Crennel For Mangini = Same Old Browns

Romeo Crennel earned his stripes as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. He was heralded as the man behind the Patriots championship defense and it was enough to get the Cleveland Browns to come knocking at his door.

He was going to bring a bit of the Patriots' Super Bowl swagger with him.  Four years later, he is on his way out with only one semi-successful season in four years, coming last year when they finished 10-6, narrowly missing the playoffs.

Eric Mangini also earned his stripes as the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. He was the boy wonder and the second coming of Bill Belichick. All the talk and hype over his brilliance as a coordinator caught the attention of the New York Jets. They had found the guy to put them back in contention in the AFC East and on a level playing field with the Patriots.

Mangini came out on fire, winning 10 games his first year, and looked like he was every bit the genius we all made him out to be. Then came year two and the Jets fell back to earth with a four win stinker.  Jets fans began questioning whether his fast start was a fluke.

This year, they went out and got Brett Favre and started the season 8-4 before imploding over the last four weeks to miss the playoffs at 9-7. Mangini's 3-year career with the Jets ended with a record of 23-26.

Crennel and Mangini have showed inconsistency as head coaches. They both thrived under Belichick as coordinators, but have not shown they can get the most out of their teams through a 16-game season on a yearly basis. So it makes no sense that  Cleveland would now be interested in hiring Mangini.

Why would you want to consider hiring the guy who has followed in the exact footsteps of the previous coach you just fired? Would you trade in your '78 Dodge pickup for an identical '78 Dodge pickup? On top of this, the Browns are trying to woo Scott Pioli away from the Pats. Pioli has already showed a degree of loyalty to Belichick by not showing interest in other positions in the past. So hiring the disowned Mangini does not seem like the best way to get him to jump ship, now does it? 

The Browns need to change direction if they plan on playing in January in the near future. The best way to do this would be to get their GM first and let him make the decision. However, if they are steadfast on getting a head coach before a GM, get one with a new perspective and phillosophy, not one of your old coach's proteges. Otherwise it's just going to be business as usual for the Browns.