Eric Mangini to Tear Down Historical Mural?
January 24, 2009While We’re Waiting…
January 26, 2009
Exactly four weeks from the day Phil Savage was shown the way out, the Cleveland Browns have officially announced the hiring of George Kokins as their general manager.
Per Browns media relations:
The Cleveland Browns today announced the hiring of George Kokinis as the clubâs general manager. Kokinis returns to the club where he started his NFL career with a total of 18 years of front office experience, including the last 13 years with the Baltimore Ravens and the last six as the clubâs director of pro personnel.
âThe Browns are excited to bring George back to Cleveland where he began his NFL career,â said Browns owner Randy Lerner. âHe is a tireless worker that has spent his entire career evaluating talent and knows the type of player it takes to be successful in this league and in our division.”
âI would like to thank Randy Lerner for the extraordinary opportunity,â said Kokinis. âCleveland is a football town and I look forward to working alongside Eric Mangini and the rest of the organization.â
So, there you have it. Your Cleveland Browns are now in the hands of two men that have a lot in common. Both Kokinis and Mangini have the Cleveland ties. They are grateful that Randy Lerner has given them the opportunity to take the reigns. And they both now have a fan base that is near their collective witts end when it comes to losing and being the proverbial laughing stock of not only the AFC North, but the NFL in general. Perhaps Wallgate was just the start of the new era. But as many of you all have already stated, as long as it brings in a winning franchise, have at it.
Not surprising, this hire comes just two days after the release of TJ McCreight. We’ll get a chance to see Kokinis’ highly regarded eye for acquiring talent in the relative near term given the NFL Draft is less than three months away.
Welcome to the Kokinis/Mangini era, folks. You may want to buckle up.
29 Comments
Or you may not want to buckle up. The only thing you might know is that you will know nothing at all. Who knows how quiet the information flow will be out of Berea now.
which may be for the better given all of the dirty laundry that became NFL news this year…
Day 3: Secretary accidently messes up Kokinis’s coffee order, and:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwTJ08lb73Q
Maybe we can get another Brady Quinn/Joe Thomas presser out of this? đ
Everybody knew this was coming, so it’s good to see it’s finally official. What is curious to me, though, is that they waited so long to announce it. By all accounts, he cleaned out his office in Baltimore last weekend, and has been at the job most of the week, if the reports we hear are correct.
It will be interesting to see their approach this offseason.
Presser is announced for tomorrow. Let’s hope that Kokinis emerges as the voice of Berea that we have all been clamoring for.
@Craig – everything I’ve read about this guy commends him for his professional demeanor and meticulous attention to detail. I could see him potentially doing well in that role, acting as the voice (or face) of the team.
But when Mangini was hired, if memory serves… didn’t he say that he (Mangini) would be the face and voice of the team? (a la Belichick?)
@DP- bonus points for bringing the browns and the office together
Craig, I share your concerns about the organization sealing itself off from the fan base a la the 90s Belichick era. It seems likely that Mangini will be the public face of the franchise, which concerns me, especially given what the Jets bloggers wrote about him being irritatingly occluded and dull in front of the media. Just win baby? Yeah, sure. But I also would prefer that the team be accessible and not ruled w/ an iron fist.
I weep for the future.
Iron Fist or Jelly Fingers…as long as they win do we hear a tree fall in the forest?
One thing that sounds nice about the duo hired is that they are both meticulous. They both are described as hard working and both are said to do a lot of work in preparing for the upcoming opponent. Also, Kokinis seems to have been a big deal with connecting the front office to the coaching staff in baltimore. I am optimistically looking at this hire as someone who can at least make the front office respectable. Heres to the Brownies for 2009! time for this offseason FA and draft talk to begin!
“Look at all the talent he and Garcia have brought to Miami. Plus, he worked under Jimmy Johnson while they were building Super Bowl teams in Dallas.”
–Me, circa 2001 when the club hired Butch Davis.
In other words, you can put a positive spin on anything.
đ
Not sayin’, just sayin’.
I would argue that the kokinis hype is about his thinking and ability to communicate and get people to work together and that is not something like talent evaluation, where it could be a guy riding the coattails of another. Im still being skeptical, but optimistic that maybe Lerner may have gotten ‘lucky’ enough to have this work out, because it seems that both men have very similar qualities that they bring to the table.
Heck, I just hope we win a game next year. Seriously.
