FEAR AND LOATHING IN CLEVELAND

As Pats V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli remains very much in play for the G.M. position in Cleveland (despite the expiration of a much-publicized Thursday deadline that, in reality, didn’t exist), we’re told that some members of the front office are “terrified” at the possibility of Pioli being hired. The concern is that Pioli will come in and start cleaning house, especially as to any “Baltimore Browns” who are in the building. Pioli himself is a Baltimore Brown -- a guy who worked with the Cleveland Browns and then moved with the franchise when it relocated to Baltimore in 1996. Plenty of Baltimore Browns work for the new Cleveland Browns, due in part to former G.M. Phil Savage, who also was a Baltimore Brown. And their ties to Savage will possibly do them in if/when Pioli gets the job. Then again, as more is learned about the status of the franchise, thanks to the decisions made and contracts negotiated by Savage, these Baltimore Browns likely will be in trouble even if Matt Millen gets the job.