[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

1/2/06

Savage not saying what new year brings

Monday, January 2, 2006

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>By Steve Doerschuk Repository sports writer


<TABLE style="MARGIN: 10px -3px 15px 5px; POSITION: relative" width=300 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>Related Stories
Defense does its job well

A final look at the game

Offense recovers just in time

In-depth on Sunday’s game

BROWNS SPOTLIGHT: Stability is key during offseason

A fresh start at season’s end

<HR align=left width="80%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
CLEVELAND - Phil Savage headed for the stadium parking lot with a small army of TV cameras in his wake.
“Good theater, huh?” Savage said as he walked away from Sunday’s 20-16 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
If you like mystery theater.
Asked if there will be an announcement within a few days as to whether he is staying with the Browns, Savage said, “I have no idea ... I’m the general manager of the Browns. I’m happy we won today.”
On Friday, Browns President John Collins appeared ready to part ways with Savage amid a dispute over office logistics.
According to sources familiar with that strange day:
n Savage indicated his brief run with the Browns was over and made preliminary moves to get his affairs in order. Head Coach Romeo Crennel regarded a Savage departure as unacceptable and said so to Collins and owner Randy Lerner.
n Lerner acknowledged the harm in losing Savage and alienating Crennel.
n In addition to pressure from Crennel, Lerner responded to a talk-show firestorm of fans enraged by the thought of losing Savage after less than a year on the job.
n The Browns’ — including Crennel’s — unwillingness to clarify Savage’s status left open the possibility that Savage will opt out or Collins’ role will change.
Collins said he, Savage, Crennel and Lerner emerged from a Friday night meeting having “renewed our vows.”
Browns players came away from their victory with varying views of the Savage situation.
Veteran Dennis Northcutt, who scored the go-ahead points on a punt-return touchdown, had the most detailed perspective.
“It’s not a bad thing,” he said. “I think when things are happening, things are happening for the positive. There’s nobody just sitting around and letting it be.
“Mr. Lerner and this organization are trying to do everything in (their) power to put together a team that can compete to the highest level. That’s all that matters. If that takes for me not to be here because that’s not the direction, so be it.
“If I’m dropping’ balls, ain’t nobody gonna sit back and just let me drop balls. They’re gonna go, ‘Hey, you better do something or you’re gonna be up outta here. That’s the kind of organization this is.
“I want to be a part of it.”
Would Northcutt, who just finished his sixth year in Cleveland, be upset if Savage left?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know Phil Savage like that. I mean, I just had him for one year.
“Hey, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. That’s part of the job, part of the business. One day we’re all gonna come and go.”
Daylon McCutcheon has played through the franchise’s hirings and firings since it came back in 1999.
“We can’t control anything that’s going on in the front office,” McCutcheon said. “That’s gonna get taken care of regardless of what we want.
“Romeo just told us, ‘Your job is to play football. Go play football.’ That’s what we did.”
Safety Sean Jones was a Round 2 draft pick of Butch Davis and was a 2005 backup with the new regime. What did he make of Friday’s turmoil?
“What happens up there happens up there,” he said. “I don’t have any input in that, and I never will. I leave that to Coach Crennel, Randy Lerner and those guys.”
Linebacker Andra Davis recently signed a five-year contract extension. His view of the Savage situation:
“Whatever Mr. Lerner thinks is right for this team, I’m all for it.” Reach Repository sports writer Steve Doerschuk at (330) 580-8347 or e-mail steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>