Just hours after “soul-searching” about the fate of his Cleveland Browns, team owner Randy Lerner put his frustration to action with the removal of Browns General Manager George Kokinis, who was reportedly seen being escorted out of the Browns practice facility in Berea on Monday morning.
The Browns were not saying whether Kokinis resigned or was fired. However, late speculation from various media sources is, Kokinis was dismissed “with cause.”
The beleaguered — and largely absent — Kokinis, hired at the suggestion of Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini, seems to have been made the sacrificial lamb for the Browns 1-7 season, its anemic so-called offense, and the general frustration, malaise, and chaos that has been the Cleveland Browns organization since Mangini took the helm early this year.
As of Tuesday, Cleveland NBC affiliate, WKYC Channel 3 and the Lake County News-Herald have reported that Lerner has been speaking with former Browns GM Ernie Acorsi about the idea of possibly becoming the Browns next general manager with the purpose of grooming former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar for that role.
However, The Plain Dealer is reporting that Acorsi, is in retirement with no desire to go back to work.
Despite the discrepancies, one thing is sure: Kosar is expected to take on a more formal role in the Browns organization and football team he loves.
On Tuesday morning, rabid Browns fans “Dawgpound Mike” and “Mobile Dawg” appeared on the espn Cleveland affiliate WKNR-850AM “Really Big Show” to report they had just met with Lerner about the state of the Browns.
Lerner agreed to meet the two after the fans announced a protest to be staged outside of Cleveland Browns stadium at the Browns next home game on Monday Night Football, Nov. 16, against the Baltimore Ravens. The plan calls for the fans to refrain from taking their seats until after kick-off. This would give the national audience a view of a near empty stadium.
The move is aimed at giving the impression of the disgust Cleveland fans have for the 2009-10 Browns, its management, and organization. The ploy is also intended to embarrass the owner and move him to make the necessary moves to restore the Browns to the great and well-respected organization it once was — prior to the Move to Baltimore in 1995.
“Dawgpound Mike” and “Mobile Dawg” told the local radio show host Tony Rizzo that Lerner met with them for nearly two hours, Tuesday morning; that Lerner listened to their concerns and spoke passionately about the Browns. Lerner did not ask the two “dawgs” to cancel the protest and it is still on.
Randy Lerner also made mention of promising his father, Browns former owner Al Lerner, that he would take over the ownership and turn the Browns into champions, again. Randy Lerner intends to honor his father’s deathbed request.
At Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini’s press conference Tuesday morning, Mangini addressed the Kokinis dismissal — sort of: “George is a friend of mine and … for a variety of reasons things did not work out. Organizationally, (Kokinis’ dismissal) was the best decision in order to move forward.”
With that, Mangini refused to entertain further questions about Kokinis, and began droning on with the same old refrain: “Analyzing film, trying to improve…”
Perhaps Mangini, like Brady Quinn, should put his house up for sale. It takes several months to sell a home in Cleveland.
