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Quick turn of events Lewis' interest in Bills may have cost him Browns job
Updated: Tuesday January 30, 2001 8:16 AM
The Browns were surprised by two events on Super Bowl Sunday. It had been their plan to interview Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis on Tuesday; he was clearly the club's first choice to replace Chris Palmer. But on Sunday the Browns' brass heard through media reports that Lewis was significantly more interested in the Buffalo job than the Cleveland opening. The Browns were determined not to again be bridesmaids in a coaching search -- Super Bowl-winning coach Brian Billick chose Baltimore over Cleveland's expansion job two years ago -- even though they weren't sure of the reports that said Lewis favored Buffalo. Coincidentally, on Sunday morning, agent Marvin Demoff, told the Browns that his client, Butch Davis, would like to rekindle his interest in coaching the team. Cleveland had sought to hire Davis in December, but the Browns were told in no uncertain terms that Davis preferred to re-sign with the University of Miami and were forced to look elsewhere in their hunt for a new coach. Davis apparently changed his mind over the weekend about his long-term future in Miami. He felt Cleveland provided him the best chance this year or next year for a highly-paid, deep-pocketed opportunity. Browns president Carmen Policy and Demoff negotiated through Sunday, reaching a tentative agreement Sunday night on a contract. Davis then resigned his position at Miami on Monday morning and flew to Cleveland to announce the deal this afternoon. In the end, the Browns felt they couldn't trust Ray Anderson, the agent for Lewis, when he said that Lewis had an open mind about both jobs. The one other x-factor, a source close to the deal told CNNSI.com Monday, was owner Al Lerner's refusal to be embarrassed by another coach again as he was with Billick in 1998. There is some feeling in the Cleveland organization that Lewis's mentor, Billick, and Baltimore owner Art Modell, whose ownership of the Browns ended ugly in 1995, both were urging Lewis to take the Buffalo job. This could not be confirmed Monday. What is certain is that Policy and Lerner felt that Lewis was not a sure thing to take their job. And when their original first choice, Davis, reemerged, "it was a slam dunk," said the source, to snub Lewis and to hire Davis. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN's NFL Preview. Click here to send a question to his NFL Mailbag.
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