Questions surrounding Kokinis firing

By Aaron Ziraks
NoLogoNeeded.com staff writer   

As I was flipping through channels last night, I got a text from our editor Don. He said he just heard Browns general manager George Kokinis got escorted out of the building and was being let go. My response was simply, "What?"

As I sat there in awe, I started thinking about how that went down. My sophomoric mind went straight to the episode of Seinfeld where George equips his office desk in Yankee Stadium to be able to take naps underneath because nobody ever bothers him anyway. However, one day George Steinbrenner comes in with his grand kids and camps out in the office while George is napping under the desk. I can just see Kokinis all curled up under his desk and Lerner pops in for a surprise visit. Busted.

I find it hard to believe that Kokinis took the fall for no reason. Maybe he was sleeping, or maybe he had more to do with our suspect draft than we all originally thought. What if Kokinis was adamant about picking David Veikune and Brian Robiskie? I doubt that is how it went down, but we may never know the truth.

Mangini is now the man heading forward, as far as we can see it. I do think this presents a very good question: Is Lerner putting the wheels in motion to bring in one of the big-name coaches that will supposedly be on the market this coming offseason?

Mike Shannahan, Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden, Tony Dungy and Brian Billick are all big-name coaches and the jewelry to show for it.  If any of those coaches would come back, you can bet that would want full control of all football operations.

It seems unfair that Mangini would put in one year of trying to turn the Browns around and then get the axe. But if Lerner finally has a little fire and cares about the team it could happen. Let's face it this is business.

Which leads me to my next point. Lerner is already paying Phil Savage through 2012 and has an unresolved payment issue with Romeo Crennel. Now he is going to be paying George Kokinis. Now I realize NFL owners have deep pockets, but we are not talking about a couple of bucks. If he does fire Mangini he will owe him two more years of pay. Not to mention any of the big name coaches above will be asking Mega Millions winnings type numbers.

So I guess at this point it comes down to how much Lerner cares about the team. Up until this point he hasn't seemed that interested, but by firing Kokinis maybe he is turning over a new leaf. Only time will tell, but the second half of the season is sure to be more dysfunctional than the first.

Editor's note: Here is an interesting paragrah from George Kokinis' Wikipedia page. You can always find Wikipedia for a good laugh:

"George Kokinis (born February 27, 1967) is a former general manager of the Cleveland Browns. The story goes that when Kokinis was a young boy he became lost while walking through the forest. As the night took hold, a mysterious old woman appeared in the darkness. She told Kokinis not to be afraid and took his hand. She then led him home. How she knew where he lived is anyone's guess. Before leaving him, the woman revealed that she was a fortune teller. She told Kokinis that he was destined to be a great man."

  November 03, 2009 at 9:22 AM

Comments

Good job! Now we need to fire just one more to completely clean house.

New GM more than likely means a new coach of his choosing.

  November 03, 2009 at 11:47 AM by tmac4

Check out the bottom of the Wiki page.

Preceded by Phil Savage

Cleveland Browns General Manager
2009–2009

Succeeded by Ernie Accorsi

  November 03, 2009 at 5:55 PM by pyelor

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: