Each February, as New England competes for another Super Bowl and Cleveland searches for another coach, the NFL media propagates the myth that the abysmal Browns fired legendary Patriots head coach Bill Belichick 24 years ago.
The joke writes itself, but upon further review, it’s not entirely true.
“It was a very murky period in Browns history,” says Tony Grossi, beat reporter for The Plain Dealer in 1995 and now TheLandOnDemand.com. “Nobody was sure where the team would end up.”
When owner Art Modell announced a secret agreement to move the team to Baltimore Nov. 6, 1995, he had assured his players that Belichick would remain at the helm in Baltimore.
On Feb. 10, 1996, according to the Washington Post, a vote by the NFL owners had approved Modell’s move to Baltimore — as long as the colors and naming rights remained in Cleveland. That Washington Post article quoted Modell calling his team the “Baltimore Somethings,” and the Associated Press even referred to Modell as “owner of the Baltimore NFL franchise formerly known as the Cleveland Browns.”
But despite promises, the coach’s famously prickly attitude rubbed the PR-obsessed millionaire the wrong way. So on Feb. 14, 1996, Art Modell dumped Belichick over the phone. “The search for a new nickname can wait,” wrote the AP on Feb. 15, 1996.
“First, Art Modell needs to find a new coach.” “Art Modell’s football team fired Bill Belichick,” says Grossi.
Regardless of timeline and technicalities, this myth is rooted in a notion of what-could-have-been. But even if he weren’t fired, Belichick would have coached the Ravens, not the Browns.
“What happened in ’95 has nothing to do with what’s happening in 2019,” says Grossi. “But as long as the Browns continue to flounder, people will continue to believe these myths.”
Status: Busted
Read More: Click here to read the full list of 30 Myths That Define Cleveland
CLE Myths: Bill Belichick Fired
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