In Mangini We Trust.....

Hello everyone! The Cleveland Browns today agreed to a 4 year deal with former New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini. I wrote in one of my previous blogs that I liked Mangini, and if you want to see how I feel about him you can read it. This is a good hire considering that there were really no other good candidates out there. McDaniels, and Spagnuolo were both candidates, but they were both coordinators with no head coaching experience. The Browns needed someone to restore order and discipline, and Mangini can do that. In his three years with the Jets, he lead them to a 23-25 record, and I was happy to see some of his players stick up for him after he got fired. He has the Bill Belichick look in his eye, and he doesn't look dumbfounded when he is out there. I hope his second chance at a head coaching gig proves to be a successful one.

In terms of a GM search, it seems that Scott Pioli won't be coming here. He wants to have complete control of the teams front office, and Randy Lerner doesn't seem to keen on that idea. I agree because we saw what happened with Phil Savage. He didn't have any experience in a front office setting, and running an organization. This is why I don't like the Browns going after a guy like George Kokinis. Kokinis works in the player personnel department for the Baltimore Ravens, and he smells much like Phil Savage. Savage for those of you don't know worked as a player personnel guy with the Ravens before the Browns gig. If Lerner does decide to bring in Kokinis, he should bring him in a capacity where he would be in line with the coach, and just bringing in players. He should not have any more authority, and the Browns should look into hiring a Vice-President for the team, a-la Carmen Policy and John Collins. Funny thing about Collins, he looks like he was right back in 2005 when he decided to fire Savage for trying to ask for too much power in the organization. Lerner stepped in and decided to fire Collins over Savage. Collins told Lerner that Savage would not be able to handle the increased power, and I guess he was right. The Browns are also looking into Philadelphia Eagles GM Tom Heckert. This seems like a good idea because the Browns need a GM with experience. He has built a good organization in Philadelphia, and he has kept the Eagles competitive for years. They also need someone who isn't going to crave power and have the final say in an organization. We need a GM who will work in line with the coach. Also, the team philosophy that the owner speaks, should be spoken by the GM, and the coach. This can be seen in the Cavaliers organization in that owner Dan Gilbert, GM Danny Ferry, and coach Mike Brown in that they are all on the same wavelength. The Browns should follow this blueprint, it will foster an identity and culture with our team, which is something we have lacked for too many years.

Well this is it folks, I hope you enjoyed this one! Thanks for reading and go Cleveland!

-Raz