I feel badly for George Kokinis, who is out as general manager of the Browns. Moving to Cleveland proved to be a great financial move for him, but a poor professional one in aligning himself with Eric “The Secret” Mangini.
My fundamental question is: How did Mangini convince Lerner, based on his tapestry of work while at the New York Jets, that he was the right man for the job? Was it that cameo on “The Sopranos” that made him so alluring?
Look, I’m all for the Sopranos, but I’d rather have Uncle Junior coaching the team than Mangini.
Lerner has had six months to watch the decisions and recommendations of “The Secret,” and here’s what he’s seen:
1. A collection of former Jets players who are marginal starters for the team and probably will not be a part of the eventual rebuilding.
2. A poor evaluation of his own quarterback situation, to the point where the team held the fifth pick in the draft and gave the Jets a quarterback who might have saved their franchise. When you pick high, you have a chance to repair your team at the most critical positions.
3. A recommendation by Mangini that Kokinis be his general manager and that Erin O’Brien be employed somewhere in the organization — after everyone at the Jets warned the Browns not to allow Mangini to make that move. O’Brien is the Manginis’ former babysitter and a friend of his wife Julie. Both Kokinis and O’Brien are now gone.
4. A coach who has demonstrated no ability to communicate with the fans to let them know there’s actually a plan in place to repair this sacred franchise. He’s the team spokesman, but the problem is that he doesn’t speak.
5. An offense so abysmal that it shows no hope of ever scoring.
Is this enough to make you want to be patient?
