2001 Cleveland Browns season

2001 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Butch Davis
General manager	Dwight Clark
Home field	Cleveland Browns Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	T-3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Jamir Miller

The 2001 season was the Cleveland Browns' 53rd as a professional sports franchise, their 49th as a member of the National Football League, and the first season under head coach Butch Davis.

Offseason

2001 NFL Draft

2001 Cleveland Browns Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	3	Gerard Warren	Defensive tackle	Florida
2	33	Quincy Morgan	Wide Receiver	Kansas State
3	65	James Jackson	Running back	Miami
4	97	Anthony Henry	Defensive back	South Florida
5	134	Jeremiah Pharms	Linebacker	Washington
6	165	Michael Jameson	Defensive back	Texas A&M
7	203	Paul Zukauskas	Offensive Lineman	Boston College
7	245	Andre King	Wide Receiver	Miami

Personnel

2001 Cleveland Browns staff
	Front office Owner and Chairman – Alfred Lerner President and Chief Executive Officer – Carmen Policy Executive Vice President/Director of Football Operations – Dwight Clark Executive Director of Player Personnel – Joe Collins Director of College Personnel – Phil Neri Director of Pro Personnel – Keith Kidd Head coaches Head Coach – Butch Davis Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bruce Arians Quarterbacks – Carl Smith Running Backs – Todd McNair Wide Receivers – Terry Robiskie Tight Ends – Steve Hagen Offensive Line – Larry Zierlein Assistant Offensive Line – Mike Sullivan			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Foge Fazio Defensive Line – Ray Hamilton Linebackers – Keith Butler Secondary – Chuck Pagano Defensive Nickel Package – Todd Bowles Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Jerry Rosburg Strength and conditioning Head Strength and Conditioning – Tim Jorgensen Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Rob Phillips

Roster

2001 Cleveland Browns final roster
	Quarterbacks 2 Tim Couch 10 Kelly Holcomb 12 Josh Booty Running backs 42 Carl Fair 34 Benjamin Gay KR 44 Mike Sellers FB 30 Jamel White Wide receivers 88 JaJuan Dawson 85 Kevin Johnson WR/PR 84 Andre King 81 Quincy Morgan 86 Dennis Northcutt PR Tight ends 48 Rodrick Monroe TE/FB 89 Jake Moreland TE/FB 87 O.J. Santiago 80 Aaron Shea TE/FB		Offensive linemen 63 Brad Bedell G 69 Roger Chanoine T 66 Jeremy McKinney G 73 Toby Myles T 60 Shaun O'Hara C 72 Roman Oben T 77 Ross Verba G 64 Dave Wohlabaugh C 62 Paul Zukauskas T Defensive linemen 74 Felipe Claybrooks DE 73 Derrick Ham DE 97 Ryan Kuehl DT/LS 70 Alvin McKinley DT 78 Tyrone Rogers DT 99 Orpheus Roye DT 93 Mark Smith DT 96 Greg Spires DE 94 Gerard Warren DT		Linebackers 52 Brant Boyer 55 Anthony Denman 95 Jamir Miller 50 Barry Minter 58 Wali Rainer 57 Dwayne Rudd 54 Tarek Saleh Defensive backs 36 Chris Akins 23 Devin Bush FS 26 Dyshod Carter 43 Percy Ellsworth FS 24 Corey Fuller CB 37 Anthony Henry CB 31 Raymond Jackson CB 20 Earl Little SS 33 Daylon McCutcheon CB 38 Earthwind Moreland 21 Marquis Smith FS Special teams 4 Phil Dawson K 17 Chris Gardocki P		Reserve lists 92 Courtney Brown DE (IR) 29 James Jackson RB (IR) 83 Mark Campbell TE (IR) 27 Lamar Chapman CB (IR) 82 Rickey Dudley TE (IR) 89 Jammi German WR (IR) 22 Michael Jameson FS (IR) 67 Tre' Johnson G (IR) 51 Lenoy Jones LB (IR) 90 Keith McKenzie DE (IR) Practice squad 18 Bobby Brown WR 49 Chris Eitzmann TE 71 Gaylon Hyder DL 68 Gannon Shepherd T Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Bottlegate incident

