It's hard to believe that any serious candidate (Cowher, Shanahan, etc.) would come in now, when there is absolutely nothing that can be done. Booting Kokinis to the curb now doesn't seem to make much sense. Edit: here are more details: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4616312
I know I quoted that article above, but I just read it through and had to point out a few gems: From Mangini: Does this guy EVER say something different? He is obviously completely incapable of adjusting to anything, even press conferences and interviews. From David Bowens: Now we know why Bowens was brought in - he has also been carefully schooled regarding the process. But which is it? Are the guys on the team people who've lost a lot? Or won a lot? Does the process only work for people who've been on .500 teams? Mangini on replacing Kokinis: Considering that you handpicked Kokinis to be your GM, it's really classy for you to throw him under the bus this way, Eric. Other tidbits include that even though the Cleveland offense has scored all of 5 TDs the entire season, Mangini has no plans to change the duties of the OC, and he is still holding off making a decision on who the QB is. Is there even the slightest doubt at this point that this guy is spectacularly in over his head?
^ To be frank....I figured this wouldn't happen for at least 2 seasons......the fact that this is happening now....is a true testament to Mangini's garbage program and his smug attitude. All this finger pointing in Cleveland is entertaining.
The End of Mankok Source: Browns fire GM Kokinis http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4616312 Cleveland Browns general manager George Kokinis was fired Monday, a league source confirmed to ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, but team owner Randy Lerner said coach Eric Mangini would not be joining him. Television station WKYC and the Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported Monday night that Kokinis was ushered out of the Berea facility by security around lunchtime Monday. Kokinis was brought in to helm the team after the Browns had hired Mangini, who coached last year with the New York Jets. Public relations director Neal Gulkis told the Akron Beacon-Journal the team would not confirm the reports. It's the first major change for a Browns team that has struggled in all aspects of the game and fell to 1-7 with a 30-6 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Lerner said Sunday night he is "sick" about the state of his NFL team but he will not make a coaching change. An upset Lerner told the Plain Dealer and Beacon-Journal on Sunday that he would not fire Mangini during the club's bye week. Lerner did say he would like to bring in a "strong, credible, serious leader" to help run his team. Lerner did not expand on who that person might be or if that person currently worked for the Browns. He recently brought in former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar in an unspecified consulting role. The source told Mortensen that Lerner is asking former Colts, Browns and Giants GM Ernie Accorsi to act in a consultant's role with the team. Accorsi retired as Giants GM after the 2006 season. "The highest priority that I have is a strong, credible, serious leader within the building to guide decisions in a far more conspicuous, open transparent way," Lerner said Sunday, according to the Plain Dealer. "I can maybe defend decisions by saying I've sought advice and I've brought people in, and we've gone to see people -- and I think my highest priority is to have a stable figure that represents the voice that explains the decisions." Mangini said he would be open to such a hire. "If you can add quality people that can help you get better, then you do that," Mangini said. "You're always searching for those opportunities." Kokinis was supposed to be that person. Mangini handpicked him to be the team's GM -- both began their careers in Cleveland in the early 1990s when Bill Belichick was coaching the Browns. A source told the Plain Dealer "Kokinis is a great guy who does not deserve this. He is taking the fall for the team's problems and it's not right.'' The Plain Dealer reported that Lerner had tried to get Kokinis to take a more visible role as the team's GM, encouraging him to be interviewed recently by Sports Illustrated. Days earlier, the Browns had dismissed Erin O'Brien, the team's director of team operations. O'Brien was an assistant to Mangini with the Jets. Kokinis, who had 18 years worth of NFL experience , was the final voice on the Browns' 53-man roster. Mangini's job security was not a topic in Cleveland's locker room, which was mostly vacant Monday. Linebacker David Bowens, who played for Mangini in New York, feels the coach's system may not take hold until the team starts winning. "Part of the problem is we have a lot of guys on this team that have been used to losing, been used to being on teams that have won a lot of games and don't understand the process," Bowens said. "I think just selling out and buying in. I firmly believe in just hard work and execution. The coaches can coach their tails off, they can get two hours sleep a week, but they're not playing the game. "A lot of mistakes are made by us as players. Once we assess that and just buy in, commit ourselves to each other, I think things will change." Mangini believes his process for turning around the team will work despite a horrid first half of the season. Mangini said he and Lerner share the same vision for improving the Browns. Mangini and his coaching staff will spend the next week -- the Browns don't play again until Nov. 16 -- evaluating and analyzing every aspect of the team. Despite Cleveland's offense being ranked 31st overall and scoring just five touchdowns, Mangini has no plans to change offensive coordinator Brian Daboll's duties. However, he may rely more on quarterbacks coach Carl Smith, a former offensive coordinator with New Orleans and Jacksonville. Mangini's also holding off on making a decision at quarterback. Derek Anderson posted a 10.5 rating in Sunday's debacle before he was yanked in the final minutes for Brady Quinn, who began the season as Cleveland's starter but was benched after just 10 quarters. After Sunday's loss to the Bears, only 5 percent of SportsNation approves of the job coach Eric Mangini has done with the Browns this season. Ratings Mangini lamented Cleveland's five turnovers, including two fumbles -- one by rookie wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, the other by tight end Steve Heiden -- following completions by Anderson that sabotaged potential scoring chances. Mangini felt the Browns were moving the ball and Anderson can't be judged solely on his atrocious statistics. "You never just want to look at the numbers, you want to always look at it in the context of the game," Mangini said. Anderson's numbers are impossible to ignore. According to STATS LLC, his 36.2 QB rating is the lowest of any player through eight weeks since Oakland's Marc Wilson in 1981. Also, Anderson's 320 yards passing in the past four games are the fewest by any quarterback with a minimum of 80 attempts since Chicago's Vince Evans in '81. Anderson, meanwhile, said he's "not happy about anything." "I'm not happy that I got pulled out, I'm not happy we lost, I'm not happy about anybody's play, my play, nothing," he said. "I haven't been happy." Mangini, too, is dismayed by the losing but remains confident the Browns will improve. "This is a process," Mangini said. "We [Mangini and Lerner] talked about that quite a bit, and that doesn't change. There's things that go along with that and that doesn't mean we're not looking to win every game, it doesn't mean we're not looking to improve each week. On the contrary, that's exactly what we're going to do. "Randy and I share the same vision and that's something that we talked about and what we do talk about quite a bit is what's the best way to achieve that. I've always had good conversations with him and always will." Mangini said he shared Lerner's distaste for the Browns' putrid performance so far. "But I also believe in the things that we're doing and I understand it doesn't happen overnight," he said. "There's not one formula in terms of specific ingredients, but there is a very specific approach that you have to take and I believe in that. It has been successful. It will be successful here." In acknowledging the disappointment with the season, Lerner has agreed to meet with two longtime season-ticket holders organizing a protest to show their disgust with the team's decade of losing. Two fans, Mike Randall and Tony Schafer, have been urging fans to stay away from their seats for the opening kickoff of the Nov. 16 nationally televised game against Baltimore. The pair have a meeting scheduled with Lerner on Tuesday morning at the team's headquarters. Randall, who's also known as "Dawg Pound Mike," plans to present Lerner with over 2,000 e-mails he has received from fans since announcing the "walk-in" protest. Randall says he hopes to persuade the ultraprivate Lerner to speak directly to Cleveland's fan base. Randall said he and Schafer spoke briefly with Lerner before Sunday's game. In planning their demonstration for before the Monday night game against the Ravens, the fans had hoped to force Lerner and Cleveland's front office to address growing concerns about the club's direction as well as a lack of connection to the Browns' storied past. "They are listening," Randall said. "We know that Randy cares and we don't want him to sell the team. Our goal is to get him to talk to the fans so we know what's going on. We're going to talk to him about a lot of things from stadium operations to the atmosphere on game days to our frustration that the fans are not being heard." Randall said he and Schafer would spend Monday night putting together a formal presentation for Lerner, who took over ownership of the Browns after his father, Al, died in 2002. Lerner has been criticized by some Cleveland fans for not being more outspoken and available. Lerner's ownership of English soccer club Aston Villa has been viewed by some as proof that he doesn't care about the Browns, who are on their fourth coach since 1999.
I didn't think things would be THIS bad in Cleveland. 8 games into his career he's already finished as GM!
I've got to give Mangini credit ---- the guy is entirely responsible for the pathetic play, yet he manages to avoid the ax & gets others to take the fall for him. He is still pitching that same old BS --- "You're always searching for those opportunities." "This is a process," "it doesn't mean we're not looking to improve each week."
Its sad really. Theres almost no talent on that team and Mangini was able to find ways to win in 2006 when he was with us and had very little talent. His team isn't even competitive and the players clearly don't want to win for this guy. He looked like he could have been a good head coach at one point. Oh well, he'll be lucky to be coaching the DBs on a high school football team next season.
The team went 10-6 in 2007 with many of the same players, but they were kind of mediocre and got some lucky breaks in a couple games to bloat their record. So I guess you are right- the talent is not great in Cleveland. But Mantits is still pathetic.
What did Browns management expect would happen this year? Coming off a 4-12 season, they bring in a new GM, a new DC, etc, a new(ish) QB, and a new HC that's stockpiling picks for next year and they're upset because they're not winning games? Shocking. They're probably going to fire Mangini at the end of the season or next and be back at square one. Not saying Mangini's a great coach or Kokinis is a good GM, but if the Browns organization doesn't have the patience to let a regime they hired build a team then fuck them, they deserve this.
I agree. I'd keep Mangini for this year and the next... then after he takes the weight of rebuilding the team fire him and get a decent coach . Being in a divisions with Ravens, Steelers and this year?s Bengals doesn't help much...
I get what you're saying, and it makes perfect sense, but as I said in the other Browns thread, I can't get away from the fact that it seems that Mangini is in way over his head. His hero Belichick is the master of adjustment, but he just seems to be completely incapable of it - even to the point of never being able to say anything other than his nonsense about "the process." His complete paralysis in choosing a QB is not the sign of a decent leader (the other possibility is that he is complicit in keeping Quinn off the field so that he can't get his bonus; if that's the case, he's just a piece of shit). He's already thrown his handpicked GM under the bus, and the director of football operations that he brought from the Jets (Erin O'Brien) was canned a few days ago. At this point he seems capable of doing nothing but sticking to his script, and only interested in keeping his job another day.
