Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren: Quarterback competition won't work

Team president Mike Holmgren says the Cleveland Browns don't intend to undergo a quarterback competition for their starting position, and said it was a "long shot" whether they would have both Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn when next season starts.

"They did that last year. And that didn't work out," Holmgren said Friday, according to The Plain Dealer of Cleveland.

Speaking from Indianapolis, where the NFL is holding its annual scouting combine, Holmgren said he wanted to "turn the team around very quickly."

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"You can't wait too much longer," he said of choosing a permanent starter at quarterback.

Holmgren, who helped develop NFL quarterbacks Joe Montana, Steve Young and Brett Favre, has watched tape of Quinn since taking over the Browns in late December and has said it was too early to make any determination on his potential.

But he said Friday that the team ultimately would seek consistency from its starter.

"Somebody's got to play a full season. Not two games here, out two games, in three games. . . . It doesn't work," he said, according to the Cleveland newspaper. "So pick one, commit, coach him up, build confidence, make him better and then surround him with good people."

Anderson, a fourth-year veteran, is due a $2 million roster bonus in March.

Quinn opened the season as Cleveland's starter, was benched after 10 quarters, then got his job back. He went 2-7 in nine starts.

Quinn missed Cleveland's final two games after hurting his left foot in a Dec. 20 win over Kansas City. He finished 136 of 256 (53 percent) for 1,339 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

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