Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam III yesterday at the NFL owners' meeting "insisted he hasn't been begging his friend Peyton Manning to work for the organization" now that he is retired, according to Nate Ulrich of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Haslam said, "I have not talked to Peyton since before the Super Bowl." Haslam, Manning and their families "became close through their strong ties" to the Univ. of Tennessee. But Manning now "launching his next career in Cleveland doesn’t appear to be realistic." If Haslam "thought it were, logic says he would be communicating with Manning." The Browns "have the title of president available after parting with Alec Scheiner on March 4." Haslam shed some light on Scheiner's departure, saying that things "didn’t work out." Scheiner "oversaw the business side of the franchise but dabbled in football because he wanted more power." Haslam: “Alec has the ability and wants to have more capacity in the organization and that just simply wasn’t an opportunity he thought he would have here." He said that he would not name a replacement in the "short term." Meanwhile, Ulrich notes Haslam "pumped the brakes on potentially moving training camp to Columbus." Many thought the move "was inevitable because the Browns basically presented it as such." The team will "keep camp in Berea this summer, but it has negotiated with Columbus officials about moving future camps there." Haslam still seems "sold on the idea of moving camp eventually, citing a belief that it creates a good opportunity for the team to bond" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 3/23).
NOT SECOND-GUESSING: Haslam and his wife, Dee, yesterday said that they "do not feel the team enabled Johnny Manziel's behavior during his turbulent two years" with the Browns. Jimmy Haslam said, "You can second-guess whether you should have been tougher on discipline or not, etc. I've said before, we've all raised kids that have done things well and not so well. It just didn't work out" (ESPN.com, 3/22). Haslam also said that the team "looked into a buyback or trade" for Manziel jerseys. However, a team spokesperson said that it is "not going to happen" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 3/23).
