George Kokinis Does Not Have a Timetable for the Browns to Turn Things Around
October 12, 2009 – 10:50 am by Jimmy Shapiro
When George Kokinis and Eric Mangini came to Cleveland, they inherited quite a mess of a franchise that was not going to be turned around with the snap of a finger. Since the team came back in 1999 it’s been one of the worst franchises in the NFL. The Browns have been a revolving door at quarterback; have had a number of different General Managers and a number of different Coaches. After taking an entire training camp and preseason to decide on Brady Quinn as the starting quarterback, Eric Mangini has already made the decision to bench Quinn in favor of Derek Anderson. Along with the quarterback controversy that continues to swirl in Cleveland, the Browns also just traded away their only true playmaker on offense to the Jets.
After starting off the season 0-4, things did not look promising in Cleveland. Now the Browns did notch their first win this weekend in Buffalo and a win is a win, especially when it’s the first one of the year, but the Browns looked awful against the Bills and I can’t imagine that too many people are thinking that the Browns have a chance to turn things around because of a win against Buffalo. Needless to say, it could be a long season ahead for the Browns and it could take a couple of years before Eric Mangini and George Kokinis gets things turned around in Cleveland.
Browns GM George Kokinis joined WKNR in Cleveland and discussed the Braylon Edwards trade, the fans needing to have patience, and the slow start by the Browns. (Note: This interview was on Friday before their scintillating 6-3 win over the Bills. Ok, their win where their qb Derek Anderson went 2 for 17.
On whether he regrets his decision to leave Baltimore:
“I’ve never been one to be known to back down to a challenge. I knew it would be and I’m excited about it. This isn’t something that’s going to snap your fingers or wiggle your nose and all of a sudden we’re heading to Miami. This is a work in progress. I think people are getting on the same page, I think our scouting staff is getting on the same page and the coaching staff and the personnel staff are trying to get on the same page. I think the philosophy is in place, it’s going in the right direction and we’re moving forward. My expectations coming in were that guys were going to get better everyday and I’ve seen that. I’ve seen guys working hard, the players are working hard. It was a tough training camp, they’re learning a lot of football, so everyday I see improvement and that’s what I’m excited about.”
On the disappointment shown from the fans so far:
“I’ve always believed in an open forum and we discuss the moves that we make. If it’s good for the football team and the Cleveland Browns, than we’re going to make that decision. Coming in this year, we had four draft picks and at this point we have 11. I know that’s a little bit down the road in April and I’m not too, too concerned about that, but as the personnel guy I am excited about having 11 picks. You come to Cleveland and you expect the fans to be passionate and I don’t mind that. It beats the alternative if they didn’t care. I want them to be passionate about it. I want them to believe that we are doing everything that we can to improve this team. Certainly I’d like to be 4-0. We’re not at that point right now, but progress is being made and evaluations are being made on how we do things everyday and what we can do to improve. I’ve been in this situation before. I think the main thing is not to sit there, cross your arms and point fingers. I think the main thing is to say ‘what can I do to be better at what I do’ because there are good people and hard working people in this building including players. I think what happens is people get caught up a little bit. The best thing to do and I’ve seen it turned around is ‘what can I do better at what I do’ and if we all do that then we’ll make progress.”
On the Braylon Edwards trade:
“I think it was discussed. I’m excited about getting two draft picks and I’m excited about getting the players that we got. I wish Braylon the best. He’s certainly a talented kid. I think it was a good move for us, a good move Braylon and we’ll see how it works out.”
On the slow start to the season:
“I don’t really look at that. My expectations are guys that are working hard, buying in, and getting better everyday and I think eventually that translates to winning more football games. Coming into this, I didn’t put a label on a record, I didn’t put a label on how we would start, I put a label on seeing who is getting better at what they do, upstairs and downstairs and we move on from there. That’s what I expect.”
His message to the fans:
“I think you’ve got to keep believing. When there’s change there’s going to be some bumps in the road, but keep believing that we’re trying to progress and get better everyday. I thank them for their passion. Support this team. These guys lay it on the line. There’s good people in this locker room. We’ll continue to get better. We want to provide a good product for them to come and enjoy themselves and we’ll continue to work hard to do that.”
(The post was written by Chris Fedor of WKNR in Cleveland)
Listen to George Kokinis on WKNR in Cleveland
Tags: Braylon Edwards trade, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Browns GM, Eric Mangini, George Kokinis
