NFL's Adam Schefter is reporting that today, January 7th, 2009, former New England Patriots defensive coordinator and New York Jets head coach Eric Mangini has been hired as the head football coach of the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns had fired former coach Romeo Crennel after he led the team to a disappointing 24-40 record over four seasons.
Mangini has become the first free agent head coach to be hired in 2009, and obviously this also takes him off the market for any team interested in him as a potential coordinator or coach.
Mangini had been fired from the New York Jets after his team completed a monumental collapse at the end of the 2008 season. After sitting at 8-3 following their win over the previously undefeated Titans, the Jets would lose four of their final five games and miss the playoffs. After the season, Jets players began talking to the media expressing dislike of Mangini's coaching practices, and reporting that he favored Brett Favre over other players.
The Cleveland Browns have now hired two former Patriot assistants as coaches in a row. Since the team has reportedly been interested in New England GM Scott Pioli for their own front office, the bad blood between Mangini and the Patriots may make that more difficult.
Details of the signing and contract are not available yet, but stay tuned with NFL.com and NFL Network, as Schefter himself and other reporters will soon be covering this story.
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