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By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal staff writer
POSTED: 07:26 p.m. EST, Nov 03, 2009
BEREA: The ominous silence over Monday's ouster of Browns General Manager George Kokinis could signal a legal battle over money still due Kokinis.
ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Tuesday that the Browns were seeking dismissal ''for cause.'' On Monday, Mortensen reported that the Browns were trying to work out a settlement with Kokinis in which he would resign, but that Kokinis refused.
Terms of his contract were never disclosed after Kokinis, handpicked by coach Eric Mangini, was hired on Jan. 23.
Mangini avoided almost all questions about Kokinis, even though they had been friends for years. Those ties might have been severed in recent weeks.
Kokinis' father, Pete, was Mangini's wrestling coach at Bulkeley High School in Hartford, Conn. Kokinis and Mangini were roommates in a Berea apartment when they broke into the NFL as Browns interns in 1994. Kokinis served on the board of directors of Mangini's foundation.
On Tuesday, Mangini didn't even wish Kokinis well.
''Any time a decision like this is made, it is difficult personally and professionally,'' Mangini said. ''George is a friend of mine and I respect him and I wish his family well. I can tell you that for a variety of reasons, things didn't work out.
''You never go into a situation like this with the intention of it not working out. We felt that organizationally this was the best decision in order to move forward. We have a strong structure in place on both the pro side and the college side and things will continue to operate effectively on a day-to-day basis.''
Mangini tried to discourage further questions on Kokinis, to no avail, but offered little insight with his responses.
Asked if there were legal reasons he wouldn't talk further, Mangini said, ''There's really a variety of reasons and I'll just leave it at that.''
Kokinis is the second friend of Mangini to go in the past week, joining team operations director Erin O'Brien, Mangini's personal assistant with the New York Jets.
Asked what having two dismissals in the past week said about the stability of the organization, Mangini said: ''We've had one situation where that was the case. I feel like we have a very strong structure in place on the personnel side and I'm confident that day-to-day we'll be able to execute the things that we need to execute.''
Presumably the ''one situation'' is O'Brien, because of the wrangling over Kokinis' departure.
Mangini is the voice of the organization and pulls all the strings, which left little for Kokinis to do. Owner Randy Lerner would not discuss the Kokinis situation via e-mail the past two days and did not respond to requests to speak with beat writers off-camera.
On Sunday, Lerner said he wanted to find a ''strong, credible, serious leader'' to head the football operations.
Former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar could be in line for a high-level position and has been spending a lot of time in Berea. Kosar was seen at the facility with Lerner at 10 p.m. Monday and arrived just after practice began Tuesday, dressed more sharply than usual in a sport coat and jeans.
Former Indianapolis Colts, Browns and New York Giants General Manager Ernie Accorsi has been mentioned, but he told Cleveland.com on Tuesday that he had not spoken to the Browns and was happily retired and not interested in a full-time position. Accorsi left the Giants after the 2006 season, but served as a consultant in Lerner's search for a general manager. Accorsi recommended Dave Gettleman, the Giants' director of pro personnel.
Browns players seemed unfazed by the latest controversy, likely more concerned with their upcoming four days off for the bye week.
''I guess I'm a little surprised, but obviously we don't know the situation so we're just going with the flow,'' left tackle and co-captain Joe Thomas said. ''There's been lot of crazy things that have happened over the last couple years.''
Receiver/returner Joshua Cribbs said: ''I feel like the organization is still intact. We've got our captain of the ship, Mangini is still running it.''
When Cribbs was asked if he knew Kokinis, he said, ''Yeah,'' and laughed.
To that, Thomas said, ''Not really, he wasn't around too much, and when he was he was pretty quiet.''
When tight end Steve Heiden, in his eighth year with the Browns, was asked if he was surprised at the general manager's departure, he wouldn't venture into those waters.
''I'm in my bubble and I'm staying there,'' Heiden said.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.
