Wilson: Report: Kokinis has been fired

Cleveland Browns general manager George Kokinis has reportedly been fired and was escorted out of team headquarters by security today, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

National Football Post has also been told by league sources that Kokinis is out of a job with information spreading like wildfire throughout the team and in NFL circles about the development.

Kokinis is a well-respected personnel man who consistently drew praise from Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome during his tenure in Baltimore.

He left a stable director of player personnel position with the Ravens to go work for coach Eric Mangini in a dysfunctional situation in Cleveland. Ultimately, it appears to have been a mistake.

A source told the Plain Dealer, "Kokinis is a great guy who does not deserve this. He is taking the fall for the team's problems and it's not right.'

There have been rampant rumors that Kokinis has been talking with his former colleagues in Baltimore about his plight to seek advice and express regret at taking over the Browns' personnel department.

Kokinis has maintained an extremely low profile since joining the Browns.

Browns owner Randy Lerner, who hired former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar as an extra set of eyes recently, told reporters on Sunday that he was sick with what was going on with his football team.

"There's absolutely no question about that," he said. "The highest priority that I have is a strong, credible, serious leader within the building to guide decisions in a far more conspicuous, open transparent way.

"I can maybe defend decisions by saying I've sought advice and I've brought people in, and we've gone to see people, and I think my highest priority is to have a stable figure that represents the voice that explains the decisions."

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