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Do IT this week: Layering
Owner expects scrutiny, feels strongly Mangini-Kokinis tandem will bring wins
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
POSTED: 12:14 p.m. EST, Jan 05, 2009
The Browns seem prepared to move down the road toward hiring Eric Mangini as their coach and George Kokinis as their personnel guru.
This train seems loaded. Whether it rolls will be answered when Kokinis interviews, and that won't happen until Sunday.
Mangini impressed Browns owner Randy Lerner greatly in an interview, and Kokinis (the Baltimore Ravens' director of pro personnel) is very close to Mangini, dating to their days working for Bill Belichick in Cleveland.
The moves will be scrutinized.
This isn't the hiring of Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan or Mike Holmgren, and Lerner knows that he might have to ''sell'' the new team that will run his team.
But he feels strongly that this new team will help the Browns win.
And that's what matters to him. Because when all is said and done, all the questions about Mangini this or Kokinis that will go away — if the Browns win.
Lerner has remained mum about the hires, instead choosing to bury himself in the job. But discussions with NFL folks who have talked to people who have been interviewed and with other NFL folks who have observed the process have painted a picture of how the Browns got to this point.
They did it by making a decision that it didn't necessarily matter if the coach or GM were hired first and by making some judgments about the qualifications wanted in a coach.
Two factors were key, both of which sprung from the four-year experience with GM Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel.
That pair wound up not seeing eye to eye, and differences between them affected the team's ability to win, especially last season.
Lerner did not want a repeat.
So he insisted that the two people whom he hired be able to work together, which means they had to know each other and get along.
He also saw that Crennel hired two coordinators who eventually were replaced. A rookie coach, his research showed, was more likely to make mistakes with his key hires than one who had been through the battles.
That led him to conclude that the Browns of today need a coach with head coaching experience.
As Lerner studied and reflected on the experience of Belichick, he also decided that the best thing that the New England Patriots did was to create an environment where he could succeed. Forget Belichick's personality, forget the media complaints — make it where the guy can win and let him do his job.
That's what Lerner decided the best thing would be for the Browns — find the right guy, then create the environment and circumstances where he could win.
Lerner did not enter the search determined to find a GM or coach first. He instead focused on finding the ''right guy'' for either job.
Before interviewing, he went to several teams to ask: Who makes the decision on personnel?
With the Pittsburgh Steelers, decisions are agreed on by all, and the owner breaks any tie.
Other teams gave different answers. One team said the coach, another the GM, and others said it had to be a complete team decision.
That led Lerner to conclude that the most important thing was to find people who could work together.
Thus he requested and was granted permission to interview Kokinis, a come-from-nowhere dark horse who entered the picture because he and Mangini are very close. Clearly Mangini recommended him, and Lerner believes strongly enough in Mangini that he is willing to consider and perhaps go with Kokinis.
This gives a lot of influence to a guy who was fired from the New York Jets. But Lerner was intrigued the second that he heard Mangini had been fired.
He called him quickly, and when he interviewed Mangini, Lerner was more than impressed with Mangini's knowledge, his ability to explain that knowledge and his ability to show he could apply it.
He liked Mangini's plans for everything from putting in a disciplinary structure (something the Browns think was missing with Crennel) to how to run training camp to how to game-plan for a specific opponent.
He found him to be anything but ''Romeo Light,'' the term being used to knock Mangini's candidacy by those who thought that he was another hire just like Crennel.
These feelings blended well with other studies the Browns had conducted, studies that favored hiring a coach who had experience in one place but was still young in his development.
The team thinks that this would get the coach on the good side of the learning curve, so to speak, because he could learn from his mistakes.
Other candidates
It's why the Browns decided not to wait on Mike Shanahan, who had worked almost his entire NFL career with one owner and who wanted to take two weeks off after that owner fired him.
The Browns reached out to Shanahan several times, but eventually viewed him as being too emotional to take another job so quickly.
Brian Billick's approach did not fit what they wanted.
