Des Browne for the chop?

Some wishful thinking in today's Mail on Sunday along the lines that Des Browne's dual Cabinet role (as both Defence Secretary and Secretary of State for Scotland) will be separated and the Scotland Office responsibility transferred to a new Ministry of the Nations and Regions. This has been tipped so many times that I've lost count, and to me seems unlikely. Why would Gordon Brown give the impression that he's caving in to demands from crusty old defence chiefs?