Cleveland (AP) - In the ends, the Browns decided to go old school, Norse Viking style. With former Vice President of Football Operations Mike Holmgren stepping down to spend more time with his family’s wild boar ranch, the Browns wasted no time in procuring the services of mercenary General Manager Vengeful Odin. Odin, who apparently truly believes he is a Norse God (right down to the drinking habit), has developed a somewhat mercurial reputation as a general manager, putting together rapid rebuilds in places like Cincinnati, Tampa Bay, and most recently Kansas City. His work with the Chiefs was considered among the best in the NFL, though injuries derailed a promising team before things could ever get started, with Kansas City finishing a disappointing 8-8. At his introductory press conference, Odin stated that Browns would be “evaluating the whole roster” before nothing that players like Joe Thomas and Joe Haden are “obviously pieces we’d like to build around.” When pressed on the matter of Colt McCoy, Odin had this to say: “Colt’s a great competitor, and obviously plays the position with a lot of moxie. We’re not handing him anything just yet, but he’s a good kid and a hard worker.” When pressed for his vision of the franchise, Odin mentioned one of the NFL’s all time greats, Jim Brown. “When Jim Brown was here this team had a certain mental toughness. I’d like to see us get back to that type of smash mouth mentality.” Odin remained non committal on how soon-to-be Free Agent Peyton Hillis would factor into the team’s future plans. With two first round draft picks, the Browns have a lot of ammunition for player acquisition. “This is a talent acquisition business” stated Odin, before going on to say “there’s several phases to acquisition – it’s not all about the NFL draft, but obviously, you have to like the flexibility those extra picks give us.” As for Free Agency, Odin famously (some would say infamously) got into a bidding war for Ryan Kahlil last offseason. Kahlil eventually signed with the Minnesota Vikings, receiving a hefty raise in the process. Can we expect a similar approach to this year’s free agency period? The answer, according to Odin, is a maybe, as he remained purposely non committal, before offering up this nugget: “Let’s just say that there’s a Kahlil out there we like quite a bit.” with a wry smile. Smokescreen? Ramblings of a madman? Who knows, except for Odin, and he’s not talking, at least not to us. All we know is things just got a lot more interesting in Cleveland.