Mike Holmgren was committed to taking a year off.
There was never a real desire to go back to a Marty Schottenheimer.
And when Cowher said thanks but no thanks, the feeling grew that perhaps some of these coaches were just too entrenched with their former team. That no matter how hard a guy like Cowher tried, he would always be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
Scott Pioli interviewed to be the GM, but there has been no indication that he was eager to leave the Patriots, much less join the Browns.
Rich McKay of the Atlanta Falcons was considered strongly, but he delayed his interview and did not seem eager. His hiring also would entail hiring a personnel man and a coach, and Lerner evidently thought that he could accomplish the same thing without the extra layer of management with Mangini and Kokinis.
Deciding to hire a coach with some experience but not one entrenched and branded with a team limited the pool, especially because Lerner also did not want to wait for a coach in the playoffs.
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey coached the Buffalo Bills for two years but was not viewed as having the same strategic abilities as Mangini.
Cam Cameron and Dick LeBeau are with playoff teams.
Back to Mangini
Which leads the road back to Mangini, a Belichick-trained assistant who rose quickly with the Patriots to become defensive coordinator before he took the job with the Jets.
There are positives about him, starting with three years of head coaching experience and two winning seasons.
He is bright, organized (perhaps to a fault) and a workaholic.
He started his career as an intern in the Browns' public relations department, and when the Jets visited Cleveland two years ago, he sent the media lunch with a note that said: ''I don't forget where I came from.''
Concerns come mainly from his personality rather than his football IQ. He was said to be very difficult to work for, especially in his first season.
He ended the past season terribly, as an 8-3 record turned into a 9-7 finish. Losses came to the Miami Dolphins in the finale, but also to the Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. Between them, they won 16 games.
Some point to the fact that quarterback Brett Favre had a terrible December, and that Favre was foisted on Mangini late in training camp by owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum.
Mangini also was criticized for some of the same on-field decisions that Crennel heard criticism. Field goals vs. touchdowns. Punting vs. kicking a field goal. Some of those calls, especially in a late-season loss to the Seahawks, did not sit well with Jets fans and media.
The Browns think that he will learn from those mistakes (if they were mistakes) and grow given a second chance.
Finally, Mangini is cut from the Belichick cloth that a hamstring injury is a ''leg'' injury and the timetable for return is ''day to day.'' He also wants a cone of silence around his team and reportedly fined players for talking about injuries and/or saying more to the media than he liked.
Hopefully he'll learn that being honest about injuries and being honest in general really does not affect who wins or loses. Especially because he's walking into an environment where fans are frustrated and being open will help heal some of the wounds.
Bottom line is winning
The Browns, and Lerner, understand the questions.
They don't hide from them. They just believe that the positives outweigh the negatives, and that a guy who is willing to learn and grow will be better the second time because of the things that happened the first.
Too, they see some of these things as decorations on the cake.
What matters to Lerner, and the team, is winning.
In a sense, this is the first time that Lerner has stepped with both feet into the operations of his team. John Collins was team president when Savage and Crennel were hired, and he had as much to do with their hiring as anyone.
Mike Keenan now is the team's president, but he's more of a financial/business guy. Lerner is making these hires.
He wants a coach with experience working with a front office guy whom he can trust and work together with.
No matter who was hired first, coach or GM, Lerner was going to ask the same question: Can you work with (insert name here)? If he found two people who could work together, his job was then to create an environment where the two could succeed.
He knows that he will have to sell this team, but he believes that he's on the right track.
And he believes that the wins and losses will justify sending the train out of the station.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
The Browns seem prepared to move down the road toward hiring Eric Mangini as their coach and George Kokinis as their personnel guru.
This train seems loaded. Whether it rolls will be answered when Kokinis interviews, and that won't happen until Sunday.
Mangini impressed Browns owner Randy Lerner greatly in an interview, and Kokinis (the Baltimore Ravens' director of pro personnel) is very close to Mangini, dating to their days working for Bill Belichick in Cleveland.
The moves will be scrutinized.
This isn't the hiring of Bill Cowher or Mike Shanahan or Mike Holmgren, and Lerner knows that he might have to ''sell'' the new team that will run his team.
But he feels strongly that this new team will help the Browns win.
And that's what matters to him. Because when all is said and done, all the questions about Mangini this or Kokinis that will go away — if the Browns win.
Lerner has remained mum about the hires, instead choosing to bury himself in the job. But discussions with NFL folks who have talked to people who have been interviewed and with other NFL folks who have observed the process have painted a picture of how the Browns got to this point.
They did it by making a decision that it didn't necessarily matter if the coach or GM were hired first and by making some judgments about the qualifications wanted in a coach.
Two factors were key, both of which sprung from the four-year experience with GM Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennel.
That pair wound up not seeing eye to eye, and differences between them affected the team's ability to win, especially last season.
Lerner did not want a repeat.
So he insisted that the two people whom he hired be able to work together, which means they had to know each other and get along.
He also saw that Crennel hired two coordinators who eventually were replaced. A rookie coach, his research showed, was more likely to make mistakes with his key hires than one who had been through the battles.
That led him to conclude that the Browns of today need a coach with head coaching experience.
As Lerner studied and reflected on the experience of Belichick, he also decided that the best thing that the New England Patriots did was to create an environment where he could succeed. Forget Belichick's personality, forget the media complaints — make it where the guy can win and let him do his job.
That's what Lerner decided the best thing would be for the Browns — find the right guy, then create the environment and circumstances where he could win.
Lerner did not enter the search determined to find a GM or coach first. He instead focused on finding the ''right guy'' for either job.
Before interviewing, he went to several teams to ask: Who makes the decision on personnel?
With the Pittsburgh Steelers, decisions are agreed on by all, and the owner breaks any tie.
Other teams gave different answers. One team said the coach, another the GM, and others said it had to be a complete team decision.
That led Lerner to conclude that the most important thing was to find people who could work together.
Thus he requested and was granted permission to interview Kokinis, a come-from-nowhere dark horse who entered the picture because he and Mangini are very close. Clearly Mangini recommended him, and Lerner believes strongly enough in Mangini that he is willing to consider and perhaps go with Kokinis.
This gives a lot of influence to a guy who was fired from the New York Jets. But Lerner was intrigued the second that he heard Mangini had been fired.
He called him quickly, and when he interviewed Mangini, Lerner was more than impressed with Mangini's knowledge, his ability to explain that knowledge and his ability to show he could apply it.
He liked Mangini's plans for everything from putting in a disciplinary structure (something the Browns think was missing with Crennel) to how to run training camp to how to game-plan for a specific opponent.
He found him to be anything but ''Romeo Light,'' the term being used to knock Mangini's candidacy by those who thought that he was another hire just like Crennel.
These feelings blended well with other studies the Browns had conducted, studies that favored hiring a coach who had experience in one place but was still young in his development.
The team thinks that this would get the coach on the good side of the learning curve, so to speak, because he could learn from his mistakes.
Other candidates
It's why the Browns decided not to wait on Mike Shanahan, who had worked almost his entire NFL career with one owner and who wanted to take two weeks off after that owner fired him.
The Browns reached out to Shanahan several times, but eventually viewed him as being too emotional to take another job so quickly.
Brian Billick's approach did not fit what they wanted.
Mike Holmgren was committed to taking a year off.
There was never a real desire to go back to a Marty Schottenheimer.
And when Cowher said thanks but no thanks, the feeling grew that perhaps some of these coaches were just too entrenched with their former team. That no matter how hard a guy like Cowher tried, he would always be a Pittsburgh Steeler.
Scott Pioli interviewed to be the GM, but there has been no indication that he was eager to leave the Patriots, much less join the Browns.
Rich McKay of the Atlanta Falcons was considered strongly, but he delayed his interview and did not seem eager. His hiring also would entail hiring a personnel man and a coach, and Lerner evidently thought that he could accomplish the same thing without the extra layer of management with Mangini and Kokinis.
