Does Eric Mangini Have a Future with the Cleveland Browns?

With six games remaining in a season apparently over before it began, questions over leadership and change naturally arise.

The Cleveland Browns lost a heartbreaker to the Detroit Lions this past Sunday in the battle of 1-8 teams, 38-37.

While a breakdown of the game shows the defense lived up to its last-place ranking, head coach Eric Mangini thought that maybe the Lions cheated.

In comments to the press after the game, Mangini suggested the Lions might have faked a few injuries to slow down the Browns' no-huddle offense.

Stop for a minute and think about the various levels of arrogance, ignorance, and slimeballiness in that point of view.

First of all, blaming the Lions for cheating in a game that ended that close is a very sad thing because it means Mangini is unwilling to admit to himself that he made some coaching mistakes at the end of the game, or that his defensive game planning was faulty.

Second, it’s not like faking injuries is anything new in the NFL and if my memory serves me correctly, his mentor, Bill Belichick, was known for having his players fake injuries when he was defensive coordinator with the New York Giants.

This brings me to my third point, which is that Mangini really has no problem throwing friends and former co-workers under the bus at a moment’s notice in order to strengthen his position.

When Belichick beat him in New York, Mangini ratted his illegal taping methods out to the league.

When Mangini’s ego took control of the Browns, leaving no room for any other voice, he blamed George Kokinis for the breakdown, protesting his innocence the whole way.

Now Lions head coach Jim Schwartz is the deer in the headlights of the bus to Loserville that Mangini is driving.

When Mangini was hired, I wasn’t thrilled about it, so I’ll come clean about that. However, once Mangini was hired, I wanted him to succeed. I wanted every single bad feeling I had about Mangini to be wrong.

As the offseason played out, I was mostly happy with what I saw coming out of the headquarters in Berea. I felt the draft was a little weak and that we left too much impact talent on the table, but there was still time to be proven wrong.

Even through training camp, things were looking up. The team was being worked hard and Mangini looked like he was instilling some needed discipline on the field.

There was the quarterback controversy, but that seemed like a lot of smoke and mirrors to mask the fact a real decision had already been made and then the season started.

Over the last 11 weeks, it has become apparent Mangini botched the draft, the quarterback competition, front office duties, and game-planning. If you botch any of these, losing games should not come as a surprise.

In retrospect, when it comes to the quarterback situation, Mangini didn’t like either Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson, but instead of just picking one and sticking with “the process,” he waffled and ended up not developing either quarterback into a quality starter.

Grading draft picks is a tough thing to do the first year, but when you leave quality defensive players like Clay Matthews III on the table in favor of a wide receiver who can barely get on the field, something about your draft strategy is flawed.

Mangini got ripped off in his trade-downs on draft day. I said it then, and I’m sticking with it now; we could’ve gotten a lot more.

Mangini also hired Brian Daboll as his offensive coordinator. I’m done being angry at Daboll because now I just feel sorry for him.

The offensive explosion this week aside, Daboll clearly has been overmatched week-to-week and is in way over his head as far as being able to do the job.

That’s not Daboll’s fault, that’s Mangini’s fault. There’s nothing on Daboll’s résumé to suggest he’s ready for an offensive coordinator’s position. If you don’t believe me, go to the Browns' web site and read his résumé.

I haven’t even gotten to Mangini’s strange relationship with his ex-employer, the New York Jets, seemingly the only other team in the NFL Mangini will talk to or trade with these days.

How building a winning team in Cleveland from Jets castoffs was going to work is baffling. The only player to really make an impact so far is Jason Trusnick, acquired in the trade for Braylon Edwards.

The others, like Chansi Stuckey, have had a good play here or there, but nothing to make anyone go, “wow, what a great deal it was to get that player!”

In the end, it will be up to the new football czar to determine Mangini’s fate, but given his failure so far this season on the field, his willingness to stab people in the back off the field, and nothing in the air to suggest he’s willing to change, what person would look at Mangini at this point and say, “yeah, let’s keep this guy around. I like what he’s doing.”

Only time will tell.