DON’T OVERLOOK McCREIGHT IN CLEVELAND

With the Browns hiring Eric Mangini to be the team’s next coach, with Scott Pioli and Tom Heckert out of the running for the G.M. job, and with Rich McKay never heard from again after the Falcons lost to the Cardinals, there’s an assumption in some circles that the only remaining candidate for the position with the Browns is George Kokinis, the Ravens’ director of pro personnel. But, as a league source points out, do not rule out T.J. McCreight. McCreight currently serves as the team’s director of player personnel, and he has been interviewed for the job. While the so-called “Baltimore Browns” (i.e., current Browns employees who worked for the franchise that was known as the Cleveland Browns before moving to Baltimore in 1996 and becoming the Ravens) desperately were opposed to the notion of Pioli getting the job, we’re told that they prefer McCreight over Kokinis. “If Kokinis gets the job, he and Mangini are going to be cracking down on all the leaks and coasters who blamed [former coach Romeo] Crennel when convenient and trashed [G.M. Phil] Savage on his way out the door,” the source says. We’re also told that, even though there’s now a presumption that Kokinis will take the job, the chances of him leaving Baltimore are right at 50-50. So if Kokinis doesn’t take the job, then McCreight becomes the primary candidate by default. Said the source, "[Owner Randy] Lerner is going to have a problem if Kokinis doesn’t get/take the job because he doesn’t have a qualified G.M. candidate to pick from unless he opens up the search. Who is going to take the job with Mangenius already sitting at the desk?” Hell, that’s easy. We know who’d take the job. Floyd Reese would take the job. But, beyond Floyd, it might be hard to find candidates who’d happily step into a situation with cap problems and staph issues and some disgruntled high-profile players like Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards.