Believe me, I'm no Modell defender. One good thing that came out of all of it was that we got Modell out of Cleveland.
But in that "situation" with Paul Brown, one needs to really look behind the scenes at was going on when Modell initially took over. And IMHO, Brown deserved to be fired in 1962.
Yes, he was a great coach. One of the greatest. But he was losing it towards the end of his tenure in Cleveland.
The only problem was that Paul didn't like working
with anyone. Especially the owner(s).
Brown did it all, and wanted to do it all because he was an obsessive-compulsive control freak down to the very last detail.
The previous owner group allowed him to do his thing too because they not only respected him, but were also scared of the guy.
Modell came in and wanted to work
with Brown. He thought they could restore the Browns and make a great tandem. Art told Brown - you run the team, do your job as coach, and I'll handle the budget and marketing of the club.
That upset Brown who wasn't use to that. Owners were owners... never to be seen or heard from according to Paul Brown.
And he decided to do the "powerplay" thing that was intended to embarrass Modell and usurp his authority as owner.
And Paul Brown ended up losing. It wasn't something Modell wanted or planned to do.
Ask any of those former Brown players what they thought of Paul Brown the last 2-3 years he was with the team. They saw changes in the man, and a form of paranoia taking over that caused many to begin to really despise him and not want to play for him.
Change was inevitable.
Anyone that wants to read a really good book on this subject needs to get Terry Pluto's "When All The World Was Browns Town".