino—and signed on as the Dolphins' backup quarterback for the final 3 years of his 12-year career.  He rejoined the Cleveland Browns franchise during the ‘Expansion Era’ in an advisory role.  Along with Brian Sipe and Otto Graham, Kosar remains one of the standards to which every Browns quarterback is measured.     

New York Jets Assistant Coach and New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick

Somewhat surprisingly, Bill Belichick did not make the move with the old Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.  After getting relieved of his duties as Head Coach and administrator, Belichick rejoined Bill Parcells, working with Parcells for the New England Patriots and New York Jets.  Despite being named the Head Coach of the Jets after Parcells stepped down—with quarterback Vinny Testaverde ready to return from injury, nonetheless—Belichick quickly stepped down to accept the Head Coach position with the Patriots.  Belichick has gone on to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 appearances, going 16-0 during the 2007 NFL regular season and losing in the Super Bowl to his former team, the Giants.  Belichick is now the winningest Head Coach in New England Patriots franchise history. 

  

Cleveland Browns Management and Quarterback Controversies

Unfortunately, shorter administrative stints and quarterback controversies remain the trend in Cleveland.  After overall failed tenures by Chris Palmer and Butch Davis, the team turned to the influences of the Baltimore Ravens and Bill Belichick, hiring such personnel as Phil Savage, George Kokinis, Romeo Crennel, and Eric Mangini.  Crennel and Savage managed to have about as much modest success as Chris Palmer, Dwight Clark, Carmen Policy, Butch Davis, and Pete Garcia had during their tenures before being replaced by Kokinis and Mangini.  Kokinis was ousted after less than a season, with organizational restructuring leading to the hire of the highly successful Mike Holmgren.  After majority owner Al Lerner—one of the Cleveland Browns’ minority owners under Art Modell—passed away during the 2002 NFL playoff run, son Randy Lerner took over majority ownership of the team. 

Meanwhile, quarterback Tim Couch—drafted into the role of franchise quarterback in 1999—took the starting quarterback job in only his second career game.  Despite his role in helping lead the 2002 team into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, his success was overshadowed by a quarterback controversy with system quarterback Kelly Holcomb, who in his own right had a decent amount of success while with the Browns.  Other quarterback controversies have included players such as Jeff Garcia, Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, and Brady Quinn—but none were able to help lead the Browns back to the playoffs.  In fact, Derek Anderson went 10-5 as the starter in the Browns' only other winning season during the 'Expansion Era'—a 10-6 mark. 

The Expansion Era Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens

While the ‘Expansion Era’ Cleveland Browns have had two winning seasons and one playoff appearance in 10+ seasons, the Baltimore Ravens have had seven winning seasons, six playoff appearances, and one Super Bowl victory in 14+ seasons.  Art Modell and Bill Belichick seem to have experienced a good amount of luck and have achieved a good amount of success since leaving Cleveland, while Cleveland’s best stroke of luck since getting Bernie Kosar in 1985 has been getting the new Cleveland Browns up and running in 1999. 

As Kosar and Belichick have patched things up and now consider each other friends, Kosar also finally spoke with Modell for the first time since getting released from the Browns in 1993.  Despite these reconciliations, the Cleveland Browns franchise continues to struggle to maintain its level of excitement and success experienced during the days of Sam Rutigliano, Marty Schottenheimer, Brian Sipe, Ozzie Newsome, Bernie Kosar, and others.  Instead, the turmoil experienced during the 1993 NFL season appears to serve as the blueprints for each Cleveland Browns season during the ‘Expansion Era’.  

Sources:

Cabot, Mary Kay.  “Browns Take Day Off: Cleveland No Match for Broncos.”  The Plain Dealer.  November 7, 1993.  From Cleveland.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

Cabot, Mary Kay.  “Listless in Seattle; Flawless in Dallas: Seven Turnovers, Ineffective Philcox, Lead to 22-5 Defeat.”  The Plain Dealer.  November 14, 1993.  From Cleveland.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

Cole, Jason.  “Dolphins And Kosar Move Toward A Deal.”  Orlando Sentinel.  April 13, 1994.  From OrlandoSentinel.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

Graham, Tim.  “Remembering how useful the USFL was to Buffalo.”  October 21, 2009.  ESPN.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

Knight, Jonathan.  Sundays in the Pound: The Heroics and Heartbreak of the 1985-89 Cleveland Browns.  Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 2006.

Mortensen, Chris.  “Belichick’s people skills may have let him down.”  The Sporting News.  November 22, 1993.  From FindArticles.com (BNet.com).  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

NCAA.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

Pluto, Terry.  “In second half of his life, former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar begins a comeback.”  August 14, 2010.  Cleveland.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

Pro-Football-Reference.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010. 

Zeman, Ned.  “The Last Straw: The Browns' cold-fish coach, Bill Belichick, is unpopular in Cleveland, where he did the unthinkable—he cut Bernie Kosar.”  Sports Illustrated.  November 22, 1993.  From SI.com.  Accessed October 10, 2010.