As Browns fans try to figure out precisely how it came to be that Scott Pioli isn’t the team’s G.M. and Eric Mangini is the head coach, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer addresses those rampant reports of “outrageous demands” Pioli made to Browns owner Randy Lerner.
And the reports really were rampant. On Sunday, we think ESPN’s Chris Mortensen used the phrase “extreme demands” more than he used the words “the” or “and.”
[UPDATE: Mort advises that he debunked the "extreme demands" theory on Monday.]
Citing “multiple sources close to the situation,” Cabot reports that the rumors and reports of such demands are and were “absolutely false.”
Cabot also reports that the talks between Lerner and Pioli were more “exploratory” in nature than actual negotiations.
And, further confirming that Lerner has the process of building a competitive football team bass-ackward, Cabot reports that Lerner decided that it was more important to hire a head coach before hiring a G.M.
It also could be that the “exploratory” talks between Lerner and Pioli included a list of the head coaches that Pioli would like to consider hiring — and that none of those candidates excited Lerner.
Regardless, Lerner hired a new coach only nine days after firing his old coach, at a time when his new coach was drawing no interest for any of the other four vacancies. (We know that there are five other vacancies, but we assume that the Jets wouldn’t have interviewed Mangini.)
So as to the folks who are reminding us of our past statement that Mangini’s role in Spygate would disqualify him from further employment in the NFL, this development confirms the reality that, even if 31 NFL teams say “hell no,” all that matters is whether one says, “heck yes.”
Lerner’s affinity for Mangini also might have been influenced by the fact that the Browns owner lives in New York, where Mangini had been the head football coach of one of the area’s two NFL teams for the past three years.
So like the Costanza “By Mennen” germ, it could be that Lerner found himself drawn to Mangini in part because Mangini has been such a prominent fixture in Lerner’s home market.
Back to Pioli, it’s still unknown whether he’ll be leaving the Patriots for the Chiefs. For now, though, it seems fairly clear that those are the only two options for the nine-year member of the Pats’ front office.
REPORT: PIOLI, BROWNS NEVER "NEGOTIATED"
Posted by Mike Florio on January 8, 2009, 8:35 AM EST
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Latest Stories in: Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Rumor Mill, Top Stories
19 Responses to “REPORT: PIOLI, BROWNS NEVER "NEGOTIATED"”
Rumors are flying here in Kansas City that Pioli has been offered the job, and that both sides are currently negotiating terms.
Pioli has been offered the job here in Kansas City and both sides are currently negotiating according to multiple sources with the Chiefs.
“Lerner’s affinity for Mangini also might have been influenced by the fact that the Browns owner lives in New York”
I’ve lived in NY almost my whole life. I wouldn’t hire Mangini to take out my trash.
east96st….would you let Favre take out the trash? Considering he was the one who single-handidly ruined their season.
Yes, according to all the gurus in the NFL world, Lerner went about this all wrong, hiring a coach before a GM. But it is clear that what had been happening hadn’t been working in Cleveland so perhaps Lerner got in touch with his inner-Robert Frost and took the road less traveled. And perhaps that will make all the difference. Or perhaps, everyone is right in their “expert” opinions and the Browns will fall flat on their face. And then, I’ll say “What else is new?” Different, in this case, may not be such a bad thing.
>>>So as to the folks who are reminding us of our past statement that Mangini’s role in Spygate would disqualify him from further employment in the NFL, this development confirms the reality that, even if 31 NFL teams say “hell no,” all that matters is whether one says, “heck yes.”<<<
The part you were unequivocal about is that he wouldn’t be a HEAD COACH in 2009 because of Spygate. You were wrong.
The new GM really won’t be a GM. He will be a partner with ManGenius in running the club. GM’s are responsible for the management of the team. I can’t imagine Ozzie being excluded from the decision on hiring Harbaugh. Kinda weird. I hope the Ravens press the NFL on George K. having final say in personel otherwise I wouldn’t let him go.
Florio is STILL right about Mangini not getting a job after being a rat. What kind of job is coaching the Cleveland Clowns?
At what point does Mort lose credibility? My impression is that every other story he “scoops” is either wrong or he is stealing from someone else that broke the story first. The article on ESPN about Mangini getting the Brown’s job was broken by Michael Holley yet there is no mention of that in Mort’s story.
Does this mean the Browns will have some Mankok? Or will Mankok put itself into the Browns?
Pioli will be the new Chiefs GM. Bank on it.
Do people still refer to this guy as “ManGenius”?
I wouldn’t count on Pioli taking the KC job. He can have the same job and power in Foxboro as soon as Belichick retires and he has a situation with an owner who already likes him and a situation where he doesn’t have to move half way accross the country. The Patriots also are going to make every effort to keep him.
Pioli isn’t going anywhere.
Mangini the “RAT” explained it to Lerner in laymans terms.
“see Randy , see how i got Bill in trouble, i’m a good boy huh, see how Bill does it with no GM, see Scott he is no GM, see we can do the same thing see, see we can get kokomo from the ravens and make him like GM but he won’t be , see it will be just like Bill and we can win like 3 super bowls , see how much of a rat fink i can be , see how much money i just saved you, see”
and thats how your new management team in Cleveland evolved my friends. The once proud Cleveland Browns will now be known as the Cleveland “Brown-Nosers”.
Who cares if Mangini ratted out Belichick, its not as if the whole league didnt already know he was videotaping.
Lerner got it right this time. He’s listened to all the experts. Hell, I’m sure everyone of you was lapping it up when he picked Kernel Romeo to run the team, you all thought it was genius. Now that its been proven that all the “experts” know nothing Lerner decided to go with his gut. Lets face it, this picking a coach thing is a crapshoot anyways.
If he had gotten hired, would it have been Man-pi?
Yes Mangini got a job right away…………although you have to consider the employer (Lerner)……………however the fallout from spygate is not getting another head coaching job……but rather if he fails what head coach will ever hire someone he cannot trust……………..he better succeed in Cleveland
revans52us says:
“east96st….would you let Favre take out the trash? Considering he was the one who single-handidly ruined their season.”
Nope. But I wouldn’t have given up an old newspaper, let alone draft picks to sign him, either. Just curious, since Favre is your “bad guy” in this story, who do YOU blame for the other 39 years of Jets futility? Think about it, almost a decade after Joe Willy won the Super Bowl, Tampa was the worst team ever (until Detroit). And yet, they were able to rebuild and win a Super Bowl and the Jets haven’t even made it back. What does that tell you about the Jets organization and the people they hire?
My opinion is being from the NY Metropolitan area is that Mangini was an awful coach, an emotionless turd on the sidelines. I can’t remember one instance where I saw this guy’s mouth even move. To select a coach without a general manager in place should give the Brown’s fans some concern. I don’t think Mangini has the chops to be a Head Coach at that level.
Who holds the GM position in New England? Belicheck? I was curious as to why that position hasn’t opened up to Pioli. Teams should follow suit of how he organized that New England roster. Smart, veterans players. Key word, smart. Football saavy, smart, film studying players. If you can win with Junior Seau at MLB in the NFL at his age, maybe you shouldn’t be spending so much time and money following some 6’2 245 college junior who runs a 4.4 with zero field sense and off field issues.