| What were you thinking when the Ravens went through
their five-game touchdown drought? "I call that the Dust Bowl. And
I’d like to pay tribute to Brian Billick and our other team leaders. He was the glue
that held things together. There was no finger-pointing from defense to offense, nothing
like that."
Defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis might get a head-coaching opportunity after
the season. Do you expect Lewis to return to the Ravens next season?
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Marvin Lewis
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"I think he may go elsewhere. We did a seven-minute film of Marvin so he can show
it to prospective employers. I’m a great believer in succession in this league,
elevating coordinators to head coaches. It would be my pleasure to see him go elsewhere as
a head coach."
What sort of feelings do you still have about Cleveland, where you owned the
Browns for so long?
"I have great memories of Cleveland. After 35 years in that town, you don’t
just expunge it from your memory bank. We made a lot of friends who are still our friends.
A lot of friends stay in touch with us and come over to watch us play in Baltimore. I wish
everybody nothing but the best. They’re deserving of the best. I love the
institutions in Cleveland. I love the Cleveland Clinic. I served there for nine years as
its president. Pat Modell raised money and built the largest free-standing hospice
facility in the world. David Modell was president of the Diabetes Foundation. These are
things we’re proud of. Now we’re off in Baltimore doing the same things."
What sort of effect has the Ravens’ success had on Baltimore?
"Extraordinary. I’ve never seen anything like it in Cleveland or anywhere
else. It has brought the entire city together. There’s a spirit. There’s a
cohesiveness. Black-white, rich-poor, uptown-downtown-crosstown. It’s been
overwhelming, the response of the city of Baltimore to this team, and only good will come
out of that."
What are your thoughts about Sunday’s big game?
"I think it’s going to be a very tough, entertaining game. You don’t
entertain only by running up 65 points going up and down the field. We used to play that
on the streets of New York. No tackling, no blocking."
You have done a lot for the league over the years, but some of that is now
overshadowed by the franchise move from Cleveland to Baltimore. How would you like to be
remembered?
"As a man who tried to do his best. Fifty years from now on my tombstone, I want
it to say, "A man that tried his best.’ Not what I know will end up on the
tombstone: ‘Third and one.’’’
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