On Friday November 5, the Cleveland Browns released wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., with general manager Andrew Berry issuing a statement that read, in part, “We appreciate all his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we’ve just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell.”
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6 Consecutive Browns Head Coaches Were Fired After Losing to the Steelers
It’s not the first time that the Browns have separated from a head coach, general manager, coordinator or other significant component of their team in the wake of a loss to the Steelers. As noted by Neal Coolong, senior editor of NFL sites at USA Today, in the last 13 years the Browns have terminated six head coaches immediately after bowing to Pittsburgh.
1. Romeo Crennel was fired on 12/29/2008, the day after a 31-0 loss in the season-finale for both teams. The Browns finished that campaign 4-12 and Crennel finished with a 0-8 record against the Steelers.
2. Eric Mangini was let go on 1/3/2011, a day after Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 41-9 win, dropping Cleveland to 5-11.
3. Pat Shurmur was terminated on 12/31/2012 (along with general manager Tom Heckert), a day after losing to Big Ben & Co. at Heinz Field, 24-10.
4. Rob Chudzinski’s last day of employment as Browns head coach was 12/29/2013, capping a 4-12 season with a 20-7 loss to the Steelers at Heinz Field.
5. Mike Pettine was finished off on 1/3/16, the same day that Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes in a 28-12 victory, the final indignity of a 3-13 season. General manager Ray Farmer was also dismissed on the same day.
6. Last but not least, Hue Jackson was put out of his misery on 10/29/2018, the day after a 33-18 drubbing at the hands of the Steelers capped off a 3-36-1 run of futility. Browns offensive coordinator Todd Haley—who previously served in the same role for the Steelers—was fired at the same time.
More notably, still, Jackson was the sixth consecutive Browns head coach to be dismissed following a season’s second meeting with the Steelers, this according to Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. In all six instances, the Steelers were quarterbacked by Roethlisberger, who has punished Cleveland ever since it passed on him in the 2004 NFL Draft, selecting tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. (No. 6 overall) instead.
Ben Roethlisberger Has 24 Career Wins vs. the Browns
To date, Ben Roethlisberger has a 24-2-1 regular-season record against Cleveland, including a 12-0 mark at Heinz Field. For many years Roethlisberger remained the winningest quarterback in the history of FirstEnergy Stadium, which opened in 1999, five years before Big Ben was drafted.
It wasn’t until October 11, 2020, that Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield finally tied Roethlisberger by notching his 11th career home win. Mayfield finally eclipsed Roethlisberger’s record in November 2020, by beating the Houston Texans 10-7 on November 15, 2020.
The Steelers are scheduled to play the Browns again in Week 17 at Heinz Field, one week before Pittsburgh wraps up its 2021-22 regular-season schedule at Baltimore.
Beckham appeared in a total of 29 games for the Browns, during which time he caught 114 passes for 1,586 yards and seven touchdowns. He also had eight rushes for 96 yards and a touchdown.
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Odell Beckham Jr.’s Release the Latest Example of Steelers ‘Breaking’ the Browns