The Browns have released 31-year old DE Kenyon Coleman.  Coleman played in 16 games for the Browns last season and he had 68 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and he recovered 3 fumbles.  In his two years with the Browns, Coleman played in 29 games in which he had 106 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 4 sacks.  Coleman was another of Eric Mangini’s guys but he was actually a starter so he will be harder to replace than Eric Barton or David Bowens will be.

The Cleveland Browns have released 33-year old outside linebacker David Bowens.  Bowens played in 15 games for the Browns last season and he had 40 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions that he returned a combined 94 yards for 2 TDs.  Bowens played in 31 games in two years with the Browns and he had 111 tackles, 11 passes defensed, 6 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 3 interceptions.  Bowens was the single biggest reason for the win over the Saints last season but he didn’t do a whole lot in the other 14 games he played in.  Bowens is another former Jets’ player (a.k.a. A Eric Mangini Guy) who has been let go.

The Cleveland Browns have released 33-year old linebacker Eric Barton.  Barton played in all 16 games for the Browns last season and he had 64 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  Barton played in 24 games in his two years with the Browns and he had 124 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  Barton was one of “Eric Mangini’s Boys” that came over from the Jets and the Browns are looking in a new direction.  So it makes perfect sense that Barton will be looking for a new job in 2011.

The Cleveland Browns have released 31-year old tight end Robert Royal.  Royal played in 15 games for the Browns last season and he caught 5 passes for 56 yards (11.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Royal played in 28 games in his two years with the Browns and he caught 16 passes for 190 yards (11.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Browns will move foward with Ben Watson & Evan Moore at TE, so they won’t miss Royal at all in 2011.

The Cleveland Browns have released 33-year old offensive tackles John St. Clair.  St. Clair played in 11 games (10 starts) for the Browns last season.  He has played in 25 games (24 starts) in his two years with the Browns with all of his P.T. coming at RT.  The Browns are looking to shore up the right side of the offensive line and they think they can improve on St. Clair in 2011.

The Cleveland Browns have released 31-year old NT/DT Shaun Rogers.  Rogers played in 15 games for the Browns last season and he had 17 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 tackle for a loss.  Rogers played in 42 games in his three years with the Browns and he had 129 tackles, 5 passes defensed and 8.5 sacks.  Rogers was also adept at blocking kicks on special teams.  The Browns appeared to phase Rogers out of  the D last season, so they won’t likely miss him too much in 2011.

The Cleveland Browns have fired 39-year old head coach Eric Mangini.  Last season, Mangini saved his job by finishing 4-1 in the last five games.  But, this year was the complete opposite and it cost him his job.  In the last four games the Browns were outscored 93-42 and they lost all of them.  The Browns were pretty brutal to watch on offense outside of Peyton Hillis and Ben Watson who were the only skill players who probably grade out as players better than average on that side of the ball.  Browns’ President Mike Holmgren is an offensive wizard and he probably couldn’t take it anymore watching the Browns play offense.  The Browns averaged 102.9 yards rushing (4.0 ypc), 186.8 yards passing (75.0 QB Rating) and 16.9 points per game last season and that flat out won’t get the job done.  Mangini finishes his career in Cleveland with a 10-22 record (31.3%) as the Browns were 5-11 in each year with him in charge.  It might be a while before Mangini gets another shot to lead a team in the NFL as he is now 33-47 (41.3%) in his five years as a NFL head coach during the regular season.  He is also 0-1 in the playoffs.  I look for Holmgren’s next head coach to be more offensive minded unless it turns out being John Fox.  Jon Gruden is probably really high on Holmgren’s wish list as they worked together for a few years in Green Bay.

The Browns have released 28-year old cornerback Eric King.  King played in 3 games for the Browns this year and he made 3 tackles.  The Browns have signed 24-year old CB Coye Francies off the practice squad to replace King on the roster.  Francies played in 6 games for the Browns in 2009 and he had 4 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Francies was a 6th round pick by the Browns in 2009 out of San Jose State.

The Cleveland Browns have claimed 27-year old safety Sabby Piscitelli off waivers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Piscitelli played in 11 games for the Buccaneers this year and he had 19 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 45 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 150 tackles, 14 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 5 interceptions (which he has returned a combined 144 yards).  Piscitelli will provide depth at the back end of the secondary but he will be also expected to help out on special teams right away.  To make room on the roster for Piscitelli, the Browns have released 26-year old RB Thomas Clayton.  Clayton played in 2 games for the Browns this year and he had 1 carry for 0 yards.

The Cleveland Browns have waived 25-year old kickoff return man Clifton Smith.  Smith played in 2 games for the Browns and he returned 5 kickoffs for 92 yards (18.4 avg).  With Josh Cribbs back “healthy” the Browns didn’t need Smith around anymore.  Cribbs has played in 10 games for the Browns so far this year and he has returned 25 kickoffs for 528 yards (21.1 avg) and 14 punts for 120 yards (8.6 avg).  The Browns hope some teams get stupid and start  kicking the ball to Cribbs.