Browns, Mangini capitalize on Jets' foolishness

[Gen X Jet]

Get aload of this clown writer:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=504614

Browns, Mangini capitalize on Jets' foolishness

January 7, 2009

Clifton Brown

Observations on the Cleveland Browns' decision to hire Eric Mangini as head coach:

1. Other teams find Jets' leftovers tasty

When the Jets were done with Chad Pennington, the Dolphins scooped him up as their starting quarterback and went to the playoffs. Now the Browns have hired Mangini not even two weeks after he was fired as the Jets' head coach. The Jets already have egg on their face, after watching Pennington have a better season than Brett Favre. The Jets will look even worse next season if the Browns make the playoffs and the Jets do not.

2. Mangini gets a second chance quickly

I wrote last week that Mangini was fired too quickly by the Jets, and that he will make a good NFL head coach one day. Apparently, Browns' owner Randy Lerner feels the same way. Mangini's Jets faltered down the stretch this season, but that does not make him a bad coach. Not when Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes and nine interceptions over the final four games.

Interesting how Jets owner Woody Johnson wants Favre back, but sent Mangini packing, even though he had a winning record in two of his three seasons as Jets coach. Mangini will turn only 38 later this month. And Mangini undoubtedly learned a lot from his three seasons with the Jets, in a high-pressure media market like New York.

Many NFL head coaches have done better in their second job after being fired the first time, including Mike Shanahan, Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin. Nobody is saying Mangini will win a Super Bowl with the Browns, but you would have to guess the Jets' experience will help make him a better coach. And with plenty of coaches to choose from, still very early in this year's coaching carousel, Lerner jumped on Mangini like a trampoline, confident he can take the Browns to the next level.

This also increases the possibility that the Browns will hire George Kokinis as their general manager. Kokinis, the Ravens' director of pro personnel, is a friend of Mangini's.

3. What's next for the Jets?

They are still looking for a head coach, and now the heat has intensified on owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum to pick a winner. At least seven names have been linked to the Jets job, including two coaches who were on Mangini's staff -- offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and assistant head coach Bill Callahan.

Cardinals assistant Russ Grimm, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, and former Ravens head coach Brian Billick are also in the mix. My guess is that Ryan and Spagnuolo are the frontrunners, but they are on many teams' wish lists.

4. The Jets did Mangini a favor

Even if Favre comes back, the Jets will not be favored to win the AFC East. If Favre retires, the Jets may take a step back next season and that would have surely cost Mangini his job. Now Mangini gets to start fresh with a new team that has Brady Quinn, a young quarterback with potential. Maybe Mangini should send Johnson a thank you card for being fired.

Clifton Brown is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at cliftonbrown@sportingnews.com.

[Vudu]

Merge!

[Green DNA]

We'll see who's foolish when Browns are screaming at the TV wondering why the Browns are rushing 3 men and blitz from 30 yards deep.

[BroadwayJ667]

We'll see who's foolish when Browns are screaming at the TV wondering why the Jets are rushing 3 men and blitz from 30 yards deep.

why would the browns fans be yelling at the jets defense.

the thing about this is that the Jets aren't in as bad a position as is being made out.

salary cap wise they are fine, subtract under performers Farve, Thomas, and Coles, Jets have (i'm guessing) 15 million to play with, meaning they could sign one big free agent or a few mid tier. sign Ryan as head coach (which hey can't until ravens are out) they have an esrtablised 3-4 defense that once led the league in sacks, play makers on offense in Cotchery, Keller, Washington, and sometimes Stuckey, A good running game to support the defenese in Jones.

Likely with a good coach they won't need much production from whoever is the QB.

Jets will be fine.

[Green DNA]

why would the browns fans be yelling at the jets defense.

the thing about this is that the Jets aren't in as bad a position as is being made out.

salary cap wise they are fine, subtract under performers Farve, Thomas, and Coles, Jets have (i'm guessing) 15 million to play with, meaning they could sign one big free agent or a few mid tier. sign Ryan as head coach (which hey can't until ravens are out) they have an esrtablised 3-4 defense that once led the league in sacks, play makers on offense in Cotchery, Keller, Washington, and sometimes Stuckey, A good running game to support the defenese in Jones.