Deciding to hire a coach with some experience but not one entrenched and branded with a team limited the pool, especially because Lerner also did not want to wait for a coach in the playoffs.
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey coached the Buffalo Bills for two years but was not viewed as having the same strategic abilities as Mangini.
Cam Cameron and Dick LeBeau are with playoff teams.
Back to Mangini
Which leads the road back to Mangini, a Belichick-trained assistant who rose quickly with the Patriots to become defensive coordinator before he took the job with the Jets.
There are positives about him, starting with three years of head coaching experience and two winning seasons.
He is bright, organized (perhaps to a fault) and a workaholic.
He started his career as an intern in the Browns' public relations department, and when the Jets visited Cleveland two years ago, he sent the media lunch with a note that said: ''I don't forget where I came from.''
Concerns come mainly from his personality rather than his football IQ. He was said to be very difficult to work for, especially in his first season.
He ended the past season terribly, as an 8-3 record turned into a 9-7 finish. Losses came to the Miami Dolphins in the finale, but also to the Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks. Between them, they won 16 games.
Some point to the fact that quarterback Brett Favre had a terrible December, and that Favre was foisted on Mangini late in training camp by owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum.
Mangini also was criticized for some of the same on-field decisions that Crennel heard criticism. Field goals vs. touchdowns. Punting vs. kicking a field goal. Some of those calls, especially in a late-season loss to the Seahawks, did not sit well with Jets fans and media.
The Browns think that he will learn from those mistakes (if they were mistakes) and grow given a second chance.
Finally, Mangini is cut from the Belichick cloth that a hamstring injury is a ''leg'' injury and the timetable for return is ''day to day.'' He also wants a cone of silence around his team and reportedly fined players for talking about injuries and/or saying more to the media than he liked.
Hopefully he'll learn that being honest about injuries and being honest in general really does not affect who wins or loses. Especially because he's walking into an environment where fans are frustrated and being open will help heal some of the wounds.
Bottom line is winning
The Browns, and Lerner, understand the questions.
They don't hide from them. They just believe that the positives outweigh the negatives, and that a guy who is willing to learn and grow will be better the second time because of the things that happened the first.
Too, they see some of these things as decorations on the cake.
What matters to Lerner, and the team, is winning.
In a sense, this is the first time that Lerner has stepped with both feet into the operations of his team. John Collins was team president when Savage and Crennel were hired, and he had as much to do with their hiring as anyone.
Mike Keenan now is the team's president, but he's more of a financial/business guy. Lerner is making these hires.
He wants a coach with experience working with a front office guy whom he can trust and work together with.
No matter who was hired first, coach or GM, Lerner was going to ask the same question: Can you work with (insert name here)? If he found two people who could work together, his job was then to create an environment where the two could succeed.
He knows that he will have to sell this team, but he believes that he's on the right track.
And he believes that the wins and losses will justify sending the train out of the station.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Posted 12:45 PM, 01/05/2009
I'm on the fence about Mangini as head coach, but it sounds like he's probably the best option available. At least he's a young guy with head coaching experience. What I don't like is this whole idea that he's going to handpick his boss. I mean, I understand that you want these guys to get along, but I don't think it means they have to be best buddies. I've never heard of this Kolkinis guy and it sounds like the only reason he's being considered is because he's Mangini's boy. What qualifications does he have to run an entire operation? At the same time, it sounds like all the qualified GM candidates have said thanks, but no thanks, so this might be the best they can do. What a depressing time to be a Browns fan?
Posted 02:15 PM, 01/05/2009
An Ozzie Newsome assistant and a former Belechick assistant, sound familiar?
hampton, VA
Posted 02:37 PM, 01/05/2009
Pat, I didn't see anything in your article above that led me to believe the Browns are complying with the Rooney Rule in their head coaching search. Have they done a phone interview or had some other offer of an interview with an African-American head coach prospect, and if not, do they plan on doing so before hiring Mangini?
