Cleveland Browns Eric Mangini: Is The Man-Genius Nickname Making a Comeback?

The Cleveland Browns shocked NFL nation on Sunday with a victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

The mastermind behind this game was Head Coach Eric Mangini.

Donning the title of "Man-Genius" back when he was the coach of the New York Jets, Mangini has yet to really show that same type of genius until the Saints game.

Or has he?

There are more haters of Mangini in Cleveland as opposed to his supporters because the city just wants their beloved football team to win games and be competitive.

Well, welcome to "Man-Genius's" new and improved and competitive Cleveland Browns though.

In 2009, there were many tough times, but Mangini kept saying that it is all part of the "process" of rebuilding.

He said this over and over again to the point when fans were making fun of him for it in Browns forums online.

Then when Browns owner Randy Lerner hired new Team President Mike Holmgren along with General Manager Tom Heckert in the offseason, these were just two new steps in this "process."

Since the Browns were able to pull off a 2009 season-ending and NFL best four game winning streak, Mangini had coached this Browns team to a 6-5 record.

You might be thinking "WOW!" right about now and you should.

So the Browns are 2-5 in the 2010 regular season, but they have the second hardest NFL schedule behind their rivals, the Steelers.

Taking the tough schedule into account and the fact that Browns have competed into the fourth quarter of each game, except the Steelers game, you have to start giving Mangini and his staff more credit.

Especially when you look at the roster and see how void of talent the team is at this stage of the "process."

Sometimes teams get lucky in free agency and in the draft and turn around a team in one year.

The cards have really not fallen into place for this Browns team, and even though they still may be another two or three years away from true playoff contention, there is progress being made.

Mangini has taken a lot of heat the past season and a half, but do not forget that his former mentor Bill Belichick took a ton of heat in Cleveland back in the 1990's too and look how that toughened him up.

Perhaps the same thing is happening with Mangini.

He has the benefit of having a new mentor, in Holmgren, who has been helping Mangini along but not over stepping his boundaries from the president's office so Mangini can do his job.

In the end, Mangini might still be on the hot seat as many fans and experts have mentioned in the past year-plus, but after coming out and punching the former champs in the mouth with creativity and great game planning, there is no need to say he is still on the hot seat right at this exact moment.

Only time will really tell what will happen to this Browns team, but as was seen in 2009 against the Steelers when they started their winning streak, something clicked then.

Just as something just clicked against the Saints and the Browns looked to be a new team.

Could this mean that the Browns will win more games this season?

Most likely, but do not think they will compete in this tough division this season.

Maybe next year as all Browns fans are accustomed to saying year in and out.

This could be the win that jump starts this team for the remaining half of the 2010 season, but which quarterback do they move on with?

That is a decision to leave in the hands of Man-Genius himself and hopefully he will make the right decision for the future of this team.

Follow Bleacher Report's 2010 NFL coverage on Twitter by clicking here.