Playoff Disappointments (1966–1973)
In early 1966 Jim Brown, who had begun an acting career two years before, was shooting for his second film in London. The Dirty Dozen cast Brown as Robert Jefferson, a convict sent to France during World War II to assassinate German officers meeting at a castle near Rennes in Brittany. Production delays due to bad weather meant he would miss at least the first part of training camp on the campus of Hiram College, which annoyed Modell, who threatened to fine Brown $1,500 for every week of camp he missed. Brown, who had previously said that 1966 would be his last season, announced his retirement instead. At the end of his nine-year career, Brown held records for most rushing yards in a game, a season and a career. He also owned the record for all-purpose yards in a career and best average per carry for a running back at 5.22 yards, a mark that still stands.
With Brown gone, halfback Leroy Kelly became the team's primary rusher in 1966. Kelly, an eighth-round draft choice who saw limited playing time in two years as a backup, ably filled his predecessor's shoes. Cleveland missed the playoffs in 1966, but made it to the postseason the following year after a realignment of the NFL's divisions that placed the Browns in the new Century Division. The Browns, however, lost the 1967 eastern conference championship to the Dallas Cowboys. After a year in which he made just 11 of 23 field goal attempts, placekicker Lou Groza retired before the start of the 1968 season. Groza, who had been on the roster for 21 seasons and was 44 years old when he hung up his spikes, said in his memoir that retiring was "the saddest day of my football life."
Further playoff defeats followed. In 1968, as a 32-year-old Ryan was benched in favor of Bill Nelsen, the Browns finished with a 10–4 record but lost to the Colts in the playoffs. Another playoff loss ended the Browns' season in 1969, this time to the Minnesota Vikings. After the American Football League's merger with the NFL was finalized in early 1970, the Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts moved to the new American Football Conference along with the 10 teams of the former AFL. The Browns were slotted in the AFC Central in the 26-team league, alongside the Steelers, the Houston Oilers and the Cincinnati Bengals, a team Paul Brown founded in 1968 in the AFL. Cleveland's first big move under the new league structure was to trade star receiver Paul Warfield in January 1970 to the Miami Dolphins for the rights to draft Purdue University quarterback Mike Phipps as a replacement for Bill Nelsen, who had a pair of bad knees.
The Browns opened the 1970 season by beating Joe Namath and the New York Jets in the first-ever broadcast of Monday Night Football on September 21. The following month, Cleveland faced Paul Brown's Bengals for the first time in a regular-season game, winning 30–27. That game was a highlight in an otherwise unsuccessful season. The Browns lost to the Bengals 14–10 in November, when Phipps made his first start — Brown called it "my greatest victory" — and finished 7–7.
Plagued by hearing problems, the 64-year-old Collier announced his retirement before the end of the 1970 season. In eight years as coach, Collier led Cleveland to a championship and a 74–33–2 record. Nick Skorich was named as his replacement the following year. Skorich came to the Browns as offensive coordinator in 1964, when the team won the championship. In Cleveland's first year under Skorich, the team improved to 9–5 but lost to the Colts in a divisional playoff. Mike Phipps was promoted to starting quarterback over Nelsen before the 1972 season. After a sluggish start, the Browns went on tear and finished with a 10–4 record. That put Cleveland in a playoff against the undefeated Miami Dolphins. The Browns took a lead in the fourth quarter on a touchdown catch by wide receiver Fair Hooker, but the Dolphins responded with a long drive of their own, aided by a pair of Paul Warfield receptions. Running back Jim Kiick ran for a touchdown, sealing a 20–14 win and preserving the Dolphins' perfect season. The following year, Phipps threw 20 interceptions and completed less than half of his passes. After winning four of the first six games, the Browns slumped and placed third in the division with a 7–5–2 record.
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