Browns name Mangini coach

Pioli likely out of running for GM

As coach of the Browns, Eric Mangini will probably have a say in the hiring of team's next GM. (Bill kostroun/Associated Press)

If vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli is going to leave the Patriots to run his own show elsewhere in the NFL, it's not going to be with the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns plucked fruit from the Bill Belichick tree, announcing yesterday they had reached an agreement with former Jets coach and onetime Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini to become their head coach.

The hiring of Mangini to replace former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, who was fired following a 4-12 campaign, almost certainly rules out Pioli for the Browns' general manager position because of the animosity that existed between the Patriots and Jets during Mangini's tenure in New York.

During the 2007 season opener, the Jets and Mangini, who had coached with the Patriots from 2000-05, tipped off NFL security to the Patriots' practice of taping the signals of opponents. That led to the embarrassing Spygate saga, which cast a cloud of suspicion over the Patriots' prolonged run of success this decade, led to $750,000 in fines, and stripped the Patriots of a first-round draft choice in 2008.

Mangini will almost certainly have a say in who ends up as Cleveland's GM, and his first choice is reported to be Baltimore Ravens director of pro personnel George Kokinis, who was a scout with the Browns when Mangini got his start there in 1994 as a ballboy and public relations intern. Belichick, then the Browns' head coach, tapped Mangini as a coaches' assistant the following season.

Barring the unforeseen, it would appear the options for the 43-year-old Pioli have been narrowed to staying in New England, where he's been since 2000, or moving on to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Pioli had a lengthy interview with Chiefs owner Clark Hunt Monday in Dallas. The Chiefs are looking for a general manager after Carl Peterson stepped down following a 20-year run.

From the beginning, it seemed Cleveland might not be a fit for Pioli, who is seeking final say on football decisions, with Browns owner Randy Lerner interviewing head coaching and GM candidates simultaneously.

Pioli, who also began his career in Cleveland with Belichick, in 1992, had interviewed with Lerner Dec. 31, a day after Mangini interviewed. However, Pioli kept silent on his interest in the job and after interviewing with Cleveland decided to go through with an interview for the Chiefs' GM position.

The Browns' decision to hire Mangini, who was fired after the Jets dropped four of their last five games to finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs for the second straight season, also removes a possible landing spot for Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who had interviewed for the Browns' coaching vacancy.

McDaniels interviewed for the Denver Broncos' head coaching position Sunday in Providence, and according to Adam Schefter of the NFL Network and NFL.com, is considered the leading candidate to replace Mike Shanahan.

The 32-year-old McDaniels is also a candidate for the head coaching opening in St. Louis. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, McDaniels will interview with the Rams tomorrow.

The 37-year-old Mangini was 23-25 in three seasons as Jets coach, but only 13-19 after going 10-6 and making the playoffs his first season, earning him the New York tabloid title "Mangenius" and a cameo on the HBO hit "The Sopranos."

Cleveland fired Crennel, who took the job in 2005 after winning his third Super Bowl as the Patriots' defensive coordinator, following a four-year tenure that produced a 24-40 record, just one winning season (10-6 in 2007), and no playoff appearances.

Mike Reiss of the Globe staff contributed to this report; Christopher L. Gasper can be reached at cgasper@globe.com.