Browns fans should be happy Mangini is in Cleveland

To all the fans who are already second-guessing Browns head coach Eric Mangini, consider this: Kyle Orton or Matt Cassel could be quarterbacking your team and not Brady Quinn.

How do you like Mangini now?

When owner Randy Lerner began the process of hiring a new coach and general manager, some of the more talked-about names were Rex Ryan of the Baltimore Ravens, Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots, and Eric Mangini of the New York Jets.

Lerner (for some reason) has an infatuation with the Bill Belichick coaching tree and was very impressed with Mangini during the interview process. The Browns owner also preferred someone who had previous NFL head coaching experience, and Mangini had that on his resume.

The Browns were reportedly in serious talks with former Patriots front office executive Scott Pioli, but Pioli supposedly found the Kansas City Chiefs situation more enticing than the one in Cleveland. In my opinion, I think Lerner told Pioli he wanted Quinn to be the starting quarterback and Pioli preferred Cassel.

When the Browns were in discussions with both Pioli and Mangini for positions, there was uncertainty as to whether both could co-exist in the organization. In 2007, Mangini accused the Patriots of videotaping the Jets’ signals, and it left many officials in the Patriots organization bitter towards him.

Had Lerner hired Pioli to become the general manager, Lerner would not have had any say in who the head coach would be. Pioli may have chosen McDaniels to take over the head coaching position, but no one will ever know.

McDaniels, on the other hand, has upset the Denver Broncos' fan base by trading their Pro Bowl quarterback, Jay Cutler, to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Kyle Orton.

In 2007, Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall was stopped by Denver police for suspicion of DUI. He told the police, “I hate Denver. I hope I get traded. I hate this f---ing city." If Marshall didn’t like Denver when Mike Shanahan was there, the hiring of McDaniels could be the nail in the coffin for him.

Reports have indicated that Marshall demanded a trade from the Broncos but was not granted one. There could be a very good chance that if things don’t get better this season, he will leave in free agency at the end of the season.

Browns fans may not like Mangini because he’s bringing in all of his ex-Jets players and won’t name fan-favorite Quinn the starter, but things could be much worse. We could be talking about a quarterback battle between Kyle Orton and Derek Anderson.