December 31st, 2008 
Matt Loede 
Posted in From: Boston Herald
Browns owner Randy Lerner isn’t prepared to be turned down a second time in his quest to find a savior for his football franchise, according to a league source familiar with his effort to hire Patriots [team stats] executive vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli. According to the source, Lerner was not pleased when former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher spurned his advances so he is prepared to make what was described as “a huge” financial offer to Pioli.
The offer would include not only millions but, more importantly, full control of the organization and the funds necessary to bring in Pioli’s first choice as head coach, Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, or perhaps his longtime friend Eric Mangini. Although it has been widely speculated Pioli might try to create a package deal that would include Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as his head coach, that is not the case, according to several league sources.
