Mike Holmgren criticized the Cleveland Browns for trading Trent Richardson after just two games of the 2013 season.

Holmgren was with the Browns in 2012 when the franchise selected Richardson.

"Philosophically, if I am the coach and someone came in anywhere and did that, I'd say 'OK, fire me, or I'm going to quit. Or we're going to both go into the owner and talk about this and the we'll see who's still standing."

The Browns acquired a first round pick in 2014 for Richardson.

"How do you make your team better by trading your best player?'' said Holmgren. "He's the best offensive player. He's a valuable, valuable guy.''

Holmgren likens the Browns' direction to tanking.

"To me, they're putting all their eggs for next season,'' said Holmgren. "They started off 0-2, they couldn't score any points, I think it was a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction. There's a little bit of a 'what's going on?' I don't know this for sure but I can sense it."