From: Pro Football Talk.com

To no surprise, the hiring of Eric Mangini by the Browns closes the Cleveland window of opportunity on Pats V.P. of player personnel Scott Pioli.

Per multiple media reports, Eagles G.M. Tom Heckert is out of the running, too.

Heckert canceled an interview scheduled for Friday, explaining that he doesn’t know Mangini and would not be entirely comfortable in the job. Per Jay Glazer of FOX, Heckert would have pushed the Browns to hire Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as the next head coach.

Meanwhile, Adam Schefter of NFLN adds to a growing chorus of reports that set the record straight regarding the notion that Pioli made “extreme demands” of the Browns.

“He never demanded millions of dollars per year, as had been speculated,” Schefter writes. “He never demanded certain powers, as had been previously reported. Pioli never asked the Browns for anything, not a single thing, which flies in the face of multiple reports that he had.”

As we’ve previously surmised, these reports possibly were coming from folks who didn’t want to see Pioli land in Cleveland, and/or folks who don’t want to see him leave New England.

The hiring of Mangini by the Browns, and the presumed arrival of George Kokinis as G.M., likely saves the employment of various colleagues and cronies of former G.M. Phil Savage, who faced potential termination if Pioli had been hired.