CLEVELAND TEAMS

If this is true, Randy Lerner might be on his way to salvaging a terrible situation. Ernie Accorsi is one of the smartest men in football. He helped build the Browns of the 1980’s, and he was instrumental in bringing Eli Manning to the New York Giants. He’s great at evaluating talent, and he knows how to run a football organization.

If Lerner is serious about having Bernie Kosar run the Browns, then he’s smart to bring in Accorsi to help him. In know – it’s odd to think of Lerner making a “smart” decision given his track record.

But, this one would make a ton of sense.

As for Eric Mangini, I have no idea what’s in store for him, other than the fact that he’ll be answering to a real professional if Accorsi comes to Berea.

UPDATE: Jeff Schudel is reporting that Accorsi has been hired as the new GM of the Browns. This would make sense. I can’t see Bernie as the GM – he would be a better fit as team president. Accorsi can get his hands dirty and rebuild the team.

UPDATE #2: Tony Grossi is reporting that Accorsi will NOT be the new GM.

All sorts of reports are flying around the web, but it appears that the Browns have let go General manager George Kokinis.

It’s hard to react to this without having all the facts, but the Browns under Randy Lerner are starting to rival the Oakland Raiders and the Washington Redskins as the most dysfunctional franchises in the NFL. As I discussed yesterday, it all comes down to Randy Lerner.

Why would the General Manager hand-picked by Eric Mangini be fired after only nine months? He’s not coaching the team, and frankly most of his moves have made sense. He hasn’t destroyed the cap and he traded guys like Winslow and Edwards for draft picks. His draft doesn’t look great so far, but for years Browns fans have complained about not drafting offensive linemen, and Kokinis picked up a center in the first round. He may not look like a pro-bowler now, but it’s not crazy to expect Alex Mack to anchor the line for years with Joe Thomas.

Problems must exist behind the scenes, but will Randy Lerner have the guts to face the media and explain himself here? With a control-freak like Eric Mangini, who’s going to come in and run this team?

Perhaps Bernie Kosar will take a bigger role. Also, the one positive bit of news is that Chris Mortensen is reporting that Lerner wants Ernie Accorsi to come in as a consultant. Now that would make sense. We can only hope he hands the reins over to Kosar and Accorsi to fix the mess he’s created.