Lerner Still Hot and Bothered Over Mangini

It’s impossible to know what is going to happen in the next few weeks regarding the future of the Browns, but from the looks of it, Eric Mangini continues to be the frontrunner in the search for the next head coach.  He apparently impressed owner Randy Lerner in his interview and, should he become the head coach, he comes in a package deal.  He would bring along Ravens director of pro personnel George Kokinis.

If you’re wondering why Mike Shanahan’s name hasn’t been mentioned lately, it’s because he is on a two-week vacation with his family and will not be interviewed during that time.  As torn as I am between Shanahan and Mangini as head coaches, the Browns should probably wait and see what Shanahan’s feelings are toward coaching the Browns.  However, doing that comes with its risks.  One, Mangini wouldn’t have any trouble finding a job, and Lerner wouldn’t want to just wait around on the sidelines and let another team woo Mangini – perhaps a team with an actual GM.  And then if Shanahan doesn’t want to coach here…well, who knows what happens then.  The second big risk is the fact that the Browns don’t even have a GM yet.  It would be preferable to do the coaching search with a GM in place, and whomever would be hired as the GM would basically be asked to accept Shanahan as the head coach.

So, it’s starting to look more and more like Mangini will be the head coach, which doesn’t infuriate me nearly as much as it does to some other Browns fans.  If you pay attention to the New York media to get your opinion of Mangini, you probably aren’t getting the rational side of things.  If you think Cleveland is a city prone to overreaction, New York is that multiplied by a number with many, many zeros.  I don’t think he would be the apocalypse that some think of him as.