TWO VIEWS OF BELICHICK'S BROWNS: An Eagles coach and a starter from two Browns teams nearly reaching Super Bowls take different views on if it could have worked with Bill Belichick had Art Modell not hit the nuke button

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.  To use a figure of speech, Clevelander Bob Golic "loved him some Martyball."

Golic was a young veteran when he joined the Browns in 1982 with Marty Schottenheimer as his defensive coordinator. Golic was an established nose tackle when Schottenheimer was head coach of the 1986 and 1987 Browns who nearly reached Super Bowls.

"I loved Marty," Golic said Friday amid Super Bowl clamor at the Mall of America. "He wore his emotions on his sleeve, and I was that kind of player. He was a perfect match for me.

"It would have taken him getting to the Super Bowl with the Browns and then maybe getting some championships after he left for Kansas City for him to make the Hall of Fame. But Marty was a great coach."

Schottenheimer never would have been pushed out by Art Modell had he survived "The Drive" in the '86 AFC title game and won a Super Bowl.

"That's right," Golic said when he thought about it. "That's right."

Golic left the Browns when Schottenheimer did, after a playoff year in 1988. He played his final four years with the Raiders, including a game against a Browns team that had been taken over by Belichick.

A visitor from Ohio told Golic he disliked the Belichick era, even before it turned completely sour with the announcement of a move to Baltimore.

"Nobody liked it," Golic said. "I think Bill was just developing his personality at the time. He didn't have a good rapport with the players. The media hated him. Fans didn't like him just because of the way he came across.

"Obviously, he was able to hone that over the years."

Golic was a big Browns fan during his time as a player for Cleveland St. Joseph and Notre Dame and even after he went pro, playing at first for the Patriots.

On a cold day in Minnesota, he laughed about one of the coldest games ever played in the NFL, the infamous "Red Right 88" game in which the Browns fell to the Raiders on a last-second interception.

"I went to that game," Golic said. "I was playing with the Patriots, but the season was over ... we went 2-14. I was living in Cleveland.

"I went to the stadium and was sitting in what came to be known as the Dawg Pound. We watched everything until halftime when I realized, holy crap, my hot chocolate froze. I'm getting the hell out of here and watching on TV."

Belichick is staying in a Marriott near where Golic was hanging out on radio row Friday. There are enough people in town to be happy for Belichick and all of his Super Bowls.

Golic is still an Ohioan, living in Solon, suffering along with everyone who still cares Cleveland Browns.

"Oh, Lord ... watching it this year ... the 0-16 ... it was just crushing," he said.

What's the old saying? You can laugh or you can cry?

"The only way to go is up," Golic said with a parting grin.

Reach Steve at 330-580-8347 or

steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP