FanHouse George Kokinis

George Kokinis has been removed as general manager of the 1-7 Browns, the team confirmed in a statement Monday night.

Multiple news organizations, including the Cleveland Plain Dealer and WKYC-TV reported earlier that the Browns had made a move in the front office, and that Kokinis' short tenure with the team was believed to be over. Head coach Eric Mangini, who received the support of team owner Randy Lerner on Sunday, hand-picked Kokinis as GM in January.

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MDS pointed out on Twitter on Sunday that people bemoan the Raiders' state as a team too often, when there are far worse franchises out there. Case in point: the Cleveland Browns, who reportedly escorted GM George Kokinis off of the team premises and have now fired him.

Update: The Browns have issued a statement saying that Kokinis is no longer an "active member of the organization" but are denying the reports that Kokinis was escorted from the building. I stand behind my final two paragraphs below.

The Plain Dealer first reported that Kokinis was removed from the premises by Browns' human resources personnel, although it could not confirm that he had been fired. TheOBR.com, Scout's Browns site, reported later Monday evening that Kokinis was indeed axed (and Jay Glazer has cited sources that believe Kokinis was fired as well).

However, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio received an e-mail from Browns' PR Director Neal Gulkis that said, "I have not heard anything."