Can Eric Mangini and Co. Create Upside-Down Frowns by Rebuilding the Browns?

In the summer of 1994, an intern fresh out of Wesleyan University toiled eagerly for the Browns' public relations department. His rather mundane tasks included ordering pizza and making copies of press releases for the media.

He dreamed of bigger things, so he worked energetically. Head coach Bill Belichick was duly impressed and offered him a spot on his coaching staff in 1995.

That young man was Eric Mangini.

Mangini simply yearned to get his foot in the door, but eventually he crashed right through it. Now he's the head coach of the team that once used him as little more than an errand boy.

Of course, there were detours on the road back to Cleveland. Among them was New York, where he received his first head coaching experience and was deemed a savior in guiding the team to the playoffs in his first year. But a late-season crash in 2008 led to his firing.

Though he served as a defensive coordinator in New England before landing in the Big Apple, he displayed a greater talent for offensive reconstruction with the Jets. The fact that the Browns opened the 2009 draft by selecting a center and two wide receivers indicates the same is likely to hold true in Cleveland.

Similar immediate success is unlikely. The Jets boasted more established skill position players than do the Browns. Though far from spectacular, quarterback Chad Pennington had already tasted success.

Wide receivers Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery had both achieved 1,000-yard seasons, and when running back Thomas Jones arrived in 2007, he was fresh off back-to-back 1,000-yard efforts in Chicago.

The Browns? Running back Jamal Lewis is a candidate for the Hall of Fame but is on his last legs. Wide receiver Braylon Edwards earned a spot in the 2007 Pro Bowl but spent much of last year lamenting dropped passes.

Mangini's offensive philosophy is based greatly on ball control. Expect the Browns to rely on steady running from Lewis and a short and medium-range passing game, which is certainly indicated by his acquisitions of possession receivers David Patten, Mike Furrey, and second-round draftee Brian Robiskie.

The decision not to trade third-year quarterback Brady Quinn completes the picture. Quinn is the favorite to land the starting job, and he is certainly better suited to lead a dink-and-dunk passing attack.

New offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, who followed Mangini from New York, appears to be on the same page. This is his first experience at that post, but his work with Brett Favre as quarterbacks coach last year brought results until a late-season collapse. The Jets averaged a whopping 33.8 points during a five-game winning streak at midseason that raised their record to 8-3.

Though the Browns have yet to address their perennially weak pass rush through the draft or trades, hiring Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator indicates a desire to increase pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The son of Buddy Ryan, who designed the Bears' defensive juggernaut of the mid-1980s, Rob transformed Oakland into one of the better pass defenses in the NFL during his four years in the same position.

The younger Ryan made a positive impact on the Raiders, who led the NFL in pass defense and ranked third in overall defense in 2006. He groomed defensive end Derrick Burgess and linebacker Chris Clemons into sack machines in 2007 and coached a defense that finished near the top of the AFC with 32 sacks in 2008.

He also helped Nnamdi Asomugha develop into arguably the finest cornerback in the NFL.

Ryan will work to unleash the pass-rushing talent of Browns linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, who has been a disappointment since racking up 10 sacks his rookie year.

Ryan will also attempt to get defensive end Corey Williams acclimated to the 3-4 defense, with which he struggled mightily last year in managing just a half-sack after registering seven in each of the previous two seasons with Green Bay.

Preventing big plays by opposing quarterbacks will also be a priority for Ryan. The Browns' inconsistent young cornerbacks Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald played a huge role in the team's many late-game collapses last season by getting burned for long touchdown passes.

The Browns finished 4-12 a year ago with a porous run defense, almost nonexistent pass rush, and an offense that established an NFL record by failing to score in its last six games. The new coaching staff has a monumental task in front of it.

Their fans can only hope that by midseason Mangini isn't yearning for the days of ordering pizza and making copies.