Stonewalling and secretive, Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini repeatedly declined to offer any insight into why his friend, George Kokinis, was fired as the Browns' general manager.

“Any time a decision like this is made it’s difficult, both professionally and personally,” Mangini said today in remarks distributed by the team. “George is a friend of mine and I respect him and wish him and his family well. For a variety of reasons, things didn’t work out. You never go into a situation like this with the intent of it not working out.

“We felt organizationally this was the best decision in terms of moving forward. We have a strong structure in place on the pro side and the college side and things will continue to operate effectively on a day to day basis.”

With the team trying to get out of paying Kokinis by saying they had cause to fire the former Ravens executive, Mangini declined to discuss reports about the nature of Kokinis' departure

“For a variety of reasons, it’s all I can say at this point,” Mangini said.

Peppered with multiple questions about Kokinis, Mangini repeatedly batted back the queries.

“I understand and appreciate the question," he said. "I hope you can also respect I’ve added all I can add right now.”

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