Paul Brown and other AAFC coaches knew the league was unlikely to survive after the 1949 season. AAFC owners had already discussed merging with the National Football League (NFL) the previous year, and most teams in both leagues were losing money. The talks fell apart, however, when the owners could not agree on which of the AAFC's teams would join the NFL. As the league faltered, Brown entertained but ultimately declined offers to leave the Browns and return to Ohio State University, where he had coached in the early 1940s.