Port Saint Lucie, Fl
Posted 02:49 PM, 01/05/2009
i just hope the Browns can find a tandem of Coach and GM that can produce a winner and stay together more than just a few seasons. Oh!For just a little stability.
westlake, OH
Posted 02:55 PM, 01/05/2009
Hey, Pat.
Last month you were of the opinion that the Browns should keep Romeo for the sake of 'continuity'.
In today's article, it seems implied that the organization questioned Romeo's ability to maintain
discipline, run an effective training camp and prepare adequate game plans. I know I did. Do you
still maintain that keeping Crennel is the best thing for the team?
Posted 03:18 PM, 01/05/2009
jonathan-the browns interviewed mel tucker to fulfill the rooney rule.
if not shanahan then marty is my second pick. he knows the city, wants to win and doesn't let immature players steer the ship. no mangini & mangini's buddy. mangini hasn't shown enough to deserve a yes man.
Barberton, OH
Posted 03:38 PM, 01/05/2009
My dream scenario would be to hire Marty as GM/Coach to a two year contract with the intention of stepping into the GM role full time in 2011, while giving the head coaching role to his son Brian, also a very smart football guy modeled after his father.
I don't care how Lerner wants to spin this, hiring Mangini after one meeting and a cup of snake oil, and letting him pick the GM is just a TAD silly if you ask me. We need to get the GM first, and I'd prefer someone NOT from the Ravens again, we mined them for Savage and that didn't work out so swell.
El Centro, Ca
Posted 03:45 PM, 01/05/2009
Schottenheimer was never considered? Randy, Randy, Randy. Big,big mistake. One of only two long time consistently proven winners whose names have been bandied about and he WAS NOT CONSIDERED? Not knocking Mr Mangini but how can an owner make the same mistake where style counts more than substance? Who gives a horse's patoot about how well he interviewed, the world is filled with well spoken losers.
San Diego, CA
Posted 04:41 PM, 01/05/2009
It does matter if the coach and GM get along - Marty lost his job in San Diego because he couldn't get along with Chargers GM A.J. Smith. I suspect if Randy Lerner has chosen quality leaders in his business, he can chose quality people to run his football team. It's the makeup of the people. There are lots of guys that know x's and o's and many can evaluate talent. He needs to hire people that can lead.
This Place, 32
Posted 04:42 PM, 01/05/2009
Bernie for GM
Jim Brown for Headcoach (for two years only)...so he can kick everyones A#$.
Then once Jim breaks them down, bring in a young coach to make it work....
Stow, OH
Posted 05:24 PM, 01/05/2009
With NO football expertise Lerner calling the shots this will be pure blind luck if they succeed .Why must this guy continue to dabble in the everyday operations when he has no clue what he is doing ? Find a football guy like Parcells and turn the rest over to him . Go sit on your pile of money and relax ,quite trying to fix this team ,you are the reason we got into this mess in the first place.
Posted 05:28 PM, 01/05/2009
It is very important that HC and GM get along and are on the same page. Marty couldn't get along with the GM at SD and got fired. Savage and Romeo were definitely not on the same page and we know how that works out. It takes talent and leadership to win. Lets hope that we get both with Mangini and kokonis.
Posted 05:55 PM, 01/05/2009
letting mangini and his hand picked buddy run the team is like giving two goofy 16 year old boys the keys to your porsche. or in the browns case--your yugo. you just hope they don't get in a wreck or arrested and come back in one piece.
Posted 07:47 PM, 01/05/2009
A Yugo! LMAO! Reminds me of when I parked my Pinto next to my friend's Vega. He came outside and said, "Wow! Tandem junk." I hope the Browns cn land a better tandem this time around.
Posted 08:26 PM, 01/05/2009
Could you please ask Mr. Lerner why fans should believe the next regime will be any better than the last when the GM is coming from the same organization as the last GM and the coach is coming from the same organization as the last coach?