Likely with a good coach they won't need much production from whoever is the QB.

Jets will be fine.

The Browns fans will be seeing the '08 Jets defense next year, at least the passive schemes anyway. Hopefully we will be watching an attacking Rex Ryan blitzathon.

[BroadwayJ667]

The Browns fans will be seeing the '08 Jets defense next year, at least the passive schemes anyway. Hopefully we will be watching an attacking Rex Ryan blitzathon.

sorry lost in translation

[Sperm Edwards]

why would the browns fans be yelling at the jets defense.

the thing about this is that the Jets aren't in as bad a position as is being made out.

salary cap wise they are fine, subtract under performers Farve, Thomas, and Coles, Jets have (i'm guessing) 15 million to play with, meaning they could sign one big free agent or a few mid tier. sign Ryan as head coach (which hey can't until ravens are out) they have an esrtablised 3-4 defense that once led the league in sacks, play makers on offense in Cotchery, Keller, Washington, and sometimes Stuckey, A good running game to support the defenese in Jones.

Likely with a good coach they won't need much production from whoever is the QB.

Jets will be fine.

Can't subtract Coles. His $7M cap hit is guaranteed unless he feels like letting the Jets off the hook.

[s dubb]

They will have Rob Ryan as their DC. You guys are in for some serious hurt. Mangini messed up big time. Made some terrible calls. Woody's call on Favre ruined Mangini, thus Mangini was let go to early.

Now Mangini will go on to make a Browns a good team. He already has some moving parts for his 3-4 philosophy. Rob Ryan WILL be their DC. Ignore it all you want my fellow Jet brethren. We got hosed. Mangini is already employed. Woody is just getting back from his vacation with not a *****in clue.

We spent 160mil in F.A signings to fit the mold of a 3-4 that Mangini wanted to build. Now we can the guy in the same year we open the wallet. Getting Spag would be doing this team a disservice as he would want to undo all of this.

Guys face it. Our team sucks, we have a ginea pig for an owner and I know all of you guys can just feel that we are going to totally ***** up this coaching search and hire some retread moron that will be worse then Mangini. Come on, guys. You can just feel it coming can't ya?

You guys wanted to get rid of Mangini, most of you got your wish. The only way our Org can make good on this is to ace/get lucky or hope all the stars are aligned when they chose the new coach of the Jets. If not, we are going to look like a laughing stock AGAIN!!!..

I feel nausious!

[Sperm Edwards]

They will have Rob Ryan as their DC. You guys are in for some serious hurt. Mangini messed up big time. Made some terrible calls. Woody's call on Favre ruined Mangini, thus Mangini was let go to early.

Now Mangini will go on to make a Browns a good team. He already has some moving parts for his 3-4 philosophy. Rob Ryan WILL be their DC. Ignore it all you want my fellow Jet brethren. We got hosed. Mangini is already employed. Woody is just getting back from his vacation with not a *****in clue.

We spent 160mil in F.A signings to fit the mold of a 3-4 that Mangini wanted to build. Now we can the guy in the same year we open the wallet. Getting Spag would be doing this team a disservice as he would want to undo all of this.

Guys face it. Our team sucks, we have a ginea pig for an owner and I know all of you guys can just feel that we are going to totally ***** up this coaching search and hire some retread moron that will be worse then Mangini. Come on, guys. You can just feel it coming can't ya?

You guys wanted to get rid of Mangini, most of you got your wish. The only way our Org can make good on this is to ace/get lucky or hope all the stars are aligned when they chose the new coach of the Jets. If not, we are going to look like a laughing stock AGAIN!!!..

I feel nausious!

Yeah, Cleveland is where all great head coaches go to shine & bring glory to the team.

And Mangini did a lousy job after 2006. Deal with it.

You'd think 9 wins (that would have been 8 if not for Jauron calling a rollout pass to run out the clock) was tantamount to a superbowl appearance. It's not as though he won 9 games this year by his genius with a scrappy group of untalented scrubs that played above their talent level.

[s dubb]

Yeah, Cleveland is where all great head coaches go to shine & bring glory to the team.

And Mangini did a lousy job after 2006. Deal with it.

