Cleveland Browns reach contract terms with Eric Mangini

[dazed&confused]

by Tony Grossi and Mary Kay Cabot/Plain Dealer Reporters

A former ball boy with the Browns who has stated he still has emotional ties to Cleveland, Eric Mangini will become the franchise's 12th full-time head coach following a press conference on Thursday.CLEVELAND --- The 12th full-time Browns coach is a former team ball boy whose second job with the franchise was fetching food for the media at lunchtime.
Only time will tell if he has critics eating out of his hand again with wins on the field.

The Browns will announce Eric Mangini as Romeo Crennel's successor at a news conference Thursday morning.

Amid growing reports that Mangini already was formulating his coaching staff, the club confirmed that an agreement was reached with the fired New York Jets coach on Wednesday.

Mangini, who turns 38 on Jan. 19, was the first of four candidates interviewed by owner Randy Lerner to replace Crennel. He was fired on Dec. 29, the day after the Jets lost their final game and were eliminated from the AFC playoffs.

They were in first place at 8-3 after defeating division superpower and arch rival New England on Nov. 13, then lost five of their last six to fall to third. The Jets were 23-26 in Mangini's three years as coach, twice finishing with a winning record.


Lerner was informed of Mangini's firing during a sit-down with Cleveland reporters. His eyes lit up at the news and he almost immediately made arrangements to meet with Mangini the next day. Lerner was so impressed that he never wavered from Mangini as his first choice.

In fact, Lerner effectively chose Mangini to head his football reorganization ahead of GM candidate Scott Pioli of the New England Patriots.

Once close friends and former roommates, Pioli and Mangini became estranged when Mangini left the Patriots as defensive coordinator to coach the Jets. When Lerner surmised that the relationship between Mangini and Pioli might be unworkable, Lerner proceeded with plans to make Mangini the coach.

Pioli was interviewed for the GM job, but he may no longer be a candidate. The top candidate is Mangini's long-time friend George Kokinis, pro personnel director of the Baltimore Ravens. Kokinis will be interviewed on Sunday. The Browns also received permission to interview Tom Heckert, Eagles GM.
Mangini's hiring increases the possibility of Crennel staying with the Browns, perhaps as defensive coordinator.

Mangini and Crennel worked five years together on Bill Belichick's New England staff, sharing three Super Bowl championships. When Crennel was named Browns coach in 2005, Mangini was his first choice for defensive coordinator, but Mangini opted to stay in New England as Crennel's replacement in charge of the Patriots' defense. Mangini stayed one year with New England before moving to the Jets, creating a deep rift with Belichick, who was responsible for moving Mangini into coaching on the old Browns' staff in 1995.

Mangini's first job with the Browns in 1991 was as a ballboy at training camp. He then served an internship with the public relations staff. One of his duties included delivering food, usually pizza, to the media room.

When Mangini was preparing for his first game against the Browns as Jets coach in 2006, he surprised Cleveland media by ordering them a catered lunch during the week.

"I thought I should keep the tradition alive," Mangini said then, flashing a sense of humor and humility rarely seen from his mentor, Belichick.

Mangini was the youngest coach in the league, at 35, when he was named Jets coach in 2006. In an interview with the New York Daily News in 2006, he reminisced about his humble beginnings in Cleveland.

"When I was a ball boy I'd go into the coaches' locker room and see their names on the lockers," Mangini said. "I thought, 'My name is going to be on there some day.' It seemed so far away. It was hard to envision, but that was the goal."

Mangini's firing in New York was a shocker to most in the NFL but not so much to those close to the situation.

Jets owner Woody Johnson talked of giving Mangini a contract extension when the team was 8-3. But after four losses in their last five games, Johnson pulled the plug on the coach who had acquired the nickname "Mangenius" for going 10-6 in his first season as coach. The Jets were 0-2 against the Browns under Mangini, losing, 20-13, in Cleveland in 2006, and 24-18, in the Meadowlands in 2007.

After the 2007 season, the Jets invested more than $160 million in contracts for veteran players to push the team over the hump. The spending spree included a decision late in training camp to trade for disgruntled Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, whose acquisition led to the release of popular Jets veteran quarterback Chad Pennington.

Division rival Miami quickly signed Pennington, and he led the Dolphins to the AFC East title with a win over the Jets in the final game. Pennington was named the NFL's comeback player of the year.

Mangini, who was against the pickup of Favre, never felt comfortable with the future Hall of Famer, New York sources said. Favre threw nine interceptions in the last five games, precipitating the team's free-fall. Johnson wanted Favre to return in 2009 and felt the chances were greater of that with a change of coaches.

In a telephone conversation on Wednesday prior to news of Mangini's hiring, Floyd Reese, former Tennessee general manager, gave him a strong endorsement.

"If I was a GM right now, I think he would be the top of my list," Reese said. "I think he got a real bad deal with the Jets. Even the press conference was strange. The owner said something about it not being a knee-jerk reaction. But, I mean, the guy was 8-3."

"And here.....we....go." The Joker in The Dark Knight.