Try asking Marty whom he could "get along with." Heck, he couldn't get along with the GM in San Diego and STILL went 12-4!
Bethesda, MD
Posted 12:21 AM, 01/06/2009
Here we go again. I give this pair four years. But who the heck knows. I just know it isn't the statement we were looking for.
Bethesda, MD
Posted 12:30 AM, 01/06/2009
How about the defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes!
Posted 12:38 AM, 01/06/2009
Ah yes! Never really considered Marty.
Marty Schottenheimer. The man who is available, is a proven leader, and is fourth on the NFL's ALL TIME list of coaches for taking their teams to the playoffs (only Shula, Landry, and Paul Brown have reached the playoffs more times than Marty).
If Lerner were the GM, and talking about Mangini as coach, and I were the team's owner, I would quickly FIRE Lerner today.
Posted 05:13 AM, 01/06/2009
Like it or not, Cleveland can not get a good quality coach with the junk they have on the field. No matter whom they hire the junk is rusty & getting worse.
Posted 05:52 AM, 01/06/2009
Anyone who brings up the fact that Marty couldn't get along with A.J. Smith has no point.
Smith was his boss.
If Marty were the GM he could hire who HE wanted to be HIS coach. Why would he hire someone he can't get along with? Marty would call the shots on player personnel.
Hire Marty as GM and i wouldn't mind having a first time coach such as Spagnuolo. That's your winning combination.
Bethesda, MD
Posted 06:43 AM, 01/06/2009
No story on OSU yet. This paper / website is going down hill since the last year or so. Shortage of news. Serious management issues / revenue?
youngstown, oh
Posted 06:59 AM, 01/06/2009
I moved here from Tampa Bay. After the Bucs won a super bowl, one year later, Gruden lobbied to get Mckay fired because they disagreed on personnel and he won. He brought in his guy from Oakland, John Allen who he had worked with and liked. Allen gets him the kind of players who play the schemes he likes. My point is it is important to find 2 people who can work together as a team and build the kind of team envisioned. I have no problem with the coach and gm. being close.
Reston, VA
Posted 07:20 AM, 01/06/2009
Thanks for the perspective Pat.
From a fan's point of view, it feels like Lerner is targeting Mangini too quickly, But maybe (just maybe) Lerner knows what he's doing.
He's done his homework. Right or wrong, he has a plan and will make an informed choice. As a fan, I am frustrated with the Lerner's track record in running this team, BUT I am convinced Lerner is taking this search as seriously as any fan would hope their owner would.
I'm choosing to be hopeful that RL is learning from his hard earned experiences and will make the right call.
Fairfield, CT
Posted 08:37 AM, 01/06/2009
Yo Jonathan -
The Browns are in compliance with the Rooney rule. They gave defensive coordinator Mel Tucker an interview for head coach - so did the Jets so they would be in compliance.
Thanks Pat. You're the first writer I've seen to actually point out the good reasons why Mangini is likely to be the coach. I said he would be the Browns coach the minute I found out he was fired.
I wonder when Tony Grossi and the nay-sayers are going to get behind this. Probably about a year from now.
Posted 08:55 AM, 01/06/2009
I'm an old school Browns fan but why all the talk about Schottenheimer? Has any other team been talking to him? There may be a reason why he's not on people's lists. I think he wants complete control like a Holmgren had and others have had and it almost always goes south. He was a great coach, but nothing shows that he would be a great GM negotiating contracts and business affairs.
w.orange, nj
Posted 11:03 AM, 01/06/2009
Do not hire Mangini. I work/live in NY/NJ. The Jets are a terrible franchise with little substance. Mangini was a faceless Bela chick. If he quit or moved on that would be different but he was fired while holding a pretty nice hand. Open your eyes to all the coordinators and former coaches. I would take Fassel over Mangini ! Shott and Cower are sentimental favs. Get creative and get somebody with TEETH !
Marion, Oh
Posted 11:04 AM, 01/06/2009
This is very troubling. We have a head coach in Mangini who is referring/hiring his good friend to be his boss?