You'd think 9 wins (that would have been 8 if not for Jauron calling a rollout pass to run out the clock) was tantamount to a superbowl appearance. It's not as though he won 9 games this year by his genius with a scrappy group of untalented scrubs that played above their talent level.

Look there are a lot of moving parts with our season and Mangini getting fired. Woody trading for a washed up Favre in the last week of preseason was a mistake. Face it bro.. Woody got greedy. He spends 160mil in F.A signings all for Mangini's 3-4. He also said that Mangini wouldn't get fired no matter what, at the beginning of the season. Woody is the real cancer of this team.

I'm not a Mangini guy but I'm a believer in continuity. It was his 3rd year with a bunch of new guys and a washed up Q.B which didn't like to study film and or his Playbook in Greenbay because he thought he was God. Woody ruined him and he's going to ruin us as a team. He's a business man trying to meddle in football decisions.

At the end of the day Mangini's gone and employed with another team and at the end of the day Sperm. If we don't get this right there are going to be a whole lotta Jets fans trying to save face.

Rex Ryan or bust

[docdhc]

Yeah, Cleveland is where all great head coaches go to shine & bring glory to the team.

And Mangini did a lousy job after 2006. Deal with it.

You'd think 9 wins (that would have been 8 if not for Jauron calling a rollout pass to run out the clock) was tantamount to a superbowl appearance. It's not as though he won 9 games this year by his genius with a scrappy group of untalented scrubs that played above their talent level.

Yeah, and New England was a storied franchise with lots of success and great coaches before Belly got there. Mangini is a good coach who should get better his second time around. He is smart and works hard and he now gets a DC who he wants and who fits his scheme. Maybe Mangini made mistakes this year but not many coaches could have handled Favre and made him take care of the ball. 9 ints and 2 td's down the stretch would have brought down Vince Lombardi. It certainly overshadowed any mistakes Eric might have made.

[Sperm Edwards]

Look there are a lot of moving parts with our season and Mangini getting fired. Woody trading for a washed up Favre in the last week of preseason was a mistake. Face it bro.. Woody got greedy. He spends 160mil in F.A signings all for Mangini's 3-4. He also said that Mangini wouldn't get fired no matter what, at the beginning of the season. Woody is the real cancer of this team.

I'm not a Mangini guy but I'm a believer in continuity. It was his 3rd year with a bunch of new guys and a washed up Q.B which didn't like to study film and or his Playbook in Greenbay because he thought he was God. Woody ruined him and he's going to ruin us as a team. He's a business man trying to meddle in football decisions.

At the end of the day Mangini's gone and employed with another team and at the end of the day Sperm. If we don't get this right there are going to be a whole lotta Jets fans trying to save face.

Rex Ryan or bust

It wasn't so obvious Favre was washed-up when his last game was the NFC championship game that was barely lost to the superbowl winners in overtime.

Nor did it seem that obvious when he threw 6 TD's in a single game vs Arizona (hey, if it was so easy why didn't anyone else do it?)

I have no issue with Woody saying Mangini is safe for 2009, and then when the team collapses (in large part due to coaching decisions) he fires him anyway. Everyone's accountable, even those who are supposed to be safe. Mangini doesn't have nearly the resume to fall back on to survive that collapse. The Clowns hiring him (on the tail-end of such marvelous Cleveland head coaches as Palmer, Davis, Robiskiek, and Crennel) does nothing to make me feel differently.

Everyone was clamoring for the Jets to get better at a variety of positions. They almost managed to get them all settled in a single off-season. And they were for Mangini's 3-4 defense? C'mon. This is a coach who wanted to redefine the nose tackle position with an under-sized, "more athletic" player there who everyone knew from day-one was a bad fit. And for two years he stubbornly ran that 3-4 defense without a real nose tackle. He was more interested in adding talentless boobs like Anthony Schlegel and Eric Smith and Jason Pociask because they were team captains in line with his "Jets core values" nonsense.

And there is never a reason to punt from the opponent's 32 yard-line in the 4th quarter while the team is losing AND having trouble stopping the run. The whole world knows that's 4-down territory unless you're attempting a FG. But I suppose that's Favre's fault as well.

