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He's the man Browns select Couch No. 1, start wheeling and dealing
Posted: Sunday April 18, 1999 09:24 PM
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Sleepless nights, fights at office water coolers and months of hand-wringing have all ended. No more questions. No more guessing, and no more waiting. The Browns made up their mind: Tim Couch is their man. Cleveland, which begins a new era in the NFL as an expansion team in 1999, selected Couch with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft Saturday. Couch only became the Browns' top pick after a strong workout last weekend and after his agent, Tom Condon of Cleveland-based IMG, had worked out a deal with the Browns early Saturday morning in a New York hotel. "I'm ready to get started," Couch said after arriving at the Browns' headquarters. "I can't wait to get the playbook." After getting Couch, the Browns got him a wide receiver, using the 32nd pick overall to take Syracuse's Kevin Johnson with the first pick in the second round. With their second pick in Round 2, Cleveland selected outside linebacker Rahim Abdullah from Clemson. Abdullah was issued three misdemeanors for a March 17 incident in Atlanta when a gun registered in his name was fired out of the sunroof of a car he was driving. Abdullah claims it was a case of mistaken identity and said he has sworn affidavits from a friend who says Abdullah did not shoot the handgun. 'It was my gun and my car,' Abdullah explained. 'I didn't do it, but the police officers said it was my gun and my car and someone had to go down for it.'Cleveland strengthened its defensive secondary in the third round, taking Southern Cal's Daylon McCutcheon, the son of former NFL All-Pro running back Lawrence McCutcheon, and California safety Marquis Smith. After acquiring fullback Marc Edwards in a trade with San Francisco and signing free-agent defensive end Derrick Alexander late Saturday, the Browns spent much of Sunday swapping and re-swapping late-round picks. In the fourth round, Cleveland took inside linebacker Wali Rainer from Virginia, and used its fifth-round pick on Darrin Chiaverini, a possession wideout from Colorado. The Browns were involved in a complicated three-team trade in the sixth round with Seattle and Chicago, which basically came down to Cleveland giving up three picks to get two back and move up in the round. Defensive tackle Marcus Spriggs, a 6-foot-4, 314-pounder who transferred from Ohio State to Troy State in 1996, was taken with the first pick in the round (174 overall), followed by Kendall Ogle, a linebacker from Maryland, and James Dearth, a tight end from Tarleton State who is also a long snapper. Cleveland, which started the draft with 13 picks and finished using 11, then gave up its two seventh-round picks, including the last one in the draft, to get back one of the selections it gave away -- No. 207 -- and took running back Madre Hill from Arkansas. After the Browns had completed the historic draft, its first in three years and first of a new era, football operations director Dwight Clark gave the team a B+ grade. "We filled some holes," he said. "But we've still got some things we need to do." The Browns, who also considered using the top pick on Oregon quarterback Akili Smith or Texas running back Ricky Williams, said they wouldn't pick a player unless they had an agreement with him before the draft began. Team president Carmen Policy said talks between Condon and Lal Heneghan, the Browns' contract expert, became "testy" Friday evening and at one point tempers flared before the bargaining session broke off for a few hours. "I normally don't carry a cell phone with me, but last night I did," said Policy, who remained in contact with Heneghan most of the night. Policy said it wasn't until 7:30 a.m. that the Browns and Condon had finalized the deal, a seven-year, $48 million package that included a $12.25 million signing bonus. "The most important thing about doing the contract is that it is done," he said. A classic pocket passer, who Palmer says doesn't get enough credit for his mobility, Couch was a first-team All-America last season after passing for 4,275 yards and 36 touchdowns. He passed for at least 300 yards and one TD in each game, and finished his career by throwing for 336 yards and two TDs in the Outback Bowl against Penn State. And now with his contract resolved, he and the Browns can begin a relationship they hope lasts well into the new millennium. "Now let's just play football," Couch said. "And do what got me here."
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