By Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer
BEREA, Ohio -- Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert still think Colt McCoy can develop into the Browns' franchise quarterback, but he isn't there yet. 
"I think he can be, he could be," Holmgren, the team's president, said during a 75-minute press conference on Thursday. "I'm not ready to say that yet. You know what we did this season (4-12) and he played and he did some very fine things and he played young at times. ... Was I pleased? Yeah, in a lot of the stuff he did. My opinion of Colt has not changed. I think he has a lot of intangibles.
"Ultimately, though, as with not only the quarterback position but every position, you're kind of judged on -- and the quarterback more than anybody -- on how well your team did. I'm not ready to anoint Colt yet. Have I changed my mind? No. Do I love him? Yes, I do. But I love Seneca Wallace. We have three good quarterbacks on our team right now.
"Having said that, heck, we don't know what's going to happen and I've had that conversation with Colt as well."
Heckert stressed that McCoy's potential is still high enough for the Browns to be intrigued.
"He's a young quarterback," said Heckert. "We think he's got enough talent to be a player for us. Has he made mistakes like coach said? Yes. Can he get better? We think he will get better. So that's why we're [still evaluating him]."
Holmgren admitted it's tough to evaluate McCoy on his 2011 season because the talent around him was sub-par. In addition to two young guards, his top three running backs went down with prolonged injuries and his No. 1 receiver was rookie Greg Little. His other top receiver, Mohamed Massaquoi, was set back all season by a concussion and a foot injury.
"I think it's hard to judge off this season because our offense by anyone's standards was not good enough," said Holmgren, who has coached Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre. He said he's seen quarterbacks start off the way McCoy has and eventually find success.
"Very few guys in my years in the league have come in and shot lights out," he said. "If you're in the process of being a young quarterback playing for a team still building -- particularly on offense -- it's doubly hard. So, yeah, usually it's like this."
McCoy, who missed the final three games this season with a concussion, is 6-15 with a 74.5 rating. St. Louis' Sam Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in 2010 who also learned a new offense this year, is 8-18 with a 74.2 rating.
"As long as the athlete has what it takes inside – the work ethic, all those things, the measureables -- you have a chance to be good," said Holmgren. "Then you have to be lucky with injury and all that stuff. But it's hard to talk about how good a player can be."
In the coming months, the Browns will have to decide if they'll draft a quarterback or sign one as a free agent. They have the No. 4 overall pick and the Falcons' first-rounder, 21st or lower depending on playoff results. Big-name draft prospects that might be there at No. 4 include Baylor's Robert Griffin III or Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill.
The most sought-after free agent is likely to be Green Bay's Matt Flynn, who threw for 480 yards and six touchdowns in a 45-41 victory over the Lions Sunday while the Packers were resting their starters.
"I think when you go into your second start and you break the records that have been held by Bart Starr, Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers in your second start, that's a little unusual I would think," Holmgren said.
Heckert said a free-agent QB is "probably not the way we're going to go, but you never know. It's still early. We've got two months before that happens. We'll look at everybody."
He also didn't rule out drafting a quarterback high.
"If we do it at a certain position early in the draft, then that guy's probably going to be the guy for us," said Heckert. "We have a lot of time to think about what we want to do in the draft and free agency, but if we think a guy will help us, we'll go ahead and do it."
Asked if he'd call the Colts to trade up to get Stanford's Andrew Luck, Heckert said, "I can't talk about him. Never say never."
Mum on Hillis: Holmgren refused to say if the Browns want running back Peyton Hillis back. "That's one of the things we're not going to talk specifics about," said Holmgren. "As far as the future with any of our potential free agents, we're not going to comment on them."
Use the picks: Heckert indicated he'd like to use all nine picks this season, including the first- and fourth-round selections acquired in the trade with Atlanta. The Browns have three picks in the top 37.
"That's one of the reason we made the trade -- to get more players," said Heckert. "You never say never, but we like our picks right now. We have nine right now and hopefully we'll get some compensatory picks. We'd like to add nine good football players."
On Childress: Holmgren said the Browns haven't spoken to former Vikings head coach and Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress about their coordinator job. It doesn't mean they won't. "What we're going to do this year, I'm not going to talk about yet," he said.
On Little: Heckert said "the verdict's still out" on Greg Little, who led the team with 61 receptions in his rookie season.
"I think Greg's a good football player, I really do," he said. "I thought he had a good year. He did have way too many drops and he knows that and we know that, but I think he's got a chance to be a really good player."
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