Eric Mangini: Dead Man Walking?

The Browns' 30-6 blowout loss to the Bears could end up being remembered for one thing. It was the day owner Randy Lerner decided to finally take responsibility for the mess he created.

And a mess it is. Head coach Eric Mangini stated he was going to evaluate “every player, every position” in the bye week, including the coaching staff. Also, Jamal Lewis announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season.

Lerner reportedly stood in the tunnel outside the locker room and gave a “staredown” to every player and coach as they came off the field at halftime.

While Lerner said he wasn’t going to fire Mangini this week, he did say he wants to bring somebody with a strong football background to fix the disaster that has become the 2009 Cleveland Browns season.

Specifically, Lerner said he wants someone who is a “strong, credible, serious leader within the building to guide decisions in a far more conspicuous, transparent way. I can maybe defend decisions by saying I've sought advice and I've brought people in, and we've gone to see people, and I think my highest priority is to have a stable figure that represents the voice that explains the decisions.”

This sounds like he wants a person to do what Bill Parcells is doing in Miami.

So while Mangini’s job is safe this week, don’t expect Mangini to still be sitting in his office in Berea come January. Any high-level football executive Lerner brings in will probably fire Mangini anyway. Mangini is in a situation similar to Cam Cameron in Miami a few years ago.

Cam Cameron also inherited a very bad team in Miami, and they finished 1-15. Parcells came into the picture during the season and Cameron stayed, but only until the refs blew the final whistle in the last week of the season.

Mangini has done nothing this year on the field to warrant keeping his job. You can debate his off-field moves all you want, but he has been a miserable failure at the job he was actually hired for—coaching the team.

The team’s performance and the win-loss record do not lie in that respect.

Running down the various aspects of the team that have failed since Mangini took over the reins of power, one finds the list is long and distinguished.

Eric Mangini

Not to sound like a broken record, but Mangini promised better, smarter football. The team, instead, has played even worse than last year. The coaching, especially on offense, makes last year’s debacle look like better, smarter football.

Lerner hired Mangini about five minutes after New York fired him with very little done in the way of due diligence. Mangini immediately cleaned house in the front office, and other credible candidates for the general manager’s position pulled out upon Mangini’s hiring.

George Kokinis was hired to fill the GM position per Mangini's recommendation, but it seems not even Lerner knows what Kokinis does with his day because Mangini always seems to be the one filling that role.

There is little doubt Mangini’s hold on absolute power in Cleveland is about to be severed. How Mangini responds to this will be the true test of whether he gets to keep his job or not in 2010.

George Kokinis

This question can’t be asked enough: What, exactly, does George Kokinis do?

In his limited public appearances, Kokinis hasn’t said anything of substance in regard to his job description. Instead, he mainly acted as a cheerleader to Mangini’s grand plan to nowhere.

It wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see Kokinis fired if things are shaken up this week. If his job truly is just to be a paper GM, then there is no longer any reason to keep him around.

Brian Daboll

Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has taken the opportunity given to him by Mangini and completely wet the bed. The Browns' offense isn’t just bad, it’s unhealthy to watch. It’s plague-ridden.

The Browns only converted one third down out of 11 attempts yesterday. For the second time this year, the offense failed to gain more than 200 yards.

Daboll has shown no rhyme or reason to his play calling, the offense has no identity and despite using two quarterbacks, the offense still has enormous problems scoring touchdowns.

If Daboll is fired this week, it would come as no surprise and probably is the one move that should be done before the Ravens game.

Jamal Lewis

Jamal Lewis said after the game, “I’ve done what I needed to do,” and effectively announced his retirement at the end of the season.

Mangini should cut Lewis immediately. There’s no reason to keep Lewis on this roster for even one more day. Lewis has noticeably slowed on the field, and if his passion for the game is gone, get rid of him.

There are younger, hungrier guys out there who want the reps.

Derek Anderson

Anderson also should be cut immediately. He no longer has any trade value due to his spectacular 10.5 QB rating yesterday. He has no pocket presence, no touch on his passes, and really didn’t want to accept responsibility for his interception in the closing minutes of the game.

The 0.0 QB rating at halftime of the Bears game was particularly nauseous.

His presence is just a reminder of how bad the team failed in developing his skills and it’s time for him to go.

The rest of the team, with the exception of Shaun Rogers, Joshua Cribbs, Dave Zastudil, Alex Mack, and Joe Thomas is up for review.

Brady Quinn has one last chance to prove his worth, although it is doubtful he’ll remain in Cleveland past this year unless he leads the team to eight straight wins.

Lerner has a lot on his plate right now, but it would be appropriate to point out that this mess is entirely his fault. Selling the team to a passionate owner who wants to keep the team in Cleveland would be the prudent thing to do.

But good luck finding one. So Cleveland is probably stuck with Lerner. Now he needs to pay attention to the Browns, something he has been notoriously averse to doing in the past. Aston Villa in the English Premier League has been his passion, and they’re winners.

So the question to ask at this point is: If Lerner pays the kind of attention to the Browns he’s given Aston Villa, can he finally produce a winner?