The Browns say general manager George Kokinis is no longer with the team. (Mark Duncan/Associated Press)The Cleveland Browns are without a general manager after George Kokinis left the club under unexplained circumstances.
After reports surfaced Monday that Kokinis was fired, the team issued an awkwardly worded statement saying the GM "is no longer actively involved with the organization."
The Browns also denied reports that Kokinis was escorted from their team headquarters.
The apparent ouster came one day after owner Randy Lerner said he wanted to hire a "strong, credible, serious" football adviser to help run his 1-7 team.
Kokinis barely made a ripple in the Browns' locker room.
Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas hardly knew Kokinis, who was hired in January and left the club under unexplained circumstances on Monday.
"He wasn't around too much, and when he was, he was pretty quiet," Thomas said.
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.
Kokinis was hired in January, just two weeks after the team named Eric Mangini as its fourth coach since 1999.
Mangini's short-term future secure
"Anytime a decision like this is made it is difficult personally and professionally," Mangini said. "We felt that, organizationally, this was the best decision in order to move forward."
Following the Browns' 30-6 loss in Chicago on Sunday, Lerner said he would not fire Mangini during the team's bye week.
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."
Before joining the Browns, Kokinis spent 18 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He spent the final six years as the team's director of personnel.
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.
