If you read papers here in Toronto you'd swear the Bills will be here in a matter of years. Why? The local media is speculating that it will. Nobody's done an ounce of homework. They just write stuff. You write something long enough and it eventually becomes fact....chimps

@shepwrite said:

I agree.

I think some of these writers are ticked because their 'source" has been let go and they are actually going to have to dig for stories.

Writers don't like a coach who doesn't say much and doesn't like talking to reporters.

EM better be the guy Lerner hopes he is because he's unwillingly (or not?) given him complete control of the ship.

this could be Lerners saving grace..... or the match has just been lit that will be used to blow this organization out of the water.

Problem is, it's about a 3 year fuse.

‘NIXONIAN’ TWIST IN MCCREIGHT FIRING

Posted by Aaron Wilson on January 25, 2009, 3:44 p.m.

The plot continues to thicken as more information has surfaced of a ‘Nixonian’ effort by the Cleveland Browns’ organization to plug those darn leaks during an investigation that preceded the firing of director of player personnel T.J. McCreight, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

As we first reported, Plain Dealer columnist Bud Shaw writes that a Browns official was trying to determine if McCreight was leaking information to reporters. While performing that, ahem, due diligence, the erstwhile investigator was given the wrong cell phone number for how to get in touch with McCreight.

Eventually, the official figured out after asking a few questions that it wasn’t McCreight on the line. It was a reporter. Hence, the secret was revealed that the Browns were looking into McCreight’s phone calls.

A few days later, McCreight was fired.

This ‘Watergate’ episode would seem to lend further credence to the reports of how coach Eric Mangini operated as HC of the NYJ and will conduct business with the Browns. As Shaw writes, paranoia is making a comeback.

What’s next? Are the Browns going to hire G. Gordon Liddy to run the security department?

In all fairness, it’s worth nothing that McCreight, who interviewed with team owner Randy Lerner for the General Manager job, was the top lieutenant of former General Manager Phil Savage and could probably expect to be dismissed in a regime change.

Meanwhile, the highly-anticipated coronation of Baltimore Ravens director of pro personnel George Kokinis as the new Browns’ General Manager has yet to happen despite Mangini’s prediction last week that something big was in the offing. Kokinis is expected to eventually formally accept the job.

Interestingly, Kokinis worked with McCreight in Baltimore for several years, which led many to believe that McCreight would be retained. Apparently, Mangini or someone else had other ideas.