2/9/11 PRESS CONFERENCE OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS Mike Holmgren, President: “Thank you all very much for coming. We all know why we’re here. Tractor Traylor, our previous General Manager, has accepted a job in the same capacity with the New York Jets. We’re disappointed to see him go. We wish him the best. “In accordance with our organizational plan, we’ve moved quickly to fill the void left by Tractor Traylor. Now, those are big shoes to fill, but we believe we have our man. At this time, on behalf of the owner, Mr. Randy Lerner, I’d like to introduce the new General Manager of the Cleveland Browns, Desides.” Desides: “Thank you, Mike, and thank you all for being here today. I just have a brief statement, and then we’ll open it up for questions. “The Cleveland Browns are a strong franchise. A proud franchise. A historic franchise. This is the city of Paul Brown, of Otto Graham, and of Jim Brown. This is the city of Ozzie Newsome, of Len Ford, and of Mike McCormack. Gene Hickerson, Leroy Kelly, Frank Gatski. I can go on, but the point is clear. The Browns have a rich history of not just winning, but of excellence. That history didn’t leave one day a decade ago. It stayed here. And we’re going to bring it back. "I haven’t had time to talk to the players yet, so I’ll say it here, and hopefully some of them are watching: the crap that has passed for football here since 2002 won’t be tolerated any longer. The process of remaking the roster began before I got here, but I’m going to finish it. If you can’t live up to the legacy of this organization, I’m going to ship your *** out and find someone who can. The Cleveland Browns are open for business. "And with that, I’ll answer some questions.” Q: You say that you’re going to ship people out. Who specifically? A: Anyone who hasn’t lived up to their promise. I can think of two or three guys off the top of my head, and Browns fans know exactly who I’m talking about. Q: What are some of your priority positions to address going forward? A: Everything, from quarterback to long snapper. We have some good players, and we have a lot of bad players, and the bad players are letting the good players down. Every position needs to be upgraded. I’m willing to move some of the good players if it means getting rid of all the bad players. Q: Does that mean you’re willing to trade Peyton Hillis? A: You said that, not me. Peyton showed a lot last season. Q: Will you re-sign impending free agents D’Qwell Jackson or Matt Roth? A: I’m still watching tape, so I can’t answer that. But my impression is they work well within the defense and are very talented individuals. Q: What is your response to allegations that your hire came with a recommendation from Bill Parcells in order to get you away from the Miami Dolphins franchise? A: Bill would know a lot about leaving franchises, wouldn’t he? END TRANSCRIPT
