Cairns: Have Browns fans had enough of this yet?

BEREA, Ohio - Browns President Mike Holmgren addressed the Cleveland media on Thursday in a 73-minute "State of the Browns" season-ending news conference.

Holmgren asked Browns fans to be patient, reminding us that this team is in a rebuilding mode. How much more patience is left in this great football city of ours?

If Colt McCoy is not your franchise quarterback, then tell us all now. Don't expect Browns fans to hold their breath through another draft and then get all excited for training camp when the team decides to go in a different direction, but you know we will.

Holmgren said without saying, that the quarterback has to be able to throw the ball to players who are going to catch the ball, while also being protected a little bit. Translation: Receivers have to stop dropping passes and the offensive line needs an overhaul.

Tom Heckert also mentioned that the team would most likely not bring a free agent quarterback in. He added it's a little too early to commit to a quarterback in the draft without knowing who is coming out.

I know Robert Griffin III is coming out and I pick fourth. If he is there and all the scouts are right about his potential, then it's a no-brainer, right? Again, patience Browns fans. Yeah, riggggggght.

Is Pat Shurmur the right head coach for the Browns moving forward? Mike Holmgren thinks so. The rookie head coach should not have also held the title of offensive coordinator. That is way too much to put on any head coach's plate. Especially in a season that was shortened by a lockout.

The offensive staff looked overwhelmed at times, as Holmgren alluded to. Next season the team will have an offensive coordinator.

So Browns fans, now to the million-dollar question? How far are the Browns away from winning a Super Bowl? Holmgren referred to his Green Bay and Seattle experiences. In Green Bay, it took five years, but the Packers found the right quarterback in their first year.

That hasn't happened yet in Cleveland so does that mean add at least another two years? In Seattle, it took seven years because they didn't find the right quarterback until year three. Is anybody else seeing a pattern here besides me, it's the quarterback. Find the right one early and everything else falls into place.

What I love about Cleveland is the passion that sports fans have for their teams. Give them something to believe in and they will follow you like loyal dogs out on a nightly walk, wagging their tails all the way, but don't continue to test their resolve and their commitment.

In all the years I have lived here, Cleveland fans want to believe they have the chance to root for a winner. That's all any football fan could want, the chance root for a winner. We haven't had that chance in a long, long time, but yet we continue to believe, continue to sellout that stadium and give you everything we have until the last game in January.

I know the days of four and five win seasons is coming to an end. I just want the Browns to show me, not tell me, that that day is coming sooner then later.