Scott Pioli Cleveland Bound ?

It’s coming from the Boston Herald, so take it with a grain of salt. They were the same people who yesterday, said that Pioli was under a deadline to accept the Cleveland Browns GM role, or the Browns would remove their offer. Then about every other media outlet called the report wrong. They gotta get one right, right? So, anyways from the Boston Herlad:

While nothing official came down yesterday, it appears Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli and the Cleveland Browns are still working toward making a potential marriage work.

The most telling sign the sides were continuing to iron out differences and forge a union was the postponement of the Browns’ meeting with Atlanta president Rich McKay, another candidate to run Cleveland’s football operations.

McKay had a date with Browns owner Randy Lerner yesterday, but that interview never took place and was pushed back.

While McKay’s Falcons are involved in a wild card playoff game tomorrow against Arizona and the Browns didn’t want to interfere with that process, it can also be construed that the negotiations between Pioli and the club were heating up, and needed more time.

One possible sticking point, and/or deal breaker, may be the presence of Eric Mangini. Lerner seems enamored with Bill Belichick’s former protege, who was canned by the New York Jets on Monday. It appears the Browns boss would love Mangini to be part of the mix as head coach. Lerner fired Romeo Crennel, another Belichick disciple, on Monday after four seasons at the helm.

According to league sources, Pioli’s first choice for coach would be Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz. Perhaps the selection of a coach is part of what’s keeping Pioli from finally breaking away from the Pats. Pioli is seeking a situation where he has total control of the operation, much like the situation Bill Parcells has in Miami.

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