{"id":106560,"date":"2025-06-05T18:01:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/106560\/"},"modified":"2025-06-05T18:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:01:10","slug":"cleveland-browns-former-rb-leroy-hoard-on-bill-belichick-deshaun-watson-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/106560\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Browns: Former RB Leroy Hoard on Bill Belichick, Deshaun Watson, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cleveland Browns<\/a> of the 1990s are a bit of a forgotten team in the eyes of many fans.<\/p>\n

Caught between the playoff teams of the late 1980s and the expansion team of 1999, the Browns cycled through so many players under head coach Bill Belichick that it is easy to forget that Mark Rypien, Joe Morris, Mike Tomczak, Mark Bavaro, Everson Walls, Pepper Johnson, and Carl Banks all saw action with the Browns.<\/p>\n

Related: Where are your former Browns now? RB\/FB Leroy Hoard<\/a><\/p>\n

There is one name that stands out, and that is running back Leroy Hoard, a second-round selection by the Browns in the 1990 NFL Draft<\/a>. Hoard spent six seasons in Cleveland, rushing for 2,203 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also having a front-row seat as the playoff runs of the 1980s gave way to the team moving to Baltimore after the 1995 season.<\/p>\n

“You ain\u2019t going to break me. I would always say, ‘See me in the fourth quarter.'”<\/p>\n

The full transcript with Leroy Hoard (@BigMouthLeroy<\/a>) is posted at Go Long. On seeing dead bodies, snatching opponents’ souls, blasting through depression: https:\/\/t.co\/uiUEw2NGv8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) June 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Hoard was a recent guest on the Go Long Podcast<\/a> with Tyler Dunne to talk about his NFL career and his life since leaving the NFL. <\/p>\n

Here are some of the highlights relating to Hoard\u2019s time with the Browns.<\/p>\n

What it was like playing for head coach Bill Belichick:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask any player, you have never been more prepared to play a football game than you were when Bill Belichick was your coach. I promise you that. And so was he tough? Absolutely. Did he have the personality of an oyster? Absolutely. But as far as respect for what that man did and how he did it, and how some of the guys \u2014 when he was the coach at Cleveland \u2014 played the best football of their career, I ain\u2019t going to never say nothing bad about Bill Belichick ever, ever. Because he should have never got fired.\u201d<\/p>\n

What it was like after the news broke that owner Art Modell was moving the Browns to Baltimore for the 1996 season:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 everybody was there to boo Art Modell. They weren\u2019t there to cheer for the Browns. They wanted to go there and express their feelings about what was happening. And so we didn\u2019t finish the season off that well, and they fired Bill Belichick. Cleveland will forever be known as the team that fired a six-time Super Bowl<\/a> champ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: Two points need clarifying here. The first is that Baltimore fired Belichick. The second is that while the Browns started the 1995 season 3-1, they were already falling apart by the time the news broke that the team was moving. So while it could not have been easy for the players, Belichick was already messing things up and should not get a pass because of the move.<\/p>\n

Why the Browns should have been patient with quarterback Baker Mayfield:<\/p>\n

\u201c(Baker) had a contract that was up. He tried to play through the shoulder. He couldn\u2019t do it. And everybody just said he sucked. They didn\u2019t put any text context behind it. No, he sucks. So the Browns let him go. Now, I tell you what, I\u2019m going to be honest with you. If I was the Browns owner, you know what I would have right now, Baker Mayfield as my quarterback and $230 million in my pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

And about the deal for Deshaun Watson:<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery right decision that you\u2019ve made in your life did not work out. It happens in sports. Now, the only thing I would say about the Deshaun thing, OK, if you need a quarterback, you\u2019re not going to sign a quarterback that may get suspended for 10 games. You\u2019re throwing away a year. I don\u2019t care how good he is. That\u2019s the only problem I had with that. It wasn\u2019t resolved. You signed him to all that money and now you have a quarterback that hadn\u2019t played for two years\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoard goes into more, including his plans to be in London this fall when the Browns play the Minnesota Vikings<\/a>, his four seasons in Minnesota, growing up in New Orleans, and more on the move to Baltimore. <\/p>\n

It is well worth the time to give it a listen. <\/p>\n