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Banner adjusting to life after the NFL

Joe Banner woke up Thursday morning in Delray Beach, Fla., where the forecast high was 77 degrees. All things considered, he would have rather been in Cleveland, where the natives had to deal with a record low of 10 degrees Tuesday and nearly 10 inches of snow the week before.

Joe Banner, Jeffrey Lurie and Andy Reid together in 2012. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)
Joe Banner, Jeffrey Lurie and Andy Reid together in 2012. (Yong Kim/Staff file photo)Read more

Joe Banner woke up Thursday morning in Delray Beach, Fla., where the forecast high was 77 degrees. All things considered, he would have rather been in Cleveland, where the natives had to deal with a record low of 10 degrees Tuesday and nearly 10 inches of snow the week before.

Taking the temperature of the former Eagles president who was surprisingly fired as the Browns CEO earlier this year after just 16 months on the job is complicated. For the first season since being hired by his boyhood friend Jeffrey Lurie to help run the Eagles in 1994, Banner is not part of running an NFL franchise. He did not know how he would feel when training camps opened in July. He does now.

"The honest answer is it's a mixed bag," Banner said during a telephone interview. "There are some aspects of it that are very hard not being a part of and that I've really missed. But there are other elements that I'm relieved not to deal with."

Banner is by no means retired. He is working as a consultant with a few teams and with several charities, including City Year, one of his longtime favorites. On a dare from his sons Jason and John, he has also learned how to tweet his opinions about the league and @JoeBanner13 has gained nearly 18,000 followers.

"It is talk radio with millions and millions of people," Banner said of Twitter. "Everyone thinks they are the host and the universe is spreading out from their comments."

Offers, Banner said, have come to return to the league in the same or similar roles that he had with the Eagles and Browns. So far his answer has been no.

"I don't think that's going to change, but I'm leaving the door open," he said. "I did this for 20 years and I feel beyond ridiculously lucky that I got to do something that was a dream come true. But I just turned 60, my last child is about to leave for college, both my parents passed away in the last 18 months, and I just had a close friend that passed away. The opportunity to have fun, do some charity work and keep my toes in football a little feels like what I want to do at this point."

Banner would not say what teams are using him as a consultant, but he described the kind of work he is doing.

"One of the groups I'm involved with is with somebody interested in buying a team," he said. "One is with a team working on a stadium project and one is an owner contemplating making some changes at the end of the season and looking for some advice."

The Eagles and Browns remain the two teams that draw most of Banner's attention. He left the Eagles more than two years ago, but he still lives in the area and many of his ties to the team remain intact.

"I've watched the Browns and Eagles religiously," Banner said. "I'm obviously closer to the Browns' moves and roster. But somebody recently pointed out to me that until some of the recent injuries, that 15 of the Eagles' 22 starters were there when I was still working for the team. I was there for 19 years and I really do appreciate the opportunity that Jeff gave me. I watch it, I care, and I'm emotionally connected. It is what my kids grew up on."

Banner does not deny that his relations were strained with Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman upon his departure, but he said time has healed some of the wounds.

"We communicate," Banner said. "It's mostly by text. We talk rarely. But in Jeff's case, we have been friends for 45-some years and I was with him every day virtually for 19 years, and Howie it was 14 years. That relationship can never be the same with the distance and not having the shared time, but I certainly think about those guys and care about them and root for them. I hope it's mutual."

Banner's view of the Browns is more current. He hired the coach (Mike Pettine Jr.) and brought in the quarterback (Brian Hoyer) that have led Cleveland to a surprising 6-4 record this season. Banner was ridiculed for his conduct during the Browns' coaching search, but he remained adamant that Pettine was the right choice and it obviously has not been the wrong one so far. The Browns had not won as many as six games since 2007.

"I believe the best of the best head coaches are exceptionally strong leaders," Banner said. "They are guys with very definitive philosophies and are very, very detail oriented. They get along with players, but it's also clear they are in charge. Those are the series of things we looked at when we hired Andy [Reid] and when Chip was our top candidate in Cleveland."

The Browns lost the Kelly sweepstakes to the Eagles, and Banner believes that is a huge reason the Birds are back on a winning track.

"I think they are doing great," Banner said. "I think they made good decisions and got an outstanding coach. Most teams it takes time to get all the right players to fit exactly what you want to do. I think they handled that transition very smartly. I think they are in good shape and it's going to continue to get better."

Banner, maybe somewhat to his surprise, is also in good shape in his first season in nearly two decades without running a team. He's enjoying his life and his family while keeping a close and caring eye on the teams and the league that employed him.