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Lerner meets with Pioli, Mangini. More to come
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 10:34 p.m. EST, Dec 31, 2008
Browns owner Randy Lerner deemed Monday ''an awfully important moment for our organization.'' That might have been a more fitting description of today.
Lerner reportedly met with New England Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli, who seemed to be Lerner's choice for the Browns' top football job. However, WKYC Channel 3 reported some close to Pioli were concerned about Lerner's scheduled interview Thursday in Atlanta with Falcons President Rich McKay and might not have expected a competitive situation with McKay.
The Kansas City Chiefs reportedly also received permission to interview Pioli.
The East Coast trip to talk to Pioli included a separate interview Tuesday night with recently fired New York Jets coach Eric Mangini, according to the Associated Press. It is presumed Lerner wants to hire his executive first after being rebuffed Sunday by former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
After Lerner fired General Manager Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel, names continue to pop up for the coaching vacancy. The Denver Broncos shocked the league by firing Mike Shanahan on Tuesday, and ex-Broncos, Giants and Falcons coach Dan Reeves said in a Sirius radio interview today he's interested in returning to the sidelines. Reeves will turn 65 on Jan. 19.
Cleveland.com reported that the Browns will contact Shanahan, 56, who won two Super Bowls, made seven playoff appearances and compiled a 138-86 regular-season record in 14 years in Denver. But Shanahan is building a home in the Denver area and is owed more than $20 million by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, so Shanahan would have reasons not to jump back into the fray immediately.
Browns defensive coordinator Mel Tucker will also interview for the job, WKYC reported.
Canton candidate
The Associated Press also reported that the Browns have received permission to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, 32, a Canton native. McDaniels' father, Thom, couldn't confirm that this evening.
''I don't know and I'm sort of doing that on purpose so I don't screw up the process,'' said the elder McDaniels, who has coached at Canton McKinley, Warren Harding and Jackson high schools. ''He's going to let us know at the end.''
The Browns have also received permission to interview two highly respected defensive coordinators, the New York Giants' Steve Spagnuolo and the Tennessee Titans' Jim Schwartz. Lerner could meet with Spagnuolo on Thursday or Saturday, a league source said.
Lerner is scrambling to talk to candidates whose teams have a playoff bye this weekend, but he cannot make them an offer until their team is eliminated from the postseason.
The somewhat frantic nature of Lerner's efforts this week might find a steadying hand if Lerner is able to land Pioli.
But a source close to Pioli said ''it's not a gimme'' that he would jump at the chance to return to Cleveland, where he got his start as a pro personnel assistant under coach Bill Belichick in 1992 and has several close friends, including Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro.
Working 16 years with Belichick, three when Belichick was a Jets assistant, Pioli has had opportunities to leave New England in the past few years and has not pursued them because the organizations have not had the right structure. A native of Washingtonville, N.Y., Pioli is also happy with the community where his family lives and is well compensated. But at age 43, he might be ready for the challenge of turning around the struggling Browns franchise.
Before last month, only two teams had formally asked the Patriots for permission to interview Pioli: the Seattle Seahawks in 2005 and the Giants when Ernie Accorsi retired after the 2006 season. Pioli's name also came up last year for general manager jobs with the Atlanta Falcons, who hired former Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff, and the Miami Dolphins, now run by Pioli's father-in-law, Bill Parcells.
Pioli could have been a candidate in Cleveland when Lerner hired Savage in 2005, but Lerner did not ask the Patriots for permission to interview Pioli and he did not force the issue. Just two years into running the Browns after his father, Al, died in 2002, Lerner relied heavily on New England owner Robert Kraft and didn't want to offend him. Lerner is now more comfortable in his role and feels more urgency to hire the right men at the top.
A huge offer
A league source told the Boston Herald that Lerner was prepared to make a ''huge'' financial offer to Pioli that would also include full control of the organization and the money required to get Pioli's choice of coach.
He and Mangini were longtime friends who worked in Cleveland in the 1990s, but it it not known how that relationship was affected by Mangini being the alleged whistle-blower in the 2007 ''Spygate'' scandal over the Patriots taping defensive signals.
The Boston Herald said Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, a former NFL assistant in Cleveland and Baltimore, would be Pioli's first choice. The Browns might also go through with interviews with Schwartz, Spagnuolo and McDaniels.
If Pioli backs away from Lerner, Lerner was expected to turn to McKay, the former Tampa Bay general manager who is heading the Falcons' new stadium project.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
Browns owner Randy Lerner deemed Monday ''an awfully important moment for our organization.'' That might have been a more fitting description of today.
Lerner reportedly met with New England Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli, who seemed to be Lerner's choice for the Browns' top football job. However, WKYC Channel 3 reported some close to Pioli were concerned about Lerner's scheduled interview Thursday in Atlanta with Falcons President Rich McKay and might not have expected a competitive situation with McKay.
The Kansas City Chiefs reportedly also received permission to interview Pioli.
The East Coast trip to talk to Pioli included a separate interview Tuesday night with recently fired New York Jets coach Eric Mangini, according to the Associated Press. It is presumed Lerner wants to hire his executive first after being rebuffed Sunday by former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher.
After Lerner fired General Manager Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel, names continue to pop up for the coaching vacancy. The Denver Broncos shocked the league by firing Mike Shanahan on Tuesday, and ex-Broncos, Giants and Falcons coach Dan Reeves said in a Sirius radio interview today he's interested in returning to the sidelines. Reeves will turn 65 on Jan. 19.
Cleveland.com reported that the Browns will contact Shanahan, 56, who won two Super Bowls, made seven playoff appearances and compiled a 138-86 regular-season record in 14 years in Denver. But Shanahan is building a home in the Denver area and is owed more than $20 million by Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, so Shanahan would have reasons not to jump back into the fray immediately.
Browns defensive coordinator Mel Tucker will also interview for the job, WKYC reported.
Canton candidate
The Associated Press also reported that the Browns have received permission to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, 32, a Canton native. McDaniels' father, Thom, couldn't confirm that this evening.
''I don't know and I'm sort of doing that on purpose so I don't screw up the process,'' said the elder McDaniels, who has coached at Canton McKinley, Warren Harding and Jackson high schools. ''He's going to let us know at the end.''
The Browns have also received permission to interview two highly respected defensive coordinators, the New York Giants' Steve Spagnuolo and the Tennessee Titans' Jim Schwartz. Lerner could meet with Spagnuolo on Thursday or Saturday, a league source said.
Lerner is scrambling to talk to candidates whose teams have a playoff bye this weekend, but he cannot make them an offer until their team is eliminated from the postseason.
The somewhat frantic nature of Lerner's efforts this week might find a steadying hand if Lerner is able to land Pioli.
But a source close to Pioli said ''it's not a gimme'' that he would jump at the chance to return to Cleveland, where he got his start as a pro personnel assistant under coach Bill Belichick in 1992 and has several close friends, including Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro.
Working 16 years with Belichick, three when Belichick was a Jets assistant, Pioli has had opportunities to leave New England in the past few years and has not pursued them because the organizations have not had the right structure. A native of Washingtonville, N.Y., Pioli is also happy with the community where his family lives and is well compensated. But at age 43, he might be ready for the challenge of turning around the struggling Browns franchise.
Before last month, only two teams had formally asked the Patriots for permission to interview Pioli: the Seattle Seahawks in 2005 and the Giants when Ernie Accorsi retired after the 2006 season. Pioli's name also came up last year for general manager jobs with the Atlanta Falcons, who hired former Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff, and the Miami Dolphins, now run by Pioli's father-in-law, Bill Parcells.
Pioli could have been a candidate in Cleveland when Lerner hired Savage in 2005, but Lerner did not ask the Patriots for permission to interview Pioli and he did not force the issue. Just two years into running the Browns after his father, Al, died in 2002, Lerner relied heavily on New England owner Robert Kraft and didn't want to offend him. Lerner is now more comfortable in his role and feels more urgency to hire the right men at the top.
A huge offer
A league source told the Boston Herald that Lerner was prepared to make a ''huge'' financial offer to Pioli that would also include full control of the organization and the money required to get Pioli's choice of coach.
He and Mangini were longtime friends who worked in Cleveland in the 1990s, but it it not known how that relationship was affected by Mangini being the alleged whistle-blower in the 2007 ''Spygate'' scandal over the Patriots taping defensive signals.
The Boston Herald said Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, a former NFL assistant in Cleveland and Baltimore, would be Pioli's first choice. The Browns might also go through with interviews with Schwartz, Spagnuolo and McDaniels.
If Pioli backs away from Lerner, Lerner was expected to turn to McKay, the former Tampa Bay general manager who is heading the Falcons' new stadium project.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
Comments
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Tallmadge, OH
Posted 08:19 AM, 01/01/2009
Once again the Browns are interviewing nothing but losers. I don't think anyone will be getting excited about young coordinators being the new head coach. Why doesn't Lerner hire someone with head coaching experience that have been winners? That's ok, I think more and more Akronites will be joing the Steeler fan club.
Posted 10:25 AM, 01/01/2009
Some FACTS:
Marty Schottenheimer.
Of all NFL head coaches who are available to the Browns today, Marty has coached his teams into the playoffs more than anyone else. 13 times.
These 13 years of playoff appearances stands 4th all-time. Trailing only coaches by the names of Shula, Landry, and Paul Brown.
6th highest winning percentage of all active head coaches.
For a team whose fans became ecstatic over a team which missed the playoffs in 2007, I think that having a coach who has PROVEN he can coach, motivate and cajole his teams to the playoffs on a consistent basis would be the best choice.
Posted 10:37 AM, 01/01/2009
mckay MCKAY MCKAY MCKAY he has done it with 3 teams and many head coaches he is a system not a BB wanna be who has to have it all look at the falcons website and his resume MCKAY MCKAY MCKAY
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 11:10 AM, 01/01/2009
Marty is not the coach and here's why:
Overall Championships: 0
Conference Championships: 0
Division Championships: 8
barberton, oh
Posted 11:20 AM, 01/01/2009
U can forget McKay as far as I'm concerned. I'm no fan of his. He was running the Buc's when I was down there, no way. Marty or Manginious, either one is a sweet choice. Whe U start as a ballboy and end up being a Head Coach in thr NFL, U know what it's all about.....
Naples, FL
Posted 11:22 AM, 01/01/2009
Lerner has got to hire a GM first. You can't hire a coach and then stick a new GM with a coach that's not his guy. Either Pioli or McKay would be great choices. McKay has turned two ailing franchises around and Piolii has been with a winner for a long time. Get one of them and let them decide on the coach. Oh, and OldManGrump...any fan who changes loyalties to the Stoolers is no Browns fan to begin with. Go Browns!
Posted 12:54 PM, 01/01/2009
I would love to see McKay because he has EXPERIENCE which this team BADLY needs right now. EXPERIENCE reduces risk. You can't replace that especially if the guy has won before. McKay for sure should be the front runner for the GM. As far as coach, you have to look at Schottenheimer since the guy is a PROVEN winner. You have to look at Shanahan just in case whether or not he wants to coach this year. And I think you also have to look at Dan Reeves. These are all PROVEN coaches and the Browns desperately need a PROVEN coach. Think of it this way...if your life depended on hiring a GM and coach tandem to make the Browns a winner next year, who would you rather pick? You are going to take the safe route and that is McKay and one of the coaches already mentioned.
Vatican , It
Posted 02:14 PM, 01/01/2009
@OldFanGrunt: Regarding-
"Once again the Browns are interviewing nothing but losers. I don't think anyone will be getting excited about young coordinators being the new head coach. Why doesn't Lerner hire someone with head coaching experience that have been winners? That's ok, I think more and more Akronites will be joing the Steeler fan club."--
Because at this moment, since the Browns returned to the league, this organization is seen as a losing one. Most head coaches or former head coaches with experience are typically older and do not want to come to Cleveland and have to start from scratch. The Browns have no identity and this culture of losing makes the job even that less appealing. And since you're a Steeler fan, what do you care? Why are you offering advice? I would think you'd want them to remain losers?
Smethport, Pa
Posted 04:16 PM, 01/01/2009
old man you can keep your akron bandwagon jumpers. this pennsylvanian is and always will be a Browns fan regardless of who becomes gm and coach. can i get a hoo-rah!!! GO BROWNS
Posted 07:15 PM, 01/04/2009
I,ve been a browns fan sine the mid 70's. I can remember the good loe days with Marty. Pioli would not be a good candidate if he needs Kirk Ferentz for his coach. We,ve been there already with unproven college coaches. Can't handle another 3-4 years of that. Marty, Dan or Mike would be much better resouces for a coach than an unproven candidate. And to all of you band wagon fans?! Your not a dedicated fan when you start talking about jumping ship to the steelers! Go Browns!!!
Posted 05:53 AM, 01/06/2009
Hire Marty as GM and Spagnuolo as Coach. Is it seriously that hard Randy?
