Former Cleveland Browns President Mike Holmgren said that if he were in head coach Rob Chudzinski's shoes, he would have quit after the team traded running back Trent Richardson.
"Philosophically, if I am the coach and someone came in anywhere and did that, I'd say 'OK, fire me, or I'm going to quit. Or we're going to both go into the owner and talk about this and the we'll see who's still standing,'" Holmgren said on Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle, via Cleveland.com.
Richardson, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, was dealt to the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday in exchange for a future first-round pick. Holmgren, who was let go by new Browns owner Jimmy Haslam III and replaced by new CEO Joe Banner, wondered aloud how the trade made the team better and called the deal "a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction."
Banner responded to Holmgren's criticism on ESPN Radio’s "Mike and Mike" show on Friday.
"Well you know Mike is entitled to his opinion. He ran the team for three years and was able to do what he believed in. It's our turn trying to do what we think is right. Obviously we wouldn't have done this if we agreed with those comments," Banner said. "I think the most important thing for me to say is, we don't do anything with Chud not right in the middle of every discussion, every evaluation. Every single time I got off the phone with Ryan Grigson I went down, reported to him where we’re at. He’s a very strong believer in where we’re at and where we’re headed and how this is going to help us. I think the most important thing is for people to realize that we're all on the same page. This was a collaborative decision that everybody in the organization, from the owner, myself, the head coach, everybody involved felt very strongly it was a good thing to do."