Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren says he's disappointed and frustrated with the team's lousy season, but he pledged to stick with his plan to rebuild the franchise.
Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert met with the media for more than an hour Thursday and both pledged to "stay the course" with the Browns, who went 4-12 and are the only AFC North team not in the playoffs. Holmgren said he would steer clear of a "quick fix" and will not "blow it up and start it all over."
Holmgren expected the Browns to be closer to .500 this season and expects them to "be better" in 2012.
Holmgren praised quarterback Colt McCoy and believes he will get better, but he would not go as far as to guarantee him a starting job next season.
"He can be (the guy), but I'm not ready to say that yet," Holmgren said of McCoy via The Plain Dealer. "He played young at times. Was I pleased? Yeah, at a lot of the stuff he did. My opinion of Colt has not changed. He has a lot of the intangibles.
"Ultimately though the quarterback is judged on how well your team did. I'm not ready to anoint Colt yet. Do I love him? Yes I do. We have three good quarterbacks on our team now."
McCoy went 4-9 before missing the final three games with a concussion.
Holmgren also backed away from past comments about not wanting a quarterback competition.
"Sometimes circumstances dictate that," he said via the newspaper. "Last year the job was his. Competition will take place, but the decision I think probably will come earlier.
"We'll probably bring in a new quarterback every year. This year will be no different."
Holmgren said he's committed to first-year coach Pat Shurmur.
"I've got a lot of faith in him. He's good at what he does," Holmgren said of Shurmur, via The Plain Dealer. "We have a good coach and a good coaching staff and good young players. We are not opposed to doing anything, but we are going to stay the course."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
