In another attempt to get it right, the Cleveland Browns hired Pat Shurmur as their next head coach Thursday.
For those keeping track, Shurmur is the fifth coach since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999. The last coach to last more than four seasons was Bill Belichick, who managed to stay around five seasons before then-owner Art Modell fired him when the franchise moved to Baltimore after the 1995 season.
If anyone is convinced that Shurmur will end the turnstile that is the door of the coach's office, raise a hand. Nothing against Shurmur, who might finally be the long-term answer, but there's not much to know about him.
Shurmur has been in coaching for 23 years, but he's never been a head coach. No one knows if he can put together good game plans and make the proper game-day adjustments. His ability to handle clock management is another unknown.
All we know about Shurmur is that president Mike Holmgren and general manager Tom Heckert think he can breathe life into an offense that will probably have Colt McCoy at quarterback. If he can do that without the addition of more pieces on the line, in the backfield and among the receivers, he'll be an instant hit.
Holmgren is obviously sold on Shurmur. If he hadn't been, he would have stepped down from his second-floor office to assume the coaching reins.
Holmgren now seems settled into life away from the sideline. After hiring Heckert and other front-office personnel last year, Holmgren can sit back and see if he can be as successful a president as he was a coach at Green Bay and Seattle.
There might be more pressure on Holmgren than Shurmur. Shurmur, 45, doesn't have a legacy to worry about at this stage of his life. If it doesn't work out for him in Cleveland, there will always be an assistant's job available or perhaps another chance to be a head coach in the NFL, where second chances happen all the time.
Holmgren needs to show that he's more than a person that can make good things happen when he meshes Xs and Os in the west coast offense. He needs to prove that owner Randy Lerner didn't make a mistake when he handed over the keys of the operation to him last year.
There would be no better way for Holmgren to cap off his career than to make the Browns a consistent winner. That's why the decision to hire Shurmur is the most critical move Holmgren has made and probably will make during his time in Cleveland.
At a time when coaches often don't get more than two seasons to prove their worth, it's possible that Holmgren could hire another coach before his contract ends after the 2014 season, but he doesn't want that to happen. This is his big splash. It's his chance to etch his name among the great leaders in team history.
The Browns have lacked great leadership since the days when coach Marty Schottenheimer led them to the AFC Championship game in three of four seasons in the late 1980s. Because of his track record as a coach, Holmgren's arrival sent out a message that all will finally be well.
Holmgren was a high school history teacher long before becoming a coach in the NFL. One of his favorite subjects was the American Civil War. Asked once to name his favorite military commander, Holmgren thought for a few seconds before selecting Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.
Jackson met an unfortunate end to his life when he fell victim to friendly fire during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Holmgren can only hope that his decision to hire Shurmur doesn't backfire on him.