Things appear to be moving fast regarding the potential sale of the Cleveland Browns.
Just hours after owner Randy Lerner issued a statement confirming that he was in negotiations to sell the Browns to businessman Jimmy Haslam, team president Mike Holmgren said Friday that Lerner has in fact agreed to sell controlling interest of the team.
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Holmgren might be getting ahead of the planned release of the news. After all, there are a lot of details involved in a transaction this big, not the least of which is NFL approval of the sale. Still, Holmgren's public confirmation speaks volumes.
He said the team will not be moving out of Cleveland and he's unsure when the sale would be final.
"An unconditional guarantee was given that the Browns would not move before talks could even start," a source told The Plain-Dealer.
A report from WCAU-TV in Philadelphia indicated that former Eagles president Joe Banner is part of the group looking to buy the club. That report has not been confirmed, but Holmgren's response about his own future was telling.
"That will be answered down the road," Holmgren said. "You control the things you can control. I think we've done a lot of great things here in getting to this point, and we'll see."
ESPN Cleveland's Tony Grossi, who has been out front of this story all along, reports that Holmgren would likely be out in Cleveland once the sale is complete. Yep, the Browns could possibly be headed for yet another reboot from Holmgren on down.
