Mike Holmgren visits Browns for 2nd day

CLEVELAND — Former Seattle and Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren is spending his second day meeting with the Cleveland Browns about running their football operations.

A person familiar with the meetings told The Associated Press that Holmgren visited with the Browns on Monday and was again at the team's headquarters in Berea, Ohio, on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Browns owner Randy Lerner wants to keep his search for a football executive secret.

Last month, Lerner said he wanted to hire a "serious, credible leader" to run the team. The Browns are 2-11 and have lost at least 10 games six of the past seven seasons.

His visit was first reported by the Akron Beacon Journal and WKNR radio.

He previously served as the Seahawks GM and has expressed interest about returning to the NFL. The 61-year-old Holmgren recently told a Seattle radio station he found the Browns' front-office job appealing.

"There's something in my personality, too, that taking on those types of projects, that kind of gets me going. But there's a lot of work to do," he said. "The important thing, going into any organization is that all of the principles, all of the decision makers are pointed in the same direction, with the same motives, the same desires, and then you have a chance."

It's not known what impact the hiring of a new football "czar" will have on coach Eric Mangini's future. The Browns have struggled in Mangini's first season, which has included lopsided losses and players grumbling about practice methods and fines. The team is coming off a 13-6 upset of Pittsburgh and plays in Kansas City on Sunday.

Mangini has said he would be open to Lerner bringing in someone to oversee the team's personnel decisions. On Monday, Mangini said he and Lerner have not discussed the search for that person.

"That hasn't really been the focal point of our conversations," he said. "It's more a function of the things that we're trying to do week in and week out. We'll visit some more and I'm sure we'll see where that is."