Five Reasons Why Eric Mangini Should Be Fired

On Tuesday, Mike Holmgren will meet with Eric Mangini to discuss his future. If retained, this would be an odd marriage.

In pro football, there are two big family trees. There is the Walsh tree, which Holmgren is part of, and the Parcells tree, which Mangini came from via Bill Belichick.

This writer was never a big fan of Mangini's hiring in the first place, but I do have to give him credit where it is due. The way the team finished was really good. They never quit on him and that is credit to him as a coach.

However, at the end of the day, he made some decisions that caused a lot of head-scratching and most did not work out for the best. He was known to be a control freak. The players rebelled early. One player got fined thousands for a bottle of water.

Looking at it objectively, there are five reasons why Holmgren should part ways with Mangini and look elsewhere.

1. The Quarterbacks

Last night on NBC's Football Night in America, Rodney Harrison said Mangini should be brought back because of how the team finished. Harrison also said Mangini can't be blamed for the inefficiency at quarterback. As much as I respect Harrison, I have to respectfully disagree.

The decisions Mangini made were all contributing factors as to why both quarterbacks had their struggles. For starters, keeping them both and making it a competition was the worst thing to do. The reps in offseason drills with the starters are huge in a young quarterback's development.

Reps were being split at almost every position, therefore it was very difficult to develop any kind of chemistry between the quarterbacks and receivers.

Instead of making a commitment to one and saying this is the guy we are going with and sticking with through thick and thin, Mangini allowed doubt about both quarterbacks to be magnified. The decision to bring in Brett Ratliff, which ended up being about nothing, didn't help matters any.

Whether you wanted Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson, most Browns fans would agree that the team should have committed to one and made a deal for the other. 

2. Trading Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards

This was the worst decision he made. Granted these guys were apparently problems in the locker room and Mangini said early on he didn't want to deal with malcontents. But I wonder if the fact was, he knew he couldn't deal with malcontents. I also wonder what he considered a malcontent. I am guessing it was anyone who disagreed with him.

Problem players or not, Winslow and Edwards were the two best playmakers on offense. If you get rid of players like that, at least replace them with other quality receivers. Robert Royal was a huge downgrade at tight end and it wasn't until late in the season when Evan Moore was discovered.

Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie, and Chansi Stuckey are all talented but are nowhere near the playmaker Edwards is at this point.

These decisions have had a strongly negative impact on both Quinn and Anderson.

With this in mind, Harrison's idea that Mangini can't be blamed for the inefficiency at quarterback holds less water.

3. Offensive Line

This is another reason why both Quinn and Anderson struggled early on. This offensive line was just awful for most of the year. The left side was pretty solid. That included Eric Steinbach and Joe Thomas. Both are holdovers from Romeo Crennel.

The right side of the line was awful. Floyd Womack was previously part of a very good Denver Bronco line. It turns out he was an average player on an otherwise good line.

John St. Clair wasn't even average. He was just downright awful. He reminded me more of an el matador than an offensive tackle.

Mangini's first pick was center Alex Mack. To be fair, Mack had a pretty good rookie season. However, he was nowhere near as dominant of a rookie as Thomas was.

The deficiencies on the line were guys Mangini brought in. It gave Quinn and Anderson no time to throw.

4. Brian Daboll

I've always believed Mangini knew he was not a good evaluator of talent when it came to quarterbacks. That is why he held both hostage. He didn't want one to go elsewhere and make him look dumb.

It is understandable because Mangini's specialty is defense. Therefore, logically, what he should have done was to hire a proven offensive guru and let him make all the offensive decisions.

Instead Mangini brought in Brian Daboll, a rookie offensive coordinator—and Daboll ran the offensive like a rookie. You only hire a rookie coordinator if a) he is on the side of the ball you specialize in so you can teach him properly, or b) there are a lot of older, veteran players. The Browns had neither.

As a result, Daboll looked clueless and called the most conservative plays I have ever seen.

5. Jerome Harrison

Nothing helps a young quarterback more than a good running game.

This area was basically nonexistent for most of the year. In fact, no running back had a rushing touchdown until the Pittsburgh game. Jamal Lewis was getting the carries for most of the year and his age was really showing.

Then when Lewis went down, Chris Jennings got a look. He showed some bright spots, especially against Pittsburgh, but still looked very raw.

In the meantime, Jerome Harrison was on the bench for most of the year. He got extensive action in one game early in the year and went more than 100 yards. He also showed skill on screen passes against San Diego.

It wasn't until game 14 when Harrison got the start against Kansas City and had the record day. Harrison was a big part of the winning streak to end the year. He followed with good games against Oakland and Jacksonville.

It is obvious Mangini didn't evaluate this position well since his best runner was on the bench for most of the year until the last three games. Needless to say, that could have helped the quarterbacks if the right runner was in from day one.

In spite of the run at the end of the year, Mangini needs to go. He did do a good job with the defense, but the decisions he made on offense speak for themselves. The fact is, a key player in the late season run was on the bench for most of the year. That is not good talent evaluation.

In the end, the idea that Mangini can't be blamed for the quarterbacks holds no water at all.