DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Our hires: The Entire Compilation of the Hows and Whys

So here we have it. Mangini/Kokinis. At first I was very skeptical and I had to sell myself on these hires. Upon first glance, we see a head coach who failed in New York and another Ozzie Newsome understudy from Baltimore. I was less than thrilled cuz I felt like I was living Groundhog Day. I had to do my homework and research how and why we went forward with what we did. The media has only reported bits and pieces at certain points in time and they have only dropped nuggets of info that you have to interpret in order to truly understand. I had to piece together the data for my own comprehensive report on this subject from all the media articles I’ve read and those who can strongly hint at things due to their sources. So, how did we get to where we are, and why does this have a chance to be a successful regime? Read on.

1) How we got here: Finding out what was broken and what needed fixing.
Butch Davis left this team in shambles in 2004. We needed everything. Talent, a scouting department, a GM, a coach, EVERYTHING. We hired a strong GM in Phil Savage to be the anti-strong head coach Butch Davis was.
Coming off a 10-6 2007 season and what appeared to be a monster offseason, how did we end up with a 4-12 season? Firstly, I don’t believe our record represents our team’s talent. You can basically throw out the last month of the season because we weren’t going to win with Ken Dorsey. Period.

That being said, cracks appeared in the foundation beginning in minicamp when LeCharles Bentley was unceremoniously released. He went on the record against Phil Savage but in favor of Romeo Crennel. Later, Kellen Winslow did the same thing. Savage hired and fired coordinators and handcuffed Romeo. Savage had a poor management style, period, even though he did some good things while he was here.

Furthermore, Savage was mediocre AT BEST when it came to acquiring pro personnel (Free Agents, more specifically the role players/smaller names). He did NOT have this experience in Baltimore and his ego did not allow him to hire someone else who would help him with those decisions. (and this is where Kokinis excels, which I’ll get into later). This is why we would make trades to acquire guys who didn’t seem to fit well with our team (Corey Williams) or overpay (Donte Stallworth/Kevin Shaffer), and the back-end of our roster always seemed to lack depth. We didn’t sign key role players well enough.

All this being said, that does not excuse Romeo Crennel’s coaching of the roster he was given. You know as well as I do how frustrating it was to watch us rush 3 and drop 8…kick fieldgoals down 28-7 when theoretically we still have a chance in the game, not play Jerome Harrison enough, poor clock management and use of timeouts, etc. He may have been a great human being and a great defensive coordinator. But, he’s not head coach material. There was not nearly enough discipline on this team this season.

2) The search: Who we consulted, why we hired who we hired.
When Randy Lerner realized the Crennel/Savage regime was not going to be successful moving forward, he had to get moving on doing his homework and acquiring knowledge on what was strong in the organization and what needed fixing. Lerner consulted with Ernie Accorsi (former Browns and Giants GM who also consulted the Falcons on the Dimitroff/Mike Smith hire this past offseason). He named two men he strongly recommended for the GM job: Tom Heckert or George Kokinis.

Lerner’s research indicated that finding the right coach was more important than finding the right GM. The research also indicated that hiring a coach in his second job lead to more success than a first time head coach. Mangini was not my favorite candidate. I wanted Cowher. But the more I think about it, the better I feel about Mangini because of his previous experience in New York, his disciplinary style, and the fact that he understands what it means to coach the Browns and can convey the message of what it means to play for the Browns, especially against those lepers from Pittsburgh. While Mangini has his detractors, many of his former players have come out in support for him and have stated flat out he helped with their development. He has also assembled a pretty solid coaching staff, I believe. I’m very excited to see how closely Rob Ryan’s schemes resemble his brother’s schemes in Baltimore. The special teams coach is highly thought of around the league. The only question is the offensive coordinator who lacks experience. We saw this with Carthon, but Carthon was a Parcells guy who Romeo wanted to bring in, NOT a Charlie Weis guy that Mangini wants to bring in like Daboll. The entire coaching staff hasn’t been hired yet, but the guys who have been rumored all have pretty solid resumes and track records.

3) Kokinis the GM…why?
Kokinis seems like the biggest wildcard in all of this because he was not on our radar until the Mangini interview. The fans seemingly wanted Scott Pioli and so did I. The data suggests that Kokinis is the right guy though. Why? Let me explain.
-Experience in pro-personnel. Remember where I said Savage lacked in pro-personnel experience and therefore had mixed success in filling out the depth of the roster? Kokinis will be able to find the right mix of role-playing free agents to make a quality 53 man roster. I believe our top 25 players are legitimate NFL players, but I don’t think the last 28 were. You can’t have a team totally laden with stars, but you need guys who fill a role in a system. That’s what Kokinis did in Baltimore and can do here. When Ernie Accorsi talks about Kokinis, he says the experience with pro personnel and watching pro tape trumps college personnel and college tape. He’s worked with Mangini in Cleveland in the past and his strength is getting the front office and coaching staff to work together on the same page…something Savage clearly was weak at.

4) Ok, well, what about the draft?
Kokinis’ biggest drawback is the fact that he lacks experience running the NFL Draft, a critical component of building a successful organization. This is a blemish on his resume, no doubt, but there is cause for optimism here.
-He has experience in college scouting.
-Phil Savage left behind a strong college scouting department that Kokinis is very familiar with because Savage brought many of them over from Baltimore. The scouting system is exactly the same as Baltimore’s. In the draft, the key is to identify the best players available and whether or not they fit your system. The keys are to collect the data from the scouting department on the players, AND consult with the coaching staff on whether or not they fit the system, then pick the players based on that information. If the coach and GM are both on board, then the pick becomes a no-brainer. By having a strong scouting staff and a GM who understands he needs to pick players who fit the coaches’ systems and philosophies, doesn’t the likelihood of draft success increase over picking players who don’t fit the system?

5) Ok I’m sold, this is going to work!!!!
Not so fast. Remain skeptical just like I remain, do NOT drink the Kool-Aid. I’m just outlining the thought process as to why Randy Lerner went down the path he did on the Kokinis hire. He identified what was strong and what was broken, and how we could go about fixing it in the least painful way possible. Despite 4-12 this past season, we’re not a complete and total mess like we were in 2004, where EVERYTHING, from coaching, to scouting to establishing a GM, needed to be fixed. We’re getting closer to finding that formula. Will it work this time? That’s anyone’s guess. I’m arguing that the reasons for hope this time are greater than ever before since we came back…IF we made the right hires. Why? Because we seem to have all of our bases covered this time. Strength in coaching, strength in college scouting, strength in pro scouting, strength in getting the operation to perform like a well-oiled machine. When you add it up, it all MAKES SENSE!

6) Why did you write such a long piece?
Because no one else in the “real media” has compiled all this information into one article and we have all these discussions in multiple threads. This just puts it all together into why it all makes sense.

Thank you.

Very nice and informative post......ty

Nice write up, Ammo. Stupid question, though: did we already hire Kokinis and I missed it?

It wasn't officially announced.

It's been said that he is in Cleveland, meeting with Mangini, our Pres and staff, but he hasn't been given a contract.

I would hope he will, otherwise this guy knows a lot about our organization right now.

I liken it to a complex accounting problem.

Only when you compile all the information in front of you on a single balance sheet does the whole process make sense.

One more thought that just popped into my head...

Last time, I believe Randy was blinded by Romeo's Superbowl rings and was infatuated with the Patriots organization, and was infatuated with Baltimore's track record of solid drafts. He wanted a GM so he could get the foul taste of King Botch out of his mouth.

This time I think he did a more thorough job of doing his homework, despite how quickly we acted to hire Mangini. He realized we needed to hire quickly so he could establish the best possible coaching staff before other teams gobbled up coordinators and position coaches.

I hope I'm right about this, and I hope it pays off.

One thing that you mentioned that I agree with is the importance of Kokinins being a pro personnell guy. We need back end depth to fill out our roster. In Baltimore he found that safety and punt returner named Leonars out of nowhere. He was an undrafted free agent for the Bills a few years back.

"In the draft, the key is to identify the best players available and whether or not they fit your system. The keys are to collect the data from the scouting department on the players, AND consult with the coaching staff on whether or not they fit the system"

I remember reading where Accorsi highly recommended Kokinis and thought he was a good hire because of his strength of scouting NFL players. Because of that experience and gift. He actually is better prepared for the draft cause Most scouts know how to identify and scout GOOD COLLEGE Players.

But a Personnel guy whose gift is in scouting NFL players and getting the correct read on them can translate into a better identification of a PROSPECTIVE NFL Player.

