Former Seahawks coach new president of Browns

BEREA, Ohio – Mike Holmgren has decided to see if he can fix the Cleveland Browns.

The Super Bowl-winning coach accepted a job to become the club’s president, joining a franchise needing a major makeover after a decade of losing.

Browns owner Randy Lerner said the sides reached an agreement Monday. Lerner said current president Mike Keenan will become chief financial officer.

“We will spend the rest of the week finalizing the details of the agreement and will make a formal announcement next week,” Lerner said in a statement.

Holmgren is coming to Cleveland strictly in an executive role. On his radio show last week, Holmgren indicated his job offer with the Browns could include a return to the sideline. But Holmgren’s duties likely will focus on personnel decisions, and there’s a chance he may bring in a general manager to help him.

It’s still not known what effect Holmgren’s hiring will have on first-year Cleveland coach Eric Mangini, who improved to 3-11 on Sunday with a 41-34 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Mangini may have strengthened his chances of staying with consecutive wins.

Holmgren, though, could choose to bring in his own coach to try and turn around the Browns, who have lost at least 10 games in six of the past seven seasons and made the AFC playoffs just once since 1999.

Holmgren refused to speculate on Mangini’s status last week. He praised Mangini’s coaching ability and work ethic, and said he would give any coach a chance, especially one in his first season with a team. Holmgren cited Bill Parcells’ firing of Cam Cameron in Miami when the ex-coach became the team’s “football czar.”

“Those types of decisions sometimes, the tough decisions, sometimes they aren’t fair,” Holmgren said. “But I would do everything in my power to make sure it’s the right one and that everyone gets a chance to prove themselves.”

Interestingly, Holmgren’s agreement with the Browns came one year to the day he coached Seattle to a 13-3 win over Mangini’s New York Jets, essentially ending the Jets’ playoff chances and finishing off Mangini’s tenure in New York. The Jets fired him after the season.

The 61-year-old Holmgren said he was intrigued by the opportunity to join Cleveland because of the absence of “layers” between him and Lerner, who in November announced he was looking to add a “serious, credible leader” to his organization.

Holmgren spent two days meeting with Lerner last week and came away impressed by the owner’s passion to win and what he learned about the Browns. On Saturday, Holmgren turned down a front-office job with the Seahawks, fueling speculation he was headed to Cleveland.

Holmgren stepped down as the Seahawks coach after last season to spend more time with his family. However, the chance to rebuild another franchise was too much for him to resist and he’s stepping out of semiretirement to take on the Browns, who have desperately needed someone of his renown for years.

“The challenge of rebuilding is kind of in my blood,” Holmgren said last week.

During his Monday news conference, Mangini was again put in the uncomfortable position of having to address speculation about Holmgren, who led the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl title.

“I’m really focused on the group and getting them ready to play,” Mangini said before the team announced its deal with Holmgren. “As far as a timeline or any of the other things, it’s not what I’m doing or concentrating on. It’s not what the coaches are concentrating on and not what the players are concentrating on.

“What I’m looking to do is coach the team. That’s it.”

Not long before announcing Holmgren’s hiring, the Browns were informed that former GM George Kokinis had filed arbitration with the NFL claiming he was unjustly fired. Kokinis was dismissed on Nov. 2 after nine months on the job. He is seeking more than $4 million in compensation and damages.

Browns general counsel Fred Nance said through a spokesman that the team is aware of the filing and is reviewing it.