And I'm too old to worry about saving face. I want to see them win for my own gratitude, not to rub it in the face of high school classmates.

Yeah, and New England was a storied franchise with lots of success and great coaches before Belly got there. Mangini is a good coach who should get better his second time around. He is smart and works hard and he now gets a DC who he wants and who fits his scheme. Maybe Mangini made mistakes this year but not many coaches could have handled Favre and made him take care of the ball. 9 ints and 2 td's down the stretch would have brought down Vince Lombardi. It certainly overshadowed any mistakes Eric might have made.

Paul Hackett was also smart & worked hard. I don't want him to be the HC either.

If Favre kept throwing those back-breaking picks, then ask yourself what head coach kept putting him in a position to make them.

[docdhc]

It wasn't so obvious Favre was washed-up when his last game was the NFC championship game that was barely lost to the superbowl winners in overtime.

Nor did it seem that obvious when he threw 6 TD's in a single game vs Arizona (hey, if it was so easy why didn't anyone else do it?)

I have no issue with Woody saying Mangini is safe for 2009, and then when the team collapses (in large part due to coaching decisions) he fires him anyway. Everyone's accountable, even those who are supposed to be safe. Mangini doesn't have nearly the resume to fall back on to survive that collapse. The Clowns hiring him (on the tail-end of such marvelous Cleveland head coaches as Palmer, Davis, Robiskiek, and Crennel) does nothing to make me feel differently.

Everyone was clamoring for the Jets to get better at a variety of positions. They almost managed to get them all settled in a single off-season. And they were for Mangini's 3-4 defense? C'mon. This is a coach who wanted to redefine the nose tackle position with an under-sized, "more athletic" player there who everyone knew from day-one was a bad fit. And for two years he stubbornly ran that 3-4 defense without a real nose tackle. He was more interested in adding talentless boobs like Anthony Schlegel and Eric Smith and Jason Pociask because they were team captains in line with his "Jets core values" nonsense.

And there is never a reason to punt from the opponent's 32 yard-line in the 4th quarter while the team is losing AND having trouble stopping the run. The whole world knows that's 4-down territory unless you're attempting a FG. But I suppose that's Favre's fault as well.

And I'm too old to worry about saving face. I want to see them win for my own gratitude, not to rub it in the face of high school classmates.

Paul Hackett was also smart & worked hard. I don't want him to be the HC either.

If Favre kept throwing those back-breaking picks, then ask yourself what head coach kept putting him in a position to make them.

As I stated in another thread, Mangini, given his youth and the owner's support for Favre, didn't have the standing to bench a HOF QB with an NFL record consecutive streak to boot.

[Sperm Edwards]

As I stated in another thread, Mangini, given his youth and the owner's support for Favre, didn't have the standing to bench a HOF QB with an NFL record consecutive streak to boot.

Perhaps. And if that was his only shortcoming as a head coach then the sane ones here would overlook it. He wasn't too much better with the handling of his other players.

Who's brilliant idea was it to put the team's very-vocal player union representative in the rookie dorm?

He didn't think he was too young and inexperienced for that juvenile maneuver.

[docdhc]

Perhaps. And if that was his only shortcoming as a head coach then the sane ones here would overlook it. He wasn't too much better with the handling of his other players.

Who's brilliant idea was it to put the team's very-vocal player union representative in the rookie dorm?

He didn't think he was too young and inexperienced for that juvenile maneuver.

I think he learned from that mistake, he handled the Baker situation this year much better. He is also getting some good support from his ex players, Jenkins, Washington, and Cotchery to name a few. I think he will make less mistakes as he continues coaching and will get better, unfortunately for another AFC team.

[Sperm Edwards]

I think he learned from that mistake, he handled the Baker situation this year much better. He is also getting some good support from his ex players, Jenkins, Washington, and Cotchery to name a few. I think he will make less mistakes as he continues coaching and will get better, unfortunately for another AFC team.

Jenkins didn't say word-one about Mangini being a good head coach. He said (in so many words) that he was a nice guy.

Under Mangini, Cotchery got the chance that Herm never gave him. Sure I credit Mangini for that, but let's be real: the guy he was behind was Justin McCareins.

