R.I.P. Mankok: 2009-2009

Among the various conflicting storylines surrounding the latest "Code Brown," yesterday's bizarre mid-season firing of George Kokinis as Browns GM, only one fact emerges crystal clear:  Randy Lerner -- a billionaire at birth who, as far as we know, has never enjoyed any success in building or running an organization of any kind -- is simply not a fit custodian of the Cleveland Browns. 

(Not a good look.)

Even the best view of the facts leaves one with the impression that the inmates are running the asylum, with impatient Browns fan as Veruca Salt and Lerner as Veruca's indulging father.  It's hard to beat WFNY's Scott Sargent (or his wife, it turns out) for a one-line take here: "It's like someone just told Randy Lerner that he owns an NFL franchise."  Browns fans schedule an illogical but highly-publicized protest, so the bumbling owner swoops in for the most public appearance of his tenure to make heads roll. 

So why this head now?  There are two primary competing views. 

One holds that Lerner finally recognized a supposed mistake in hiring a coach before a GM this off-season, and now seeks to remedy that failure and install a GM who'd serve as an adequate "check and balance" on Eric Mangini's power. 

The other, we think better, view is that the decision to dump Kokinis was more a vote of confidence in Mangini than an assault on his power.  There are credible reports that the Mangini/Kokinis relationship was doomed from the start -- that Kokinis was promised final say on personnel decisions when hired but was nevertheless forced to take a back seat to Mangini, thus poisoning the relationship between the two.  This view is supported by Kokinis' virtual invisibility since joining the franchise. 

On this second view, Kokinis was eventually going to have to be replaced with a manager having a more clearly defined role, theoretically allowing for a better working relationship with the head coach, and a more productive management team.  The timing in this case was likely more of a public relations move than anything else, resulting from the current unprecedented level of public criticism of the franchise's management. 

Lerner's apparent capitulation to the whims of the angry mob might prove especially costly here, as the franchise has been scrambling to justify firing Kokinis "with cause" to avoid the obligation to pay on his contract and mitigate the potential that Kokinis combines assets with Butch Davis, Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage to purchase the UK's National Portrait Gallery only to run the organization into the ground.  A more circumspect approach would likely have allowed for the organization to more efficiently build its case before giving Kokinis the greater incentive to lawyer up.

Though on the bright side (we guess?) the Browns might already have all the "cause" they need.  The franchise "need[s] something more substantive and tangible than general allegations of poor performance" to justify firing Kokinis "with cause," which suggests violation of a specific contractual provision.  Reports that the front office has been scouring Kokinis' phone records combined with the firing last week of front-office flack Erin O'Brien for "personal reasons," give us reason to wonder if the operative "cause" here might be violation of a clause prohibiting Kokinis from entering romantic relationships with subordinates.  If it's not this, or something similarly "Real World-ly" tangible, then the fact that the "fired for cause" angle hit the press in the first place is more indicative of managerial incompetence in Berea than anything we've seen on the football field. 

In any event, combing for evidence of cause to fire a man who was himself hired on the most questionable terms is just par for the course in Randy Lerner's Brownstown. 

And par for the course in Randy Lerner's Brownstown takes us directly to the problem with the notion of a GM and head coach of relatively equal power checking and balancing one another; that such an arrangement requires a competent owner to give effect to the checks and balances.  Thus, while a tripartite system might be preferable with all else equal, here in Cleveland under Lerner's stewardship, unitary executive power might be our only hope. And we still cling to ours, that Mangini can succeed in Cleveland under such a model, and that the effect of Kokinis' departure is to further consolidate Mangini's power, or at least to more clearly define it, and make room for a GM who will work well with the coach.

But whatever the new arrangement is to be, one man bears primary responsibility for the old one being such a mess in the first place.  If it had to get worse before it got better when Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage were replaced, it didn't have to get this bad. 

In light of the Kokinis mess, we'll admit that we've been too hard on Dawg Pound Mike and Co. in at least one respect.  Our primary criticism of their protest is rooted in the belief that Mangini deserves at least two seasons worth of patience in rebuilding a franchise that's in such historic shambles, but in light of the Kokinis mess, it's becoming increasingly clear that if Mangini's time runs out before he succeeds, then Lerner's time is up too. 

Whatever the problems with the protest, its success in marshaling a certain public sentiment can't be denied.  Vague protest statements are one thing, even when they're written about by ESPN and SI.  A serious public discussion about eminent domain proceedings and the concept of "public use" is something else.  Laugh, just like they did when somebody said a black man could be mayor.  If it could happen anywhere, it's here.  And if it could happen to anyone, it's Master Randolph. 

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As a postscript, and in response to reports that Bernie Kosar is being groomed for the GM role, we'll note that we're all for it, despite certain snidely-voiced concerns regarding Kosar's personal life.  Good judgment comes from experience.  Experience comes from bad judgment.  We think this job is just the thing for him, and are especially optimistic about the prospects of a Mangini/Kosar team.  Mankos?  Mansar?  Kosini?

Thanks to Joshua Gunter and The Plain Dealer for the image.