Mankok is coming, the wait is over. The new ROOKIE GM of the Cleveland Browns comes highly recommended by the new coach. Don’t you love that process and like those odds? I’m sure the posts will continue in the fashion of “as long as they win”………well, have at it, and “hope”. The issues as I see it with the start of team Mankok: (in response to Pluto’s thoughts today).
1.) Wow……if this does indeed follow suit where the coach is the “voice” to the public, this is set up to be a terrible situation. Mangini is a horrific public speaker, even on those occasions when he is forced to do so. Very little to say, very little inclination to say anything, and not a publicly energetic or passionate man in any respect. While I don’t hold it personally against him, the lisp just won’t help.
(Mike Tomlin and Ken Wisenhunt can handle a microphone and smile).
2.) Kokinis being “credentialed”? I have to disagree in terms of THIS job. THIS job called for an experienced NFL GM/Executive VP with the track record behind him to take this leadership role on in a critical time frame. In my book, his credentials don’t fit this job for this team.
3.) Lerner did a thorough job in researching Kokinis? Can’t buy this one either. He may have “researched” Kokinis, but he hired a GM who was recommended in a first interview by a prospective coaching candidate. The serious credentialed GM candidates immediately dropped out upon Mangini’s hiring (and rightfully so). The other few candidates interviewed were not even close to being serious.
This better work for Lerner. He better get in front of the microphone today and explain what and why. This is make it or bust for Lerner, I’m quite sure of that. His odds of success in my opinion have been GREATLY reduced by the types of hired he has made here.
Kokinis better be able to project something to the public………he better be able to stand in front of a microphone and represesent this organization.
Viva la Monkok.
I’ll be watching today at 11:00am looking forward to:
1.) Randy Lerner’s introduction of HIS new management team and reasons
thereof (and not Mike Keenan telling us who he is).
2.) George Kokinis PR skills as head of a major organization, and his vision
for such.
3.) Eric Mangini lending passion and articulation as the titular “voice” of this
new regime.
4.) A passionate embrace with the long time and newly consumated
“friendship” that is Mankok.
Viva la Mankok.
DP – don’t you think it would be a little more like this if his coffee order was wrong?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYQyvA6501A
Someday we are going to read about Randy getting an email from Kokinis after a Browns win over the Bills telling him to root for them. I can feel it.
Craig………nice!
And Craig…….if this long odds shot at success doesn’t work out will I get an email from you my friend?!
FYI-I was fully supporting Randy Lerner through all these lean years, up and until the time of his (not out of any managment handbook) hirings. Let’s hope he proves me wrong…….look at the process here as criterion instead of hope.
I do stand fully by my comments…….!
Nothing to fear. Mark Shapiro gives Mankok two thumbs up.
PS-
Can anyone tell me who is the mentor is this coach/gm relationship?
Can anyone site another example of the head of any corporation/team hiring a manager/coach and then allowing that person to pick HIS Senior Executive in the first interview?
Just wondering…………..this “could” work!
What’s the over/under on “The Randolph’s” words today? 100?
Why didn’t we dust off the sweet photo of Kokinis with the Browns beanie hat? I thought that was a keeper!
I wish him and Mangini well. Not the worst hires and I can accept the logic behind them. That said, I feel the overall stigma of the Browns (read THE RANDOLPH) eventually dragging them down. Hope is a dangerous thing.
@RandyOSU: as the person who is by far the biggest critic of Randy Lerner, why even bother calling for things that you KNOW won’t happen? You don’t like Lerner’s style–you’ve made that clear, and you’re not alone. But it seems foolhardy to continue demanding he do what YOU feel he should do and then hammering him when he doesn’t. It’s like you are setting up the situation so you can reload and fire off your criticisms again. Now I’m all for everyone’s right to come to this public forum and express themselves, and you are often eloquent in doing so, but at some point isn’t launching the same attack over and over again a bit tiresome? I’m not the biggest fan of the changes that have been made this off-season, but at this point I know they are happening regardless of what I think. As a fan, I’ll approach this new regime with a skeptical eye, but I won’t write it off until it has a chance to start putting together a track record of its own. Maybe we are back here 3-4 years from now in the same situation–and you will have called it, maybe Lerner is forced to sell, maybe the Browns bring home the Lombardi. The point is, this is the organization we have to deal with NOW, whether we like it or not, and we have seen nothing from them HERE to be able to judge the result. To use the tired sports cliche, “it is what it is”, much as we may not like it.
Hey B-Bo:
What’s your criteria for hiring a GM and coach for a dysfunctional organization?
I’m listening……points 1/2/3.
Hope/no alternatives/sounds ok to me……….won’t cut it.