I didn't see Leon's comments. But meanwhile Mangini's the only NFL head coach he's played for. His college head coach was Larry Coker. The only other NFL head coach Cotchery played for was Herm. Jenkins hated Fox on a personal level. He didn't hate Mangini on a personal level. If Jenkins ever said that he thought Mangini was as good or better than Fox as a head coach then you might have something. But it would also mean we're all living in Imaginationland.

But there are dozens of other players on the roster who didn't say what a great head coach Mangini was.

[CTM]

Yes lets all root for Mangini to be successful so we can endure another season of stories about how dysfunctional a franchise we are...

I hope Mangini and Chad win 2 games between them..

I really hope Parcells come back here, he's the only one that instantly restores credibility here. I feel like we are teetering on the brink of disaster here..

[s dubb]

The bottom line is whether us fans were pissed with Mangini or not really isn't the case. Jeff Fisher and John Fox both had good seasons and bad, the franchise never gave up on them and now look. At those times neither one of them really had crazy creditials when all of this was happening. It just goes to show us how good organization should be ran.

The Jets are always a day late and a dollar short on everything they've ever done. We could have had Belichick as a coach but he left, Parcells came in here and cleaned house and brought us back from the abyiss but left early as well. We probably could have had Peyton Manning then Archie tells him to stay for his senior year, we had a shot at Dan Marino but no.. and the list goes on and on.

We get Mangini.. obviously a good coach from his 06 performance and I'm not saying the guy was flawless, CLEARLY but after Woody coughed up the 160mil in F.A signings and yes mostly to fit Mangini's 3-4 system because the run defense was terrible. Mind you it's a lot harder to find pieces for a 3-4 then it is a 4-3. If you don't have a nose your system will be set up to fail. So don't critisize the guy for sticking with D.Slob when finding N.Ts are damn near impossible. When the opportunity arose they jumped on it. Calvin Pace is and was overpaid from the giddy up but we needed help at OLB.

In any event. They did all of this, this season only to can the guy at the end of the year. I realize the decision making and other things involved were sometimes horrible but as a 30yo Jets fan I realize that these things are supposed to happen to us. Mangini, more then likely will be the guy the Browns need and pick up that franchise (Just typical Jet luck) and we will more then likely bomb the coaching search and give the ranks to some bum with little credentials. You know it's going to happen Sperm.

The real bottom line is, if Woody and Tanny don't make good on this and bring a quality coach in like Rex Ryan who is READY for a head coaching gig then were done. Bottom line!

I'll be able to talk with more sanity and clarity after we figure out who our head coach will be. Until then, I'm going to be on suicide watch!

[jason423]

why would the browns fans be yelling at the jets defense.

the thing about this is that the Jets aren't in as bad a position as is being made out.

salary cap wise they are fine, subtract under performers Farve, Thomas, and Coles, Jets have (i'm guessing) 15 million to play with, meaning they could sign one big free agent or a few mid tier. sign Ryan as head coach (which hey can't until ravens are out) they have an esrtablised 3-4 defense that once led the league in sacks, play makers on offense in Cotchery, Keller, Washington, and sometimes Stuckey, A good running game to support the defenese in Jones.

Likely with a good coach they won't need much production from whoever is the QB.

Jets will be fine.

As Sperm already said Coles cant go for cap relief unless we find a trade partner. BT is a 50/50 proposition. Depends on how much he was a Mangini guy as compared to a Tangini guy. There is not much savings in cutting him, but the Jets have made those moves before. Brandon Moores number will be cut by about 4 million dollars. Im not sure what they do with Calvin Pace. They could lower their number by re-working his deal, but Im not sure if they want to do that right now. They would need to redo his entire deal to make it work I think. Favre and Barrett are the big ones. They would save the team nearly 18 million dollars and put us about 10 million under the estimated cap. The problem is the Jets cant dump Favre off the books until he retires and fills out his paperwork with the NFL. Who knows how long that will take and knowing Favre it will take until at least the draft even if he makes his intentions known. That means the Jets will basically miss out on all of free agency.

[TNJet]

Jenkins didn't say word-one about Mangini being a good head coach. He said (in so many words) that he was a nice guy.

