NFL: Browns' Mangini won't discuss GM's departure
TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
BEREA, Ohio — Browns coach Eric Mangini is not offering any details about the team's unexplained dismissal of his friend, general manager George Kokinis.
Mangini says the team's decision to move ahead without Kokinis was "difficult, both professionally and personally." Mangini wished Kokinis and his family well and said things didn't work out for several reasons, though he declined to be specific.
Mangini deflected several questions about Kokinis' stunning departure on Monday. The team has not said if he was fired or resigned. Kokinis was hired in January, two weeks after Mangini became Cleveland's coach.
Mangini did not say when or if the team will replace Kokinis, who previously worked with the coach under Bill Belichick in Cleveland in the 1990s.