Bernie's back -- Kosar joins Browns as consultant to Randy Lerner

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar has reached a working agreement with owner Randy Lerner to serve as a team consultant.

No formal announcement may be made and no specific duties have been outlined. But the two men reached an accord last week and Kosar spent several days in the inner sanctum of the football organization now controlled by coach Eric Mangini.

According to a league source, Lerner values Kosar as "another set of eyes." Kosar essentially reports to the owner.
Lerner has tried to woo Kosar into a role with the Browns for several years, including an informal overture to be club president a few years ago. But Kosar consistently declined to relocate from his home base in Weston, Fla., because of business and personal commitments.

Kosar, 45, has gone through some highly publicized tough times, first a messy divorce from his wife, Babette, and then personal bankruptcy. In the bankruptcy filing in June, Kosar listed $1.5 million in debt owed the Browns.

In between those traumatic changes of life, Kosar acquired executive experience as president of the Cleveland Gladiators. The club folded after one season when the Arena Football League went out of business.

"I've got a little more time now to do it," Kosar said of accepting Lerner's invitation. "I'm getting my personal life in order. I still miss football and the Arena thing whetted my appetite."

Kosar said he was unsure how much time he would spend in Cleveland. He has four children living in Weston. He said he doesn't know where the situation will lead.

"I want to make sure it's comfortable as a fit and make sure I can help," he said. "I want to be sensitive to all the time and work the coaches put into the job. They've been great to me."

Kosar does not have a history with Mangini, who joined the old Browns as a ballboy and then PR intern in 1994 -- the season after Kosar was released. Mangini, of course, would then be taken under the wing of coach Bill Belichick, with whom Kosar sparred.

The irony is that Kosar and Belichick grew closer long after their infamous parting and Mangini and Belichick grew far apart. The common ground of Belichick and Mangini is their insistence on strict discipline to build a solid team structure.

Truth is, Kosar always respected that aspect of Belichick's coaching.

"He knows you need structure in order to win," a league source closely familiar with Kosar said. "When you don't have structure, it becomes chaos."

Nobody knows how this dynamic will work in Lerner's organization chart. On the business side is President Mike Keenan and David Jenkins, vice president of finance and administration. On the football side is Mangini, General Manager George Kokinis, and Dawn Aponte, vice president of football administration.

Then there's Kosar and Jim Brown, executive advisor, reporting directly to Lerner.



(cleveland.com)