JMHRecollection

Ammo great post.

Ive pretty much understood why were making the picks were making, and that is why I'm ok with it. It makes sense from all sides.

The names, Im not overly high on, but im also not low on them either. Mangini has had 2 winning seasons in 3 years and that says enough for me, and he sounds a lot like belichick, but most importantly, he wants accountability. I read he wanted to bench Favre when he started to falter but wasnt allowed to, and that began the rift that ultimately led to his dismissal. So it sounds like he will force accountability.

Furthermore by hiring people he is friends with, it should eliminate reports that he doesnt trust his staff, because these guys are close and it would be more backstabbing than anything to not trust them, or to not work together all the time. I like that. He wont be untrusting because he is friends, and if he does be overly hands-on these guys know him and will understand thats his style and wont take it so personally, Rob Ryan is used to it anyway, and Daboll is a rookie so he will just have to deal.

The staff in place makes sense, and Im generally pleased.

Ive some reservations, but only because of the similarity of the hires. But the backgrounds and the styles are completely different.

My only true worry of Mangini were reports that his players were iffy on his lack of halftime adjustments. I think thats a rookie head coach thing, but that scares me, cuz we didnt make any here under crennel

very thorough and good post.

anyone see anything on what other coaches we may/have hired?

Supposedly Bryan Cox for our DL coach but I dont' see him on the Browns site as an official hire???

Everyone ASSUMES, that we already have our new GM. But, nobody seems to be thinking about the what if's. What if Ozzie tells the Ravens he is leaving after this draft and they offer the GM job to, guess who. What would you do, take over a team that is established and well run. With a young coach, who seems to have the his act together, all that is needed is a new DC.

Ozzie may just want to get things in order and then hand it over to the next GM, who is already in place or move up the ladder and remain in some other capacity. What would be our next move then. After all, their new coach and possible new GM have already been working together for the past year and have a current relationship going on. Plus that means you don't have to up root your family and move to a new city. Mom and the kids might have something to say about that and I doubt it's in the Browns favor.

That would leave us with the ultimate question, Mangini and ?????, for the Browns. All may not be what it is seems, maybe Randy did fall in love to soon again and get the horse before the cart. Only time will tell, I sure hope this time he got it right. My memories of sitting with the players wives, watching the last championship game here against the old Colts, is starting to fade after all these years.

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Everyone ASSUMES, that we already have our new GM. But, nobody seems to be thinking about the what if's. What if Ozzie tells the Ravens he is leaving after this draft and they offer the GM job to, guess who. What would you do, take over a team that is established and well run.

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That's the second time you have written that.... where are you getting your information.. on this thread, you write "what if" Ozzie tells the ravens he is leaving after the draft... on the Kokinis thread you wrote that Ozzie "said" he was going to promote Kokinis to the GM job,,,

Which is it,,, is it in your head that Ozzie is stepping down, or is it somewhere that you read it?

If Ozzie knew he was going to step down after the draft, and wanted Kokinis to be the new GM, why would he grant the Browns Permission to interview him. And if he didn't grant permission, wouldn't Kokinis ask,,, why not? and wouldn't Ozzie have to explain it to him?

If Ozzie is stepping down, why is there a cloak of secrecy about it...no need for it.

Now maybe this all happened last night and I just haven't seen the news on it yet. If so, then please understand, it's early and I woke up late..haven't read all that I would normally do.

But barring that,, I saw nothing on Ozzie stepping down last night before I went to bed.......

DaMan someone on a thread somewhere said Oz would promote himself up to either VP or Pres. then promote Coke up to GM to keep him in Balt.

If this was going to happen.....
1. It already would have and we would have been denied to talk to Coke.
2.Oz would have never gave his blessing as Coke was packing up his office...

We need to just settle down and let it run it's course until Randy makes the announcement...

nordawg

Good to see some ole logic..no one in the FO who is going to promote himself and give his spot to the next in command would allow the guy to interview for another postion , especially to a division rival..

They're still in disagreement over what color to use to paint over the mural.

let it go 79....

nordawg

My only true worry of Mangini were reports that his players were iffy on his lack of halftime adjustments. I think thats a rookie head coach thing, but that scares me, cuz we didnt make any here under crennel

Because Billy Boy made them when those 2 worked for Belichick....?

