Osupa 12 January 2010 Sports 10 Comments

By Tony Grossi

January 12, 2010, 2:08AM

UPDATED: 8:27 p.m.

BEREA, Ohio — In the new Browns organization, coach Eric Mangini has less authority on selecting players, but he will maintain control over his coaching staff and not be on a one-year trial, President Mike Holmgren said Monday.
The comments came after Holmgren introduced Tom Heckert, formerly of Philadelphia, as general manager, and Bryan Wiedmeier as executive vice president of business operations. Wiedmeier had been with the Miami Dolphins for 29 years, including three as team president.

Heckert will have authority over the draft and the makeup of the 53-man roster, Holmgren said.

Former General Manager George Kokinis had similar language in his contract, but was fired on Nov. 2. Kokinis claims in a $4 million arbitration against the club that he was fraudulently hired by being promised responsibilities the Browns had no intention of keeping.

But in his first spoken comments since announcing Mangini would return as coach, Holmgren expressed sympathy for Mangini having to do too much in his first season.

“I think he was thrust in a position where he had to accept a lot more responsibility than was fair … through no fault of his own,” Holmgren said.

Holmgren said Heckert and Wiedmeier will be among “three or four” positions that will report directly to him “and then have a lot of responsibility throughout the organization.”

Holmgren would not say if Mangini reports under Heckert in his organization chart. Mangini reported directly to owner Randy Lerner last season.

“We’re looking at it as a partnership,” Holmgren said. “I’m there to break the ties. If we do this right, while we might disagree, at the end of the day when we pick a player or make a decision on a cut, it’s for the Cleveland Browns. We will all do it as a group together.”

The Browns were 5-11 after winning their last four games in Mangini’s first season. His contract has three more years remaining, but the announcement on Thursday that Mangini would be retained specifically stated “in 2010.”

Holmgren said that the wording was not intended to put Mangini on a short leash. He said if he felt that way he would been better off “clearing the decks and starting over again.”

“He’s not on a one-year trial,” Holmgren said. “I will say this: My expectations for the football team are at a certain level. They know that. This business can be harsh at times. So I expect us to improve, as do they. Please don’t infer I was saying this is a one-year shot. Everyone’s accountable for the job they do, and we’ll see what happens.”

Holmgren said Mangini is reviewing his coaching staff and would not rule out “a couple changes down the road, but not yet.”

Holmgren said in his meetings with Mangini he was impressed with the coach’s candidness, his ability to listen and his resolve to be a “team player.”

“Getting to know Eric allowed me to at least feel as though we have the guy in place already,” Holmgren said.

“As we continued to talk, two or three things were important. Initially being a coach myself, I think having a coach in place for one year and telling him he no longer has a job is basically unfair. That’s one thing. Two, the team got better as the season went along. It was rough in the beginning, kind of tough in the middle but they finished strong. That says something about how he kept the guys together and his coaches continued to work. So that was a plus.

“Three, I liked him. I think he was very candid, honest. He also listened. Lastly, he’s a defensive coach and in this particular division you need to play really good defense when the weather gets bad. He showed a willingness to work as a team player.”

Holmgren said he hopes he can mentor Mangini and with less weight on Mangini’s shoulders, “I thought I had the right guy.”

Heckert will have more authority with the Browns than he did with the Eagles. In Philadelphia, coach Andy Reid made the final call and Howie Roseman gradually gained influence. Roseman was named Eagles GM on Monday.

“Andy thought the world of Tom,” Holmgren said. “I think they worked hand in hand, but clearly Tom set up the [draft] board, ran the personnel side of that. As you approach the draft you funnel down those meetings from assistant coaches, scout and everybody down to the decision-makers and I think that’s what happened in Philadelphia and that’s what will happen here. Tom had a lot to do with the success they had in Philadelphia.”

Holmgren praised Heckert’s experience, success, work ethic and his personality as “a great team player.”

Heckert had various roles in the Eagles’ personnel department starting in 2001. He was the team’s GM since 2006.

Heckert, who will be introduced with Wiedmeier in Berea on Tuesday, said in a statement, “Working alongside some of the most experienced and successful people in this business in Mike, Eric Mangini and Bryan, I believe we have the foundation in place to re-establish the Browns as one of the top franchises in the NFL.”

Heckert, whose father was a Browns scout, started his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins as a pro and college scout. He was with them for 10 years and was director of pro personnel at the end.

Holmgren said Heckert will determine the makeup of the scouting staff and would review other positions, such as pro personnel director and college scouting director.