While the Steelers sit back and wait to see this next weekend who they will play the following Saturday, they know who they will NOT see in Cleveland on the sidelines next season – Eric Mangini.
In news that comes as a shock to no one, the Browns today decided to can Mangini, a decision less than 24 hours after the Steelers dominated the Browns on their home turf Sunday 41-9.
“This decision was not easy for me, and it was one into which I put a great deal of thought,” said Browns President Mike Holmgren in a statement. “Although we have made improvements this season, my responsibility is to ensure that we establish a program that will allow this team to compete at a championship level. That will continue to be our goal in everything we do. I want to thank Eric for all of his contributions to the Cleveland Browns, and wish him and his family the best of luck in the future.”
Mangini was 10-22 in two seasons with the Browns, and many felt that he would have been fired last season, but a shocking 13-6 win over the Steelers helped the team get rolling on a four-game win streak that saved his job.
The vibe in Cleveland seems to be leaning towards a former NFL head coach, with the two top names being Sandusky, OH native Jon Gruden as well as now former Panthers coach John Fox, who led the Panthers to a near win over the Browns back in November.
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DrGeorge
January 4, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Eric Mangini’s record in Cleveland was not a reflection of his true abilities as a coach. In a sense, with M. Holmgren calling the shots, he was placed in an untenable position. I won’t say he was set up to fail, because I don’t know the dynamics of the Cleveland situation that well, but Mangini had the look of a sacrificial goat. A dearth of talent and injuries took care of the rest. Whoever succeeds him is going to have to deal with the politics of the Cleveland front office in order to win.
I mention this only to illustrate once again how fortunate Steelers fans are to have the Rooney family in charge of the franchise. It takes more than a good coach to make a franchise a winner. The consistency in Pittsburgh starts at the top.
Jay
January 5, 2011 at 7:16 am
I couldn’t agree more (although I wish we’d play a slightly more significant role in free agency)…until the tyrant otherwise known as Goodell figures out a way to magically re=conjure up the destroyed tapes, I will NEVER give former New England coaches their due; not saying they suck because that would be ignorant and highly partial…just saying, in my opinion, we’ll never know how good they were based on the scandalous and alleged cheating…I do know that all the coaches that left that organization have sucked wherever they have gone afterwards.