Under Mangini, Cotchery got the chance that Herm never gave him. Sure I credit Mangini for that, but let's be real: the guy he was behind was Justin McCareins.

I didn't see Leon's comments. But meanwhile Mangini's the only NFL head coach he's played for. His college head coach was Larry Coker. The only other NFL head coach Cotchery played for was Herm. Jenkins hated Fox on a personal level. He didn't hate Mangini on a personal level. If Jenkins ever said that he thought Mangini was as good or better than Fox as a head coach then you might have something. But it would also mean we're all living in Imaginationland.

But there are dozens of other players on the roster who didn't say what a great head coach Mangini was.

Wrong Sperm,Leon was coached by Bobby Bowden at Fla St, Not Coker at Miami.

[Stonehands]

The thing I am disappointed about is that it looks like Mangini will now get a chance to hire his own assistants and bring in guys he is comfortable with. Were our problems totally Mangini's fault or more due to having inept coordinators?

[slats]

The thing I am disappointed about is that it looks like Mangini will now get a chance to hire his own assistants and bring in guys he is comfortable with. Were our problems totally Mangini's fault or more due to having inept coordinators?

My biggest complaint with Mangini was a lack of aggression on either side of the ball, but particularly on defense. The offense seemed to improve with the addition of Callahan to give the team a legitimate running game to go with Schottenheimer's desire to throw it. If the QB hadn't fallen apart at the end of the season, Mangini would still be here.

Give him a real DC, and things could be a lot different. I don't understand the Jets love of Bob Sutton, who's been with the team since Al Groh. Mangini needs to be surrounded by people more aggressive than himself.

Had Mangini stayed, and brought his buddy Rob Ryan here, we'd probably be looking forward to next season. As it is, we find ourselves hoping another coordinator is going to step up in his rookie year and be a great head coach - the way a lot of folks once felt about Mangini.

[Sperm Edwards]

Wrong Sperm,Leon was coached by Bobby Bowden at Fla St, Not Coker at Miami.

Oh yeah. It was late when I posted that. So umm...well that dinosaur was friggin' senile already. So there.

[afosomf]

The thing I am disappointed about is that it looks like Mangini will now get a chance to hire his own assistants and bring in guys he is comfortable with. Were our problems totally Mangini's fault or more due to having inept coordinators?

wtf

didn't he have this chance 3 years ago?????????

[Sperm Edwards]

wtf

didn't he have this chance 3 years ago?????????

And 2 years ago, and 1 year ago...

[Bleedin Green]

I think he learned from that mistake, he handled the Baker situation this year much better. He is also getting some good support from his ex players, Jenkins, Washington, and Cotchery to name a few. I think he will make less mistakes as he continues coaching and will get better, unfortunately for another AFC team.

Based on what? Mangini CLEARLY regressed in each of the three years he was here. People want to talk about how the experience will make him such a better coach in Cleveland, but each year in NY he got worse and worse. Every time he does something that doesn't work, he just gets more and more cowardly and conservative in his coaching, until it gets to the point that his teams are rushing 3 every play and punting from in scoring range while trailing late in the 4th quarter. And besides, if you look at the line of losers the Browns have hired at HC since returning as an expansion team, I wouldn't say that says a whole lot for their eye for coaching talent or say anything positive for Mangini's chances for success.

I mean think about this, 4 years ago they hired a very successful former Patriots DC and after those 4 years, sent him packing. So they replace Crennel with a guy who worked under him, wasn't anywhere near as effective as the same job as him and just completed a monumental collapse with his previous employer. Who the hell really believes this is a formula for success?

[Bleedin Green]

The thing I am disappointed about is that it looks like Mangini will now get a chance to hire his own assistants and bring in guys he is comfortable with. Were our problems totally Mangini's fault or more due to having inept coordinators?

Or maybe Mangini should have been competent enough to actually find a passable defensive coordinator, rather then sitting around and waiting for ONE guy in the ENTIRE NFL to come and work for him. Mangini picked Schottenheimer and he picked Sutton. If those guys weren't good enough and they were never replaced, then that's on Mangini and no one else.

