NFL Owners: The 5 worst in professional football

3. Jimmy Haslam, Cleveland Browns

Jimmy Haslam took over the sadness factory known as the Cleveland Browns in 2012, and it has only become even more sad since then. After 14 games in the 2015 season, Cleveland has a total of three wins, as they threaten to hit a new low under the reign of Haslam.

His first season saw the team net just five wins, followed by only four wins in 2013. The next season showed some hope as quarterback Brian Hoyer helped the team look competitive as they went 7-9. Of course, Hoyer was let go and the team signed journeyman Josh McCown to be their ill-equipped starter.

The problems for Cleveland don’t start at the quarterback spot though, they start with the owner. When Haslam came on board in 2012, he let go of general manager Tom Heckert and hired Michael Lombardi. He allowed Lombardi  just one season and fired him in 2014, in favor of Ray Farmer.

Farmer was an excellent choice as he has only been suspended once by the NFL for violating the rules. The executive was suspended four games as he was actually texting coaches on the sideline during the game, probably suggesting plays or asking what was for dinner after the game. Either way, that’s an NFL no-no.

Haslam didn’t just show a quick trigger finger with the management personnel, but also with coaches. The Browns hired Rob Chudzinski as their head coach in January of 2013, and he led the awful roster to a 4-12 record. There was a small glimmer of hope, as the team looked competent with Hoyer at quarterback and Chud at coach, until a torn ACL ended the Ohio-native’s season early.

So naturally Chudzinski was fired in December of 2013 at season’s end. Yes, he was hired in January, fired in December. That means the coach they believed in was gone without completing a full calendar year.

Haslam and company have since hired Mike Pettine, who seems ill-equipped to run a football team, or decide on a quarterback.

The team drafted Johnny Manziel in 2014 with one of their two first round picks, the first being the bust of a corner Justin Gilbert. Pettine refused to play Manziel all season until injuries forced his hand. The rookie gave them some spark, but Pettine seemed reluctant to use him again.

The game of chicken continued into 2015, as Pettine refused to use Manziel all season long, in favor of the incredibly overrated and ineffective Josh McCown. The coach seems as if he is holding a grudge against Johnny for holding a bottle of champagne and rapping during his week off. Funny, because New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski gets endorsements for such behavior.

The most ironic part of the team trying to teach Manziel to be a perfect citizen is the fact that their owner is shady as anyone in the league. In 2014, Flying J, a company owned by Haslam, was forced to pay a $92 million fine due to cheating customers out of rebates and discounts they were promised.

The NFL gave the great city of Cleveland a second chance at a franchise after Art Modell took the franchise to Baltimore. Haslam is doing all he can to test the loyalty of those fans while also trying to make the league regret doing the right thing by bringing the Browns back.

Next: Number 2