I’ll continue to state it as I see it………..just as I’m sure you will. You are not obligated to read or agree.
And B-Bo-yes, it “is what it is”. You can accept things unconditionally or you can analyze based on rational criteria. Your choice, just as it’s my choice.
Understand this much:
I’ll continue to “call for things know won’t happen” (whatever that means) to offer reasoning to the process and activities-whether you or anyone likes it or not. Clearly 80% of the posts here will hope and accept everything; you can’t shout out those that don’t.
Would you rather this be like the Stepford Wives?
Correct me if i’m wrong, but didn’t Kokinis replace Savage when the Browns hired him?
Anyone know the name of they guy Baltimore is replacing Kokinis with?
Why do I ask? well, odds are that in 3-4 years, he’ll be OUR next GM!!
HA!
@ Josh – And our next head coach will be Dean Pees (Patriots D coordinator)
For the record I agree with B-bo’s post. The fans called for romeo and phil to be fired, and they tried to call what they want in a new head coach/GM. I believe Lerner knew what he wanted to do, and if you would have hired Kokinis before Mangini then we would have a lot different discussions in here. I think it was ridiculous hiring a coach before a GM, and I see a power struggle happening near the end of this regime. I will still look optimistically at the team i love to watch screw things up on Sundays though. There is still talent on the team, and they should be better then last year at least.
O and to Josh… Kokinis ‘officially’ never got a promotion in Baltimore. after Savage left Kokinis kept his same post, he just reported to Ozzie instead of phil. (said that in the James Walker article on espn i think).
Ok Randy, first off: does everything have to be a confrontation? The entire tone of your posting seems to skew to defensive as soon as someone asks you to expand on a point or asks a question of you. You are always quick to point out that this is a place where people can express their views and debate/discuss, so why does it seem that doesn’t apply to your views? We are all fans here, we all want to see the same things from our teams: there’s no need to be contentious. I’ve said before that I think your opinions are interesting and well-crafted, like most everyone else’s here. I’m not suggesting you don’t have a right to express your views. I was simply asking what you hope to accomplish by constantly rehashing your criticisms of Randy Lerner.
And this is why I ask: do you think you are telling anyone in this forum anythng they don’t already think or feel or that they haven’t already expressed? I can’t recall even a handful of arguments in favor of the way Randy Lerner has gone about this process, and I certainly haven’t agreed with them myself. You call me out about my criteria or what I would have done or whatever? Fair enough. I would have hired the GM first, and I liked Pioli, Schottenheimer, and Heckert for the position. I would then have gone for a coach, with the input of my new GM: Pioli never really stated a preference or had anyone too closely associated with him as a package deal, but Josh McDaniels might have been someone he would have liked given their history. Personally, I’d have been more keen on a Schwartz or Spagnuolo type, but if Pioli were sold on his guy, then I would trust him. Marty mentioned he’d be willing to work with Cowher–my first head coach choice–but in the end, neither wanted to be here, and I’m not one to beg. Heckert was an acknowledged Spags guy, and that would have worked for me. Now perhaps you have a business savvy far superior to mine–it wouldn’t be too hard, as I’m not a business guy (which I’m sure is part of my problem, right?)–and I won’t claim to be all-knowing about the business side of sports, but you asked what I would have done, and there it is: trust football guys whose ideas I agree with, and avoid simply carrying over from the last regime. I wish this owner was different, but me wishing won’t make it so.
Ultimately, though, all my ideas and beliefs and suggestions mean little–and that’s EXACTLY my point. It is unlikely that Randy Lerner is scouring the local blogs for insight into what his next moves should be–mob rule is never effective.No offense to the team that makes this site run: this is by far the best place to go to talk Cleveland sports, particularly for someone no longer living in the area like myself. RL just doesn’t strike me as a WFNY regular, you know?)And most everyone here already agrees with your view that this process was done poorly and lacked due diligence. The difference is, most of us have realized that the decision is made–For better or worse–and it’s time to let it play itself out. Do I think it has all the makings for success? No. But can you or anyone else offer anything other than a guess–educated or not–about how it will turn out? Also no.
Basically, your objection–like those of most of us here–is noted. If it turns out this whole mess starts again in 3-4 years, then you can be confident in the fact that you will be able to triumphantly proclaim that you were right–you called it, you were smart, Lerner was dumb, et cetera, et cetera, and so on. What would be nice is if we could get back to discussing what is, and not what should or could be. I for one prefer discussion over pontification, especially when it comes to sports. I look forward to discussing Cleveland sports with you and everyone here.