Bernie is Back: Kosar Attended Practice, Spoke to Players at OTAs Thursday

The rotating door in Berea that once slammed the backside of a Browns legend has swung open again.

Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar returned to Berea on Thursday for the first time since the club released him from his preseason color commentary role in 2014, according to cleveland.com.

Invited by head coach Hue Jackson, Kosar joined fellow Browns alumni at OTAs, watching practice and talking to the players.

Kevin Mack, head of alumni relations, promised Kosar's return after a fan asked about the icy relationship between the team and alumni during Fan Fest two weeks ago.

"It was great to have Bernie back here," Mack told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. "He actually called me probably a week later and mentioned that he saw the email. I asked him if he was planning on coming back and he said he was really busy and he'd look at his schedule and let me know.''

Kosar then called Mack to RSVP for the practice. Mack said he was "pretty excited" upon hearing the news.

"He'd be a pretty hard guy to leave out.''

According to Mack, Jackson has placed particular importance on bringing back team alumni. Greg Pruitt, Roger Chanoine, and Earnest Byner, among others, also attended and spoke. Byner has also coached the team's running backs during OTAs, and might stick around longer.

"I think it's very important, especially for young players,'' said Mack. "They've heard about the guys who played here. Those guys haven't really been around in the building and it's a great idea that coach is inviting the guys back and for us to be visible and be able to talk to these guys. It's a plus for this organization as a whole."

The former players then ate lunch in the cafeteria, where several current Browns approached the alumni and thanked them for coming.

Quarterback Josh McCown particularly enjoyed the visit.

"It was great seeing Bernie,'' the veteran quarterback said. "It's obvious the genuine interest he has in our team being successful. Means a lot to me that he was able to be out there."

The Browns likely won't bring Kosar back for preseason broadcasts, but it's certainly a good start to repairing relations between club and its famous former quarterback.