It can only happen with the Browns.
Posted 11:53 AM, 01/06/2009
LERNER IS SCREWING UP...HE KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT COACHES AND GMS...HE REALLY ONLY HAS TO HIRE ONE MAN...THE HEAD COACH...
Shanahan said he wanted to wait a couple of weeks before considering another position...SO WAIT
Schottenheimer would be ideal for our team...LERNER WOULDN'T EVEN INTERVIEW THE GUY?
Kohwer and Tuna are off the table....
With Shanahan all you would need to do is hire him and make him Head Coach and VP of football operations and let him Hire the GM to put together the GM staff ...
WE ARE LEFT WITH THE TABLE SCRAPS ALREADY AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR LERNER TO MAKE 2 GOOD CHOICES FROM WHAT IS LEFT ....HE DOESN'T KNOW ENOUGH....
Pearland, TX
Posted 03:07 PM, 01/06/2009
Mangini is a brother-in-law of Lerner's buddy so we get him. Never mind he's a loser. Kokinis is a nobody. Perfect, Randy, that's just what we need.
Posted 03:53 PM, 01/06/2009
The Browns are in a situation of taking what they can get. The last ten years of the Browns franchise have been the worst in the history of the team. The Lerner family has done nothing to show anyone they can lead an organization, and as a result, no stellar candidates for either job are banging on the door.
Fairfield, CT
Posted 08:31 PM, 01/06/2009
You guys are really REALLY LAME!!
Has it occurred to you the real reason why the Jets fired Mangini? You don't know do you?
I live in the NYC area and saw Mangini be called Man-Genius by the papaers. He has two winning seasons in three with a crappy team. The Browns haven't had that since Marty was coach.
Mangini will follow in the long line of Jets Head Coaches who went on to success elsewhere like:
Lou Holtz, Pete Carroll, Bill Parcells, Herman Edwards and oh yeah - Bill Belichick.
I don't care what you know-nothings say in this forum. Paul Brown could get hired and you guys would say "what's he done lately."
Just remember when Mangini turns out to be pretty darn good (everyone knows he has one of the best football minds there is) - don't forget who said it first.
Mangini is NOT the only guy available. The other guys know that Lerner wants Mangini because even a billionaire can tell when someone knows what they are talking about.
Fairfield, CT
Posted 08:33 PM, 01/06/2009
Oh yeah - the reason the Jets fired Mangini - they thought they were getting Cowher. Ha ha. Now they are the team no one wants to coach because who wants to coach a team that fires a 9-7 guy.
They are looking at college coaches.
Uniontown, OH
Posted 11:22 PM, 01/06/2009
I don't understand the Browns in that they always are making bad decisions. I always thought that Lerner was a smart guy but how could you consider a Mangini/Kolkinis combo and think this duo could ever turn this Browns team into a championship team. Lerner you got the money why not go out and get proven winners..Look at this combo Carl Peterson as your GM and Marty Schottenheimer as your coach. Lerner wants the two to be able to work together so there you go. We need experience to lead this team in the right direction vs.hiring someone just who was just fresh off the chopping block to fill the spot. They had reason for letting them go and the Browns can't afford more disappointment.
Posted 01:10 AM, 01/07/2009
I'm OK with Mangini as head coach; he's young, bright & has 3 years of experience. I believe there's a lot of upside with him. However, hiring this guy from Baltimore who has no GM experience is a joke (can you say Savage?). Mr. Lerner, please hire a real GM; like McKay, Petersen or Floyd Reese for example. If you hire an inexperienced GM, we probably will not be successful & the fans (including myself) are going to riot!
Posted 08:09 AM, 01/07/2009
What are we - a training ground for the unproven management pool? No to Kokinis!!!
Posted 01:29 AM, 01/08/2009
injury reports may not affect winning and losing - but it DOES affect betting. does anyone think that
1) there is no betting on NFL games?
2) injury reports don't affect the line for a game?
3) people don't try to gain an edge w/info?
