Updated Nov. 9, 2009 @ 6:08 p.m. ET

If there's one thing that we can be absolutely certain of regarding the Browns' current mess both on and off the field, it's that beleaguered head coach Eric Mangini was indeed "hunkered down" behind closed doors this week during the Browns' bye in his effort to "analyze every aspect of the team."

Team insiders tell us a preference for operating behind closed doors has been Mangini's "m.o" since he was hired by owner Randy Lerner to be the Browns' supposed savior. In the process, though, Mangini is said to have gone out of his way to isolate himself from just about everybody in the organization and create what is widely considered the most tension-filled atmosphere of any NFL front office currently operating.

The tension couldn't have been greater early this past week when the Browns suddenly announced that they would be looking for their third general manager in less than a year after relieving GM George Kokinis of his duties. Our sources say the organization has the intention of not paying him the remaining amount due him because it claims he violated the terms of his contract.

Kokinis, who started his pro career along with Mangini in the early '90s under then-Browns head coach Bill Belichick, was Mangini's handpicked choice to replace departed GM Phil Savage, who was given his walking papers last December. But from the get-go, Kokinis was seldom seen or heard from — a dramatic departure from Savage, who met openly with the local media on a regular basis. We also hear that Mangini seldom communicated with Kokinis, as their once-close relationship steadily unraveled.

The beginning of what is expected to be another major housecleaning by Lerner actually began when Lerner, who had been overseeing an independent investigation of his increasingly dysfunctional operation, cut loose director of football operations Erin O'Brien, a close friend of the Mangini family who followed them to Cleveland, shortly before cutting the cord with Kokinis. Team insiders tell us O'Brien had wasted no time alienating herself from most people in the organization, and that nobody shed a tear when she abruptly split the scene.

With his 1-7 team going nowhere, performing at an embarrassingly low level on both sides of the ball (31st-ranked offense, 32nd-ranked defense), what will Lerner do next?

The consensus among league observers is that the well-meaning Lerner — who spent more than two hours last week meeting with die-hard Browns fan "Dawg Pound Mike" Randall and a buddy regarding the team's sorry state — is determined to hire an experienced football heavyweight to run the show moving forward and make a decision on Mangini's fate.

What seems quite possible is a significant involvement by former Browns QB Bernie Kosar, who was hired in an unspecified consulting role Oct. 17. The name of former Giants GM Ernie Accorsi, who is tight with Kosar, has also been bandied about frequently in the Cleveland area, but Accorsi recently told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer and PFW correspondent Tony Grossi that he had no intention of ending his retirement from the NFL any time soon.

In ESPN's Sunday pregame show, Adam Schefter reported that Lerner might have his sights set on former Packers and Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren as the organization's new No. 1 power broker, with Holmgren taking on a role similar to that of Bill Parcells in Miami.

Yet, the way we hear it, don't be surprised if Parcells himself ends up moving to Cleveland, with sources in the Sunshine State saying that "the Tuna" has been preparing to turn the keys over to Tony Sparano and Jeff Ireland at season's end and seek a new rebuilding project.

"I see an established name like (former Steelers head coach Bill) Cowher or Parcells will be next to take over the organization," said one league insider. "They need to get a football guy in there who can see the big picture."

According to more than a few sources, what they also really need is for Lerner to open up his mind and not be so enamored with the Patriots' mystique that Mangini seemed to personify when Lerner hired him.

"Randy Lerner needs to get away from (his infatuation with) New England," said one NFL personnel director. "This owner does not get it. He has made one bad hire after another. It keeps getting worse."

As has been pointed out recently by those familiar with his apprenticeship under Belichick in New England, what Lerner should realize is that Mangini's defensive input was dramatically scaled down in 2005 by Belichick, who might have started to see the real handwriting on the wall regarding an overrated up-and-comer who was hardly a "Mangenius."

Will Mangini survive the Browns' bloodletting? The way we hear it, don't bet on it.

"Mangini is a dead man walking," one team insider told PFW. "It will never work for him. His ego is too big not to have power, but he does not know how to handle power. There's no way he can make it work. The owner has a lot of information on the problems."

Added an NFL scout with firsthand knowledge of the team's situation: "Everyone is in the dark. Everyone is scared for their jobs. No one wants to talk or is saying anything."

A common complaint we're hearing about Mangini is that he cannot handle more responsibility but continues to try to do everything himself because he does not trust anyone. As a result, he is outsmarting himself.

"His communication skills are awful," said one insider. "He is not a leader. And he is not a likeable guy. It's a very bad combination for a head coach or general manager."

It doesn't help that Mangini's game plans are considered too intellectually demanding and overly complex, thus creating a situation in which the players are tighter than drums and continually walking on eggshells and overthinking — and consequently, underachieving.

"Eric is an ass," said one high-level NFL executive. "He is so different than (new Broncos head coach) Josh (McDaniels), knowing both of them. Eric is impressed with European general leadership books. It's great, but players are not a Roman army. No one is having any fun. Practice sucks. Part of the job of a coach is to keep players focused and motivated."

Added a former Browns employee with knowledge of the organization's inner workings: "Randy is a good-meaning guy — it's not all his fault. Mangini just proved he cannot do it. Kokinis was Mangini's handpicked guy. Mangini is the one pulling all the strings. Kokinis is just a scapegoat. If they let this go any longer, they are just feeding the monster. It's not getting any better. It's very easy to get a sense when people are way in over their head — coaches and personnel people. Mangini is way in over his head."

As for Lerner, while he might be a decent enough guy, the Browns' organization couldn't have a more terrible reputation at the moment.

"They make you feel like a criminal when they fire you," said the ex-Browns employee. "You get escorted to the office and interrogated. It's no way to treat people. It's as if they own you. They cross the line with civil rights."

And there are many who believe Mangini has crossed the line with his disciplinary measures and insufferable demands:

To wit:

• Being the first to open training camp and making rookies take a 10-hour bus ride to his football camp in Connecticut.
• Fining one of his players $1,701 for not paying for a $3 bottle of water during a hotel stay.
• Making players take extensive tests late in the week.

The bottom line? We could be wrong — considering how well he has been able to cover his butt wherever he's been — but the way we hear it, Mangini's ship has sailed off course and is dangerously close to sinking.

"No one in the league thinks Mangini is going to survive this mess, and they see this (the ouster of Kokinis) as the first step toward cleaning out the current regime," said one league insider. "He does not know how to handle power, yet his ego is too big to live without it, and league sentiment is that he will have to drop down into the college ranks to get another head-coaching job."

In the meantime, look for the unraveling of the Browns' regime to continue, with Mangini twisting in the wind.

And no doubt doing all that twisting behind closed doors, where nobody can easily get to him.

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