NFL Rumors: Will Eric Mangini be New England Patriots Next Head Coach?

When the dust settles and Bill Belichick decides to call it a career on the sidelines, Eric Mangini will be the next head coach of the New England Patriots.

Yes, I said it. It was apparent yesterday that Eric Mangini has developed into the promising head coach Belichick saw in him when they were under the wing of Bill Parcells with the New York Jets in 1996.

For nine years, the two have been a part of the same organization, until Mangini took the head coaching post with the New York Jets in 2006.

The blood line between the two is historical. They each went to Wesleyan University in Ohio, where their paths first crossed in the fraternity, Chi Psi.

Fraternity blood lines usually run pretty deep.

From the days of Chi Psi, Belichick was already in the midst of becoming a significant player in the NFL coaching ranks. His first job was with the Baltimore Colts in 1975 as a Special Assistant. The head coach of the Colts that year was legendary Ted Marchibroda.

Flash forward to 1996, when Bill Belichick was the assistant head coach for the New England Patriots. Mangini had already worked for Belichick and the Cleveland Browns as a ballboy, a public relations intern and as a Offensive Assistant.

Mangini followed his work with the Browns after they moved to Baltimore in 1996. The head coach for the Baltimore Ravens in 1996 was Ted Marchibroda.

There is something to be said about coaching lineage and the line of Marchibroda-Belichick-Mangini spans over five decades. Yes, we all have to acknowledge that Bill Parcells is in this lineage even though Parcells never worked as an assistant for Marchibroda.

Coach Belichick is a New England legend. This article shouldn't reflect that anyone should advocate for Coach Belichick to retire—it is simply called strategic planning.

With that in mind, it is clear that yesterday's handling of the Patriots by the upstart Cleveland Browns is a reminder that Mangini is going to be a part of the New England Patriots future at some point in his career, unless General Manager and President Mike Holmgren ensures Mangini's future lies with Cleveland.

Mangini is home now in Cleveland. If, at some point, Mangini decides to go back to New England because he is not offered the security that he needs for his career, I am sure that Belichick is going to give it to him. Mangini has now led two different teams to victories against New England, and is 3-5 against his former mentor.

When will Mangini and Belichick be reunited?  Mangini's four year contract ends at the end of the 2013 season. It will be interesting how the rest of Mangini's tenure with the Browns continues.

As we saw yesterday, Mangini knows how to play chess and checkers considering how they ran all over the formerly No. 1 Power-Polled New England Patriots.