Cleveland Browns: A Mangini Makeover

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

After 2007 brought the the Browns their first 10-win season in 13 years, expectations were exceedingly high heading into 2008. The team didn't change much, the core group of guys were back and they had a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. However, a quarterback carousel, a coach that never seemed to be the right fit and continued inconsistency on both ends led to a 4-12 season and a lot of "back to the drawing board" talk.

Eric Mangini is now the head honcho for the Browns and with that comes a lot of (warranted or not) expectations from the former Jets guru.
Free Agents: Mike Adams, S (UFA), Travis Daniels, CB (UFA), Andra Davis, LB (UFA), Darnell Dinkins, TE (UFA), Lennie Friedman, OL (UFA), Kris Griffin, LB (UFA), Daven Holly, CB (UFA), Sean Jones, S (UFA), Willie McGinest, LB (UFA), Seth McKinney, OL (UFA), Shantee Orr, LB (UFA), Jason Wright, RB (UFA), and Scott Young, OL (UFA).

Draft Picks: 1 (5), 2 (4), 4 (4), and 6 (4).

Needs

Linebacker: Two of Cleveland's four starting linebackers (McGinest and Davis) are unrestricted free agents, along with backup Orr, who helped fill holes when players needed a breather. The team will have to address this if they hope to keep their fairly respectable linebackers corps intact. Good news for Cleveland: There are a ton of guys available, so they need to either sign the guys they have or pick up some new additions, specifically young ones, to help this team grow in the next few years.

Wide Receiver: As much as people knocked Braylon Edwards this season for all the dropped passes, his partners on the other side of the field could be given just as much hell. B.E. lead the team in receiving yards (873) but the Browns didn't have another wideout pull in 200. Syndric Steptoe and Donte' Stallworth are good third options, but the Browns could use another bigger threat to help free up Edwards, who might be more comfortable closing his hands around the ball if knew it wasn't all up to him.

Running Back: Jamal Lewis had a decent year last year, but the man is nearing 30 and will need more help than Jerome Harrison. Derrick Ward mentioned the Browns as a possible landing spot, which seems reasonable since Ward had more yards than Lewis in New York with nearly 100 fewer carries. Giving Ward an opportunity to run all season for a squad like the Browns, who will focus on the ground game, could be a win-win for both parties.

Feuding Teammates

The frustration over a lost season boiled over in Cleveland. Browns quarterback Brady Quinn was reportedly punched in the face by teammate Shaun Smith, following a heated exchange of words in the team's locker room in late December. Click through to see more teammate feuds in sports history.

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Thomas Jones wasn't amused by Brett Favre's three-interception game in the regular-season finale. During a radio interview recently, the Jets rusher said Favre should have pulled himself out of the game.

Al Pereira, Getty Images

In the wake of a recent report that Terrell Owens was purposely sabotaging his situation in Dallas because of Tony Romo's relationship with tight end Jason Witten, left, a second report leaked out claiming that Owens and Witten had a heated exchange in the Cowboys locker room and had to be separated. Both Owens and Witten denied any such incident occurred.

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After Stephon Marbury of the Knicks reportedly refused to play in a game in November, Quentin Richardson said he no longer considered him a teammate. Marbury responded by saying his teammates "left him out for dead."

Darren Hauck, AP

Browns running back Jamal Lewis was fuming after Cleveland lost to the Broncos 34-30 on November 6. Lewis even took some not-so-thinly-veiled shots at his teammates, saying "This is the NFL, you can't call it quits until the game is over ... but it looks to me like some people called it quits before that."

Tom Hauck, Getty Images

As the Mariners' miserable season came to a close, a clubhouse insider reported that one particular player wanted to "knock out" Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle's highest profile player. "It got to a point early on when I thought they were going to get together and go after him," said the source.

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Apparently not everyone was a big fan of "Manny being Manny" in Beantown. According to former Red Sox teammate Curt Schilling, left, Manny Ramirez's "level of disrespect to teammates and people was unfathomable."

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Prince Fielder, center, had to be held down by teammates after a duguout altercation in August between him and pitcher Manny Parra. While the Brewers wouldn't say what caused the scuffle, the incident raised tensions in the Milwaukee clubhouse.

Al Behrman, AP

Rays teammates Dioner Navarro, left, and Matt Garza had a heated exchange on the mound during a loss to the Rangers in June. TV cameras later caught Navarro and Garza shoving each other in the dugout.

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Mets closer Billy Wagner, left, isn't afraid to point a finger when the going gets tough. After a loss against the Nationals, Wagner looked in the direction of Carlos Delgado's locker and lashed out with profanities.

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