[dazed&confused]

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Daniel Powter - Bad Day Song Lyrics

[ace63]

You saying Mangini will be the next Browns coach is something no talking head with access to teams is willing to confirm.

Watch espn thur moring to see talking head .

Was I right gahs.

[ace63]

He might be good . You got to give him a chance before you run over him . (maybe)

[OZZIEOHIO]

GO STEELERS!!!

[OZZIEOHIO]

Its better than the Bengals who I would be caught dead rooting for and the browns cant wipe there A$$e$!!

[ace63]

You have forgotten that being the fan of any sports team goes far deeper than wins and losses. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the best fans are those who suffer through the tough times. Anyone can jump on someone else's bandwagon. It's kinda like a man being unfaithful to his wife. Someone/thing always looks better than what you have.

GO BROWNS!!!!!

How true .

[Manwithplan]

GO STEELERS!!!

WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!It's good to see you finally came to your senses.

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

I wonder how long it will take for Brown fan to call for his head.

Chances are they are not going to produce a winning record next season.

[LICKING COUNTY FAN]

If youre not a Browns fan you dont have a dog in this hunt.

The Cowboys have enough on their own plate that their fans dont have time to look elsewhere. I'll guarantee you even Mangini is a better HC than Wad Phillips, who does less with more. Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, TO, an unproven QB at the end of season, and no coaching leadership. What a zoo!

Come to think of it, I can understand why a Cowboys fan would come to another team's thread. It takes their mind off the problems with their own underachieving team.

GO BROWNS!!!!!!

I am also a fan of the NFL and love to hear what fans of others teams think. I can do this without bad mouthing a team or their fans. I can also talk trash about other teams. In this case it was just a question. I understand why a BROWNS FAN WOULD BE UPSET WITH A FAN OF ANOTHER TEAM, ESPCIALLY A LIFETIME FAN OF A TEAM WHO HAS WON FIVE MORE SUPERBOWLS THAN THE BROWNS HAS.

[ace63]

Well I know one browns coach who was fired and went to new england . Did pretty well. maybe the same will happen in reverse . sometimes its not the coach but the players. But the coach gets the blame. But we always have that great saying (wait till next year). Its all I have . WHO-DEY

[OZZIEOHIO]

manwithplan

WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!It's good to see you finally came to your senses.

I was just kidding, Im a Brown for ever, but I dont have to like the new coach. I look forward to being on the recieving end of all the good jokes next year. Im my opinion we should have just kept Romeo. I felt the Browns had the Talent to make it to the playoffs next year, but this guy wont get us there its another 2 or 3 year wait for maybe a new coach.

[OZZIEOHIO]

Hammerdown wrote

your wrong about that the mangenius will bring cleveland to respectabilty

And I have 50 acres of good farming ground for sell real cheap in Arizona!!!!

[ace63]

Pioli went to KC instead of cleveland.

[ace63]

Pioli was NEVER in Cleveland's plans once Mangini became availble. Those two are on the outs and have been for awhile, and Lerner fell in love with Mangini. Plus Mangini wants the personnel guy in Baltimore as the GM. When was the last time an owner asked a coach to pick the franchise's GM?

Whether Mangini will work out or not is yet to be seen, but at least he came to town hitting the ground running with a plan in place for the organization and coaching staff, and he is wasting no time getting his people in line before the other teams in similar situations can beat them to the punch.

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/article.php?id=9371

like i said the jets coach will be the browns new coach. director of personel of the ravens will be the new gm. The new england guy is out because the jets coach turned them in for (SPYGATE). Thats why his name hasnt been brought up. (This is from a past post i did . Had the answers a while back) where do i get my info ????

[ace63]

No i dont know more about the browns than you .(your older) . Your getting your new asst coaches too. have you seen that. I dont always get info from espn. I do have (some) browns friends ,who are in contact with people in cleveland. You can find out whats happening before everyone else knows .
Was it general patton who said stay close to your friends and closer to to your enemy.
Mike brown will stay gm this year I would say. Who will it be . Maybe cower ?? As for info about bengals, I have a friend whos son in law is the team doctor. (would that be a spygate).
As for the browns I think they will bounce back , If bengals dont get more o-line , It will be more of the same.

[The Riepo Man]

"Rebuilding Year"...Rebuilding Decade"...its all the same to my Brownies....things look good during the offseason and then we flounder. When things dont look so good during the offseason we go 10-6 AND still miss the playoffs.

Eric Mangini...you will either be great for the Browns or just another face in the crowd...hopefully the first but seeing how my Brownies cant stop injuring their nay-nays it doesnt look good at this time

[Orange and Brown]

From one bad coach to another

[ace63]

Browns coaches since 1999
Coach Years W-L
Chris Palmer 1999-2000 5-27
Butch Davis 2001-04 24-35*
Terry Robiskie 2004 1-5
Romeo Crennel 2005-08 24-40
Totals: 55-107
* Includes one playoff game

[The Riepo Man]

A coach, on average, lasts only 5 1/2 years in Cleveland...sounds mediocre to me considering that Paul Brown was there for 16yrs, Collier for 8, Rutigliano for 7...after that no one has gone for more than 5yrs...and I did count the 3 interim coaches