The greatest fear I had about the search for leadership by the Cleveland Browns is coming true. Owner Randy Lerner is making the decision the wrong way, and by that I mean he has become enamored by a coach, and is considering letting that man beside what direction this franchise is going in. I believe this will be a mistake, and the Browns fans will have to wait longer before their team gets back into contention.
It appears that Lerner has developed a yearning for former Jets’ coach Eric Mangini, and now is considering Ravens’ Director of Pro Personnel George Kokinis at the team’s GM. What I’m wondering is what has Eric Mangini done in the NFL to merit wielding this much power.
Count me among those who believe Lerner should find the man he wants to run the football operations first, and then let this “football man” decide who should be the next coach. Remember, Lerner did the same thing four years ago with Romeo Crennel and hired him first. That didn’t work out so well, did it?
Mangini spent three years as the Jets’ coach and he did take New York to the playoffs in his first year, showing great improvement from the 4-12 record the year before. The Jets went 10-6 that season, but they did benefit from a ridiculously easy schedule. Remember that the 4-12 Browns handed New York one of their defeats in that first season.
The Jets dropped to 4-12 in 2007, but rebounded to finish 9-7 this past season. They were 8-3 before playing poorly down the stretch losing to teams like the Raiders, Seahawks, and 49ers. Part of that was the poor play of Brett Favre, but still as Bill Parcells says, “you are what your record says you are”.
That makes Mangini 23-25 in his three seasons as the Jets boss. Considering the Browns have hired only one head coach with previous NFL head coaching experience in the history of the team (Nick Skorich), this qualifies as getting a winner. Mangini may well develop into the next Vince Lombardi, but he should definitely not be handed over the football operations of an entire franchise.
As for Kokinis, he might be a very qualified personnel person. However, no one had heard of the guy until a couple of days ago. His biggest qualification is that Mangini likes him and they enjoyed a good working relationship with the Browns and Ravens.
Randy Lerner needs to hire someone with experience and with a history of success. There is no timetable for the hire, it is much more important to get it right. Find someone to run the football operation and let him hire the head coach. If that guy is Scott Pioli, great, if he doesn’t want to leave New England, fine. Rich McKay has had success at both Tampa Bay and Atlanta and would be a fine choice to take over here.
Lerner is acting like a fan, not an owner. He was very impressed with Mangini in the interview process, and it seems like he has stopped talking to other prospective coaches because he liked the former Jets’ boss. What is there to lose by talking to Titan defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz? Why not talk to Mike Shanahan, who has two Super Bowl victories on his resume.
Hire a football man first. Let him talk to your prospective coaching candidates, and then make your decision. You are running this football team backwards, and the results are showing up in the win-loss record.
JD
Cleveland Sports Perspective 