Main article: Bottlegate

The most notable game from the 2001 Cleveland Browns season came on a December 16 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in what became known as "Bottlegate". The Browns were driving toward the east end zone for what would have been the winning score. A controversial call on fourth down gave the Jaguars the ball. Browns' receiver Quincy Morgan had caught a pass for a first down on 4th and 1. After Tim Couch spiked the ball on the next play, referee Terry McAulay reviewed Morgan's catch, claiming that the replay officials had buzzed him before Couch spiked the ball. (NFL Rules state that once the next play is started, the officials cannot under any circumstances review any previous plays.) Upon reviewing the play, McAulay determined that Morgan never had control of the ball, thus the pass was incomplete, and the Jaguars were awarded the ball. Fans in the Dawg Pound began throwing plastic beer bottles and other objects on the field. McAulay declared the game over and sent the teams to the locker rooms. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue then called to override the referee's decision, sending the players back onto the field, where the Jaguars ran out the last seconds under a hail of debris.

After the game, McAulay clarified that they first reviewed whether or not the electronic pager had buzzed before Couch had spiked the ball. In a discussion with the Replay Official, Bill Reynolds, it was determined that Reynolds buzzed down before the spike. After the game was called, Tagliabue called NFL Supervisor Dick McKenzie and informed him that the game had to be finished to completion. Neither McAulay nor Reynolds suggested to Tagliabue that the game should be called, which was within the power of the Commissioner's Office. Davis would later comment that he was told that the buzzer went off at the same time as the snap. Couch had initially believed that the officials were going to penalize the Browns for intentional grounding for Couch faking a spike before spiking it, but was then told that the spike was legal. The referees then began discussing the play prior to the spike. President and Chief Executive Officer Carmen Policy refused to criticize the actions of the fans and the decisions of the officiating crew.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV	Time (ET)	Attendance
1	September 9	Seattle Seahawks	L 9–6	CBS	1:00pm	72,318
2	September 23	Detroit Lions	W 24–14	FOX	1:00pm	73,168
3	September 30	at Jacksonville Jaguars	W 23–14	CBS	4:15pm	57,875
4	October 7	San Diego Chargers	W 20–16	CBS	1:00pm	73,018
5	October 14	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 24–14	CBS	1:00pm	64,217
6	October 21	Baltimore Ravens	W 24–14	CBS	1:00pm	72,818
7	Bye
8	November 4	at Chicago Bears	L 27–21 (OT)	CBS	4:15pm	66,944
9	November 11	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 15–12 (OT)	CBS	1:00pm	73,218
10	November 18	at Baltimore Ravens	W 27–17	CBS	1:00pm	69,353
11	November 25	Cincinnati Bengals	W 18–0	CBS	1:00pm	72,918
12	December 2	Tennessee Titans	L 31–15	CBS	1:00pm	72,818
13	December 9	at New England Patriots	L 27–16	CBS	1:00pm	60,292
14	December 16	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 15–10	CBS	1:00pm	72,818
15	December 23	at Green Bay Packers	L 30–7	CBS	4:15pm	59,824
16	December 30	at Tennessee Titans	W 41–38	CBS	1:00pm	68,798
17	January 6	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 28–7	CBS	1:00pm	59,189

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) Pittsburgh Steelers	13	3	0	.813	352	212	W1
(5) Baltimore Ravens	10	6	0	.625	303	265	W1
Cleveland Browns	7	9	0	.438	285	319	L1
Tennessee Titans	7	9	0	.438	336	388	L2
Jacksonville Jaguars	6	10	0	.375	294	286	L2
Cincinnati Bengals	6	10	0	.375	226	309	W2

Postseason

The Browns did not qualify for the postseason.

Awards and records

Milestones

2001 was the first of two seasons since the Browns were reactivated in 1999 in which the same quarterback (Tim Couch) started all 16 games. The second was (Baker Mayfield) in 2019.

Rookie Cornerback Anthony Henry had 10 interceptions including one ran back 97 yards for a touchdown.