Nor, I think that was my point... there is little or actualy no foundation for the thinking that Ozzie will step down or be promoted and keep Koks.... could it happen... certainly it could.. would we have known by now... I do believe so.

So you are right, just let it run its course..

btw...half time adjustments are more indicitive of the OC's and DC's than the HC...of course he contributes and everything falls on their head.

I'll tell you what I see happen a lot in the NFL. I team kicks butt and have everything fall there way the first half. Then get "OUT COACHED" in the form of adjustments the 2nd half.

What all don't realize is that its hard to adjust to anything when you are kicking butt the entire half....lol Where as the other team has nothing but adjustments to make. Too much credit goes to the adjustment thing by the media.

Again it all comes down to what team is best prepared and executes. Game Day decisions are so on the Coordinators...as in what play to call.

Sure as an HC every now and then you say...I WANT TO SEE THIS...to the headset -> to the DC/OC and over ride them. But all in all in the Present era of football you need talent at your Coordinators. Ryan I'm pretty secure with.

Daboll we obviously have no positive or negative for that matter. So many new guys do well and fail there is no OH NO situation or a HE's A GENIUS situation. He has a good background to know the game - we'll find out on his game day stuff. Hopefully he has more Parcells in him than Chud...

Parcells - forget about run or pass...the Parcells theory that is important is Execution...get that done. Not the ALMOST Execution of a lot of plays...GET 25 plays down pat in execution then you can start broadening the use of your playbook! Also with that you BRING IT to other teams regardless if its Air (I've seen Parcells and Belicheck come out throwing 20 passes and run 5) the point is to BRING IT which to me means EXECUTE!!!

I hope that is what is in store for us. An emphasis on Execution and not on how many formations and plays we can absorb!!

JMHO...we need to get back to the size of ND's playbook

John McKay,..."Execution ?,...I'm all for it !"

I loved McKay...would have loved to see him with a team that had talent. But he was one of the best coaches who won nothing if you ask me.

I dunno. but towards eo too...

Its that after a half you pick up some tendencies of what a team is doing, and there should be adjustments made to improve, or see what kind of changes the opponents will have to make to play better and adjust to that.

I just worry because Jets players spoke out saying they didnt like the lack of halftime adjustments, and that was my a gripe i had with crennel

"Its that after a half you pick up some tendencies of what a team is doing"

Trust me Tendencies are not established in a half. If you do not know that teams tendencies then you failed in your film and game plannning prior to the game.

True you must recognize the other teams game plans that were cooked up all week and you just had an entire half to recognize what that game plan was and counter it as much as possible. But you are not looking at team tendencies at that stage...you are looking at their Game Plan against you and how they are executing it.

I do understand the reservations regarding the halftime adjustment thing. But remember that was stated mostly by the NY media. Closer your eyes think about the Browns local media and their writers - NOW MULTIPLY that by 10!

Any and every loss brought out the geniuses. Of course any game they had a lead and ended up losing would come back with the - OH geesh we didn't make the adjustments and were out coached. But they are clueless.

I don't remember players saying that...media yes, players I can't remember. But if so how many and who? Coles was the only one I now of who would talk negatively...but he's done that for years regardless of the Who, What or Where.

If the game is close you don't change your GAME PLAN you try to change the execution of it. This usually gives the appearance that you made no adjustments as we as fans throw up our hands and say...COME ON!!! Why run it up the middle again it wasn't working in the first half!

But we really don't know what we did. Cut out the trap involved cause the DT was shooting the Gap of the pulling guard. Same play but we make adjustments to get the execution. Its football. If you lose...it the dumb coaches...lol

JMHO

Marty layed it out on the radio not too long ago.
12 min.halftime-
2 min.to get in and get settled
2 min to get back out on the field
2 min to check on injuries,and bathroom break
Time spent with OC/DC
That leaves precious few minutes for the HC to do anything,let alone make adjustments.
From the mouth of Marty,halftime adjustments are overrated.

Thats fair...

to clarify, by tendencies, i meant of what their doing in their game plan. I shouldve used the word game plan, but for some reason that word eluded me. but...

Good point on the media, i guess iwasnt payin enough attention

King here's a article i found on haltime adjustments....



By Matt Bowen
Posted September 23, 2008 Email to a Friend Print This ShareThisPlayer’s Journal: The NFL Halftime
Twelve minutes and counting….

