Cleveland Browns Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Nearly one-third of NFL teams made head-coaching changes since the end of the regular season, and many more have or are in the process of changing major coordinators. With all the blood and viscera on the ground, it’s difficult to tell which teams did right, wrong, or indifferent. Since the NFL Draft is over 90 days away, let’s take a look at these teams to see what the carnage and rebuilding could mean to teams’ fantasy prospects. First up: da Dawg Pound.

The Browns fired one former Bill Belichick defensive assistant, Romeo Crennel, and replaced him with another, former Jets coach Eric Mangini. I found it odd and desperate that Browns owner Randy Lerner seemed so genuinely pleased to snatch up Mangini, considering no one else was even sniffing around. Considering the Mangenuis’ 23-25 record with the Jets, I’m thinking the general consensus was right. The record alone indicates that he was a step down from his predecessor, Herm Edwards, the man I consider one of the worst game-day coaches ever.

Mangini takes his underwhelming credentials into a situation that, from a fantasy standpoint, is rife with potential, and yet also underachievement. On paper, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Kellen Winslow Jr., and Braylon Edwards all have fantastic fantasy potential. In reality, the team finished 26th in rushing yards and 31st in passing yards. Quinn “won” the starting job from Anderson in Week 10, but only lasted three weeks before a broken finger took him out for the season. Health permitting, he’ll have the top job in 2009. Winslow’s injury history is well-documented. Edwards inexplicably lost the ability to catch the football, which is something the new coaching staff will need to correct immediately.

One reason that improvement may not occur is the presence of Wes Chandler on the coaching staff. Mangini decided to keep the Browns second-year WR coach when it’s clear to anyone with a pair of eyes that his pupils did not prosper. Edwards regressed dramatically in 2008, with 25 fewer catches, 416 fewer receiving yards, and 13 fewer touchdowns than the previous year. The next leading WR on the team was Syndric Steptoe (?!), who posted 19 catches for 182 yards. I won’t bother reciting the shortcomings of Donte’ Stallworth, who apparently is only able to tap into that  alleged 4.2 speed of his when someone is looking to offer him a contract in the offseason. Those results should have Chandler begging for a job as an unpaid quality-control assistant with the Edmonton Eskimos, yet Mangini kept him around.

The picture isn’t much better at offensive coordinator. Mangini brought in former Jets quarterback coach Brian Daboll to call the plays. Ludicrously, Daboll seeks to take some sort of credit for Brett Favre’s performance in 2008. Uh, dude, I don’t know if you want to be calling attention to that. Under Daboll’s watchful eye, Favre’s passing yards fell by 683, passer rating fell by 14.7 points, TD passes fell by six, interceptions rose by seven, and the number of sacks he took doubled. In fact, the only categories Favre improved in were rushing yards and rushing TDs (one).

And what about Chad Pennington, whom Daboll coached from 2006-07? Statistically, Pennington had one of the best seasons of his nine-year career when he moved on to the Dolphins. In Miami, Pennington set a new career mark in passing yards, threw nine more TDs, two fewer interceptions, and improved his QB rating by 11.3 points over 2007.

I’ll gloss over Rob Ryan, the new defensive coordinator, as I’ve provided enough dread to the Browns fan base already. In the five seasons that Ryan was their defensive coordinator, the Raiders ranked higher than 22nd in total defense only once. Suffice to say, he’s no Rex Ryan.

Sorry, Browns fans; Our new president notwithstanding, hope is not coming to Cleveland anytime soon.

Mangini and his “crack” staff just don’t have the chops to get the Dawg Pound woofing again. They’re more like another dog product that you stepped in while walking down the street. Try not to track it into your house.

The only consolation I can offer is a bit of fantasy advice: avoid all Ohio-based NFL teams in fantasy drafting next year.

Mike Gilbert is a staff writer at RotoExperts.com and co-host of “Sports Smack” on Blog Talk Radio every Friday from 7-8 p.m. ET. You can reach Mike at [e-mail] or follow on Twitter: @Rotoboom.