John Collins (football)

John Collins, (born November 27, 1961), was most recently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cleveland Browns football team until his resignation on January 3, 2006.

Growing up in the New York City area, Collins graduated from C.W. Post College, then worked in account management with DDB Needham Worldwide for six years.

From there, Collins spent the next 15 years in a variety of key business roles with the National Football League, beginning with NFL Films before becoming Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales prior to his appointment with the Browns. He oversaw all the marketing, corporate sponsorship and advertising sales functions of the NFL and was a key member of the team that launched the NFL Network.

Collins received numerous honors during his tenure with the NFL. He was selected one of the top 20 sports advertising executives in 2004 by the Sports Business Journal and was selected by Advertising Age Magazine as one of America's top 50 marketers in 2003. However, his role in the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime controversy, in which singer Janet Jackson's breast was exposed, caused many to see him as a scapegoat for the situation.

Collins was hired by the Browns in April 2004, succeeding the retiring Carmen Policy. In his first months on the job, Collins created controversy when he dismissed a number of Browns staffers, many of whom had been hired by Policy. Then, in November of that year, Browns' head coach Butch Davis resigned, necessitating a two-month search for his replacement. Working with Lerner, Collins hired Phil Savage on January 6, 2005 as general manager, followed one month later by the addition of Romeo Crennel as head coach.

What seemingly was a smooth rebuilding situation exploded in controversy on December 30, 2005, with reports that Collins was about to fire Savage. Over the next three days, the uproar by the team's fans was enough to cause Collins to resign. He is now reportedly working for one of Browns' owner Randy Lerner's holding companies.