That is all the time available for players and coaches in the National Football League at the end of the second quarter. And it starts counting down– immediately.

So, what do you have to do? Well, nothing really. You see, the league wants the 4:15 and 4:30 games to kick off without interruption, therefore the 1:00 games need to be over in 3 hours, three hours and fifteen minutes max. Hence, the running clock for most of the game and the short halftime. Do your job in three hours.

Basically, you have time for one of two things: to use the bathroom or get re-taped. That’s it. Sure coaches will throw up ten different formations on the white boards in the locker room (usually the plays that are kicking your butt), and guys will squeeze in to get an adjustment or two for the second half– but let’s be honest. You use the short time you have to get some fluids in you, bandage up any part of your body that is bleeding profusely, and maybe take an Advil or two (out of superstition, I used to change shoes if I wasn’t playing well). Once you sit down, the clock inside your head tells you that you have about five minutes to cool down in September from the heat, and about five minutes to try and regain the feeling in your toes in December (some guys don’t want to leave the warmth of the locker room late in the season). Before you know it, someone comes in the locker room and yells out “Two minutes!” And that’s it. You run back onto the field (because they will kick off the ball regardless if you are ready to play) and strap it up for another hour and a half of football. In D.C. under Steve Spurrier we ran onto the field when the ref handed the ball to the kicking team– only we had no one on the field. It was a mad dash to get our return unit on the field, and I think nine or ten guys actually made it out there for the play. What else could I do but grin and shake my head. So, yes, that clock ticking down from 12 minutes actually means something and we found that out the hard way. Oh yeah, we went on to lose that game if you are curious.

Here are the basics of it and the best way I can describe it to you. Danny Smith, the personable special teams coach of the Washington Redskins, put it best in his own words when talking about adjustments coaches and players make in the pro game. According to Smith, “In high school, you make adjustments on Saturday mornings. In college, you make adjustments at halftime. In the NFL you make adjustments before the next play– or you lose.”

Concerning all that goes into the NFL game, it really is the least important aspect of Sundays. Sure, the head coach will yell out two or three encouraging words as you grab your helmet and head for the locker room door, but it happens at a lightning pace. During my career I never witnessed a new scheme, or a new blitz installed at halftime– there just isn’t enough time.

So, as you rush to the fridge to grab another beer and a bowl of chili (my Sunday favorites), get a little hop in your step, because you just might miss the opening kickoff of the second half– just as we almost did in 2003.




nordawg

Yeah, it's OK to rush halftime to stay "on time" for the networks,....but damn you, you better stop THAT drive dead in it's tracks with a TV timeout so we can get that commercial in,....

think it's all about the advertising money huh...keep the ads flowing...

nordawg

Out of that whole article this is what i took from it....even though i enjoyed the whole thing...

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According to Smith, “In high school, you make adjustments on Saturday mornings. In college, you make adjustments at halftime. In the NFL you make adjustments before the next play– or you lose.”

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nordawg

I thought that was some pretty good insight too.

And Nordog...thats why I would have been surprised if PLAYERS remarked about Half time adjustments. Its the media cause they are thinking of Knute Rockne and his Win one for the Gipper speach.

And when the coaches come out at half time - they'll always have the girl asking the coach...What did you tell them at halftime? Well He's not going to answer... "I told them to hurry up and wipe their butts" - its all we have to execute better...yada, yada.

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According to Smith, “In high school, you make adjustments on Saturday mornings. In college, you make adjustments at halftime. In the NFL you make adjustments before the next play– or you lose.”

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It's at least the next series for defenses, which is again why it's so important for the offense to run at least 5-6 plays, even if you don't score. Not only do 3-n-outs cause the D to wear down, but the coaches/coordinators also don't have time to cover adjustments they would like to make, formation changes the offense is showing vs previous film, etc.

Sweet info, Ammo. Here's your GoldStar for Over-Achievement. Great post! This really pulled some threads together, some loose ends. Makes me all the more appreciative for Lerner's caring for the Browns and his caretaking in general. Think he was blinded by the bright names. Think he has gotten beyond it, or is being bold enough to break with the lousy we have had. Starting with people who care for this team, and about its rich past. We have lost some shine since the return. And we have created a Browns tradition of much lesser esteem. And earned it.
I am ready for a chance to get out from under the onus of abuse we now are enduring. Fans deserve better. I pray it is forthcoming soon.