By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
BEREA, Ohio(AP) -- The Cleveland Browns invisible general manager
has disappeared.
George Kokinis, the hand-picked GM of first-year coach Eric
Mangini who was rarely seen or heard in Cleveland, left the team
Monday under unexplained circumstances after less than one year
on the job.
After reports surfaced that Kokinis was fired, the team issued
an awkwardly worded statement saying Kokinis "is no longer
actively involved with the organization." The Browns also denied
reports that Kokinis was escorted from team headquarters.
Kokinis' apparent ouster came one day after Browns owner Randy
Lerner said he wanted to hire a "strong, credible, serious"
football adviser to help run his struggling 1-7 team. Kokinis
was hired on Jan. 23, two weeks after the Browns named Mangini
as their fourth coach since 1999.
But the Mangini-Kokinis team has been broken up, forcing Lerner
to look quickly for help. One possibility could be Ernie
Accorsi, who was Cleveland's GM from 1985-92, when the Browns
went to three AFC title games with Bernie Kosar at quarterback.
Kosar was recently brought in by Lerner to serve in an
unspecified consulting role. Accorsi could take over the vacant
GM position and serve as a mentor until Kosar is ready. Accorsi
was the New York Giants' GM for nine years before retiring after
the 2006 season. His biggest move was a trade with San Diego for
quarterback Eli Manning.
Mangini said he would welcome anyone who could help the Browns
get better.
"If you can add quality people that can help you get better,
then you do that," he said. "You're always searching for those
opportunities."
The Browns said they would withhold further comment of Kokinis'
situation "in the interest of protecting the parties involved."
Citing unnamed team and league sources, ESPN.com reported that
Kokinis refused to resign when pressed by Lerner, who then
persisted in seeking a dismissal "for cause." The report said
the team's security and legal department were reviewing phone
records to build its case against Kokinis.
Before coming to Cleveland, Kokinis spent 13 years with
Baltimore, the past six seasons as the Ravens' director of pro
personnel. He had little or no authority with the Browns as
Mangini, who was fired by the New York Jets after last season,
has enjoyed full control over football operations.
Kokinis' strange departure is the latest twist for the Browns,
the closest thing the NFL has to a daily soap opera.
Already in Mangini's first year in Cleveland, the Browns have
dealt with a lengthy list of on- and off-the-field
circumstances.
Mangini was criticized for making his rookies take a 10-hour bus
ride to his football camp in Connecticut and later for fining
one of his players $1,701 for not paying for a $3 bottle of
water during a hotel stay. There's been the ongoing quarterback
saga involving Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn, the trade of wide
receiver Braylon Edwards two days after he allegedly punched a
friend of NBA star LeBron James, a flu outbreak that hit 12
players, cornerback Eric Wright's car accident and other
situations.
And of course, there has been the losing, something the
Mangini-Kokinis team was supposed to fix.
Kokinis essentially was hand-picked by Mangini to be his GM. The
two worked together under former Browns coach Bill Belichick in
the 1990s.
Kokinis attended Cleveland's 30-6 loss in Chicago on Sunday. He
sat in the press box and had little interaction with anyone,
which has been his customary mode of operation since the day he
joined the Browns. Kokinis had not formally spoken to Cleveland
media members since draft day in April.
He was usually on the field during training camp practices, but
Kokinis never held court with reporters like his predecessor,
Phil Savage, routinely did for four years. When the Browns
traded Edwards to the Jets last month, it was Mangini and not
Kokinis who explained Cleveland's decision to deal one of its
only stars.
And now Kokinis has left, gone without a word.
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