Jets fire Eric Mangini

FLORHAM PARK, New Jersey (Ticker)—Just over a month ago, Eric Mangini was closing in on an AFC East title and a possible contract extension.

Following the New York Jets’ latest December collapse, the head coach once known as “Man-genius” is out of a job.

Mangini still expressed his gratitude to the organization, which gave him his first NFL head coaching job.

“I appreciate the opportunity that (Jets owner Woody Johnson and general manager Mike Tannenbaum) gave me for the past three years as the head coach of the New York Jets,” Mangini said in a statement.

“The organization has terrific people, and I wish the Jets nothing but success. The time and effort invested by the coaches and players was tremendous and I value that beyond words. We worked hard to achieve two winning seasons out of the past three.”

Mangini, however, did admit that his team did have shortcomings this season.

“I regret that we could not reach our goals for this year,” he said. “I will always appreciate the passion and support of the fans as our focus was trying to build them a championship-caliber foundation and team.”

The Jets fired Mangini on Monday, concluding a roller-coaster three-year reign that opened to rave reviews, spiraled into controversy with the Spygate scandal and saw an upturn with the arrival of Brett Favre before ultimately ending in humiliation with Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins.

“(Mangini) is a bright, young football mind and I wish him success in the future,” Johnson said in a statement. “In our judgment, we made the decision we believe is in the best interest of the organization.”

Johnson and Tannenbaum first announced Mangini’s ouster during a news conference Monday morning at the team’s training facility.

Johnson used the word “judgment” several times during the news conference, claiming that Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the rival Dolphins had no bearing on the team’s decision.

“This is not a decision that we reached yesterday, or 10 minutes ago,” Johnson said. “This was a decision that was basically running through the season. We don’t take this decision lightly.”

Mangini, 37, coached the Jets to a 9-7 record this season, his second winning campaign since being hired just under three years ago.

But after acquiring Favre, a three-time league MVP, prior to the season and being tabbed as a potential Super Bowl contender, the Jets faded down the stretch, authoring another late-season flop by losing four of their final five games.

Three of those losses came against teams that did not finish with winning records - Denver (8-8), San Francisco (7-9) and Seattle (4-12). It was an unexpectedly empty finish for a Jets team that got off to an 8-3 start and stood alone atop the AFC East following road wins against New England and Tennessee.

Neither Mangini nor Favre, who was scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on his throwing shoulder Monday, were available for comment.

While cleaning out their lockers before leaving for the offseason, several Jets players expressed surprise at Mangini’s firing.

“I didn’t think it would actually happen, but it has,” wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. “It’s just a part of the business.”

“My initial reaction was shock,” safety Kerry Rhodes added. “Even though you hear the rumors and hear the possibility of it happening, you don’t really see it happening coming off a winning season. It’s tough, but the reality of it is he is not going to be here next year.”

“We were a little bit surprised,” tight end Chris Baker said. “I didn’t see it coming, especially coming this fast. It’s obviously part of the business.”

Mangini came under intense scrutiny following the Week 16 loss to the lowly Seahawks, who shut down the Jets in a 13-3 victory.

The mild-mannered Mangini made several questionable coaching moves against the Seahawks, most notably his decision to eschew a punt with the Jets facing fourth down deep in their own territory and trailing, 10-3, late in the fourth quarter.

The move backfired when Favre’s downfield pass was batted down, allowing the Seahawks to eventually kick a field goal and take an insurmountable 13-3 lead.

But despite the dubious decisions and frigid demeanor that did not endear him to fans or the media, Mangini received overwhelming support Monday from his players, several of whom blamed themselves for the firing.

“I know I feel that way,” Cotchery said. “I feel that we let him down and we could have done a better job of making plays.”

“It’s not just one guy,” running back Thomas Jones added. “It’s not coach Mangini, it’s not one guy on the offense, one guy on the defense or one guy on special teams. It’s everybody. Everybody is at fault for us not making the playoffs and kind of having a disappointing ending to the season.”

A former assistant with the Patriots, Mangini posted a 23-25 regular-season record with the Jets. He guided New York to a 10-6 record and an unlikely postseason berth in his first season, earning himself the nickname “Man-genius.”

But the Jets regressed back to 4-12 last season, prompting a $140 million offseason overhaul capped by the acquisition of Favre, who arrived to a hero’s welcome last summer after retiring, un-retiring and forcing a trade from the Green Bay Packers.

The addition of Favre resulted in the trade of fellow quarterback Chad Pennington, who was shipped to Miami prior to the campaign after spending his first eight seasons with the Jets.

Ironically, Pennington was present Sunday at Giants Stadium when the Dolphins handed Mangini a loss in his final game with the Jets.

Tannenbaum emphasized the point that the loss to the Dolphins did not directly affect the team’s decision to fire Mangini.

“If you look at the way the team played (Sunday) night, I thought they played hard,” Tannenbaum said. “I saw a lot of guys running hard to the ball and I thought they played with a lot of energy.”

A longtime disciple of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Mangini was one of the NFL’s most coveted young assistants when he was hired by the Jets in January 2006.

His relationship with Belichick soured after New York’s season-opening loss to the Patriots in 2007, when New England was caught videotaping the Jets’ defensive signals.

Mangini and the Jets reported the violation to the league, prompting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to levy a $500,000 fine against Belichick. Goodell also fined the Patriots $250,000 and docked the team a 2008 first-round draft selection.

Belichick, known for his icy personality, did not specifically mention Mangini but did offer a general reaction to the firing.

“Most of us have been there at least once during the course of their career,” Belichick said. “I understand that is part of it. It’s a tough day I think for all coaches when those things happen because we have all been a part of those in one way or another and you don’t like to see that happen to anybody.”