[Bleedin Green]

Yes lets all root for Mangini to be successful so we can endure another season of stories about how dysfunctional a franchise we are...

I hope Mangini and Chad win 0 games between them..

I really hope Parcells come back here, he's the only one that instantly restores credibility here. I feel like we are teetering on the brink of disaster here..

Fixed.

[JohnnyHector]

Who the hell really believes this is a formula for success?

Randy Lerner?

[Bleedin Green]

Randy Lerner?

1 playoff appearance and 2 winning seasons in 10 years of his family's ownership. So there you go.

[RutgersJetFan]

If there's one owner in the NFL who's exercised as poor judgement as Woody Johnson has in hiring coaches this decade, it's Randy Lerner.

[lancemehl]

Get aload of this clown writer:

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=504614

Browns, Mangini capitalize on Jets' foolishness

January 7, 2009

Clifton Brown

Observations on the Cleveland Browns' decision to hire Eric Mangini as head coach:

1. Other teams find Jets' leftovers tasty

When the Jets were done with Chad Pennington, the Dolphins scooped him up as their starting quarterback and went to the playoffs. Now the Browns have hired Mangini not even two weeks after he was fired as the Jets' head coach. The Jets already have egg on their face, after watching Pennington have a better season than Brett Favre. The Jets will look even worse next season if the Browns make the playoffs and the Jets do not.

2. Mangini gets a second chance quickly

I wrote last week that Mangini was fired too quickly by the Jets, and that he will make a good NFL head coach one day. Apparently, Browns' owner Randy Lerner feels the same way. Mangini's Jets faltered down the stretch this season, but that does not make him a bad coach. Not when Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes and nine interceptions over the final four games.

Interesting how Jets owner Woody Johnson wants Favre back, but sent Mangini packing, even though he had a winning record in two of his three seasons as Jets coach. Mangini will turn only 38 later this month. And Mangini undoubtedly learned a lot from his three seasons with the Jets, in a high-pressure media market like New York.

Many NFL head coaches have done better in their second job after being fired the first time, including Mike Shanahan, Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin. Nobody is saying Mangini will win a Super Bowl with the Browns, but you would have to guess the Jets' experience will help make him a better coach. And with plenty of coaches to choose from, still very early in this year's coaching carousel, Lerner jumped on Mangini like a trampoline, confident he can take the Browns to the next level.

This also increases the possibility that the Browns will hire George Kokinis as their general manager. Kokinis, the Ravens' director of pro personnel, is a friend of Mangini's.

3. What's next for the Jets?

They are still looking for a head coach, and now the heat has intensified on owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum to pick a winner. At least seven names have been linked to the Jets job, including two coaches who were on Mangini's staff -- offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, and assistant head coach Bill Callahan.

Cardinals assistant Russ Grimm, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski, and former Ravens head coach Brian Billick are also in the mix. My guess is that Ryan and Spagnuolo are the frontrunners, but they are on many teams' wish lists.

4. The Jets did Mangini a favor

Even if Favre comes back, the Jets will not be favored to win the AFC East. If Favre retires, the Jets may take a step back next season and that would have surely cost Mangini his job. Now Mangini gets to start fresh with a new team that has Brady Quinn, a young quarterback with potential. Maybe Mangini should send Johnson a thank you card for being fired.

Clifton Brown is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at cliftonbrown@sportingnews.com.

I'll say one thing, at least they have a 3-4 here already, that cost us 3 years, and even then they only lasted 11 games out of 16. They may have a little luck there. Of course there are the "other" things, like adjustments, we'll see.

[Jet Moses]

Guys face it. Our team sucks, we have a ginea pig for an owner and I know all of you guys can just feel that we are going to totally ***** up this coaching search and hire some retread moron that will be worse then Mangini. Come on, guys. You can just feel it coming can't ya?

I have always been under the impression that it's been all wine and roses being a Jets fan. I can't for the life of me see where all of this pessimism is coming from.

[aec4]

I get a kick out of the article saying that Mangini if he was with the NYJ wouuld not be favored next year to win the AFC East. IS HE GOING TO BE FAVORED TO WIN THE AFC NORTH? Umm... are Pittsburgh and Baltimore all of a sudden going to suck?