“Mangenious” Gives 49ers Reasons to Consider Him as Defensive Coordinator

Former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Mangini is, by all accounts, a brilliant football mind, but he's also been abrasive

Eric Mangini was on the 49ers staff in 2013 and 2014, first as a special assistant and then as a coach of the tight ends. Now he’s a strong candidate to become the team’s defensive coordinator.

If he should get the job, what kind of a defensive coordinator would he be? Judging by his past stops as a defensive assistant and then coordinator in New England, and then head coach with the Jets and Browns, Mangini – dubbed by some as “Mangenious” – would bring a mixed bag of goods and bads.

He worked nine seasons under Bill Belichick, mostly as defensive backs coach, until becoming defensive coordinatorof the Pats in 2005. That season, Mangini’s unit ranked 17th in the NFL in scoring defense and 26th in yards allowed. He then became the head coach of the Jets at age 34. In three seasons, the Jets were 23-25, had two winning seasons and went to the playoffs once. The Jets ran a 3-4 scheme during his reign and finished 20th, 18th and 16th overall defensively.

After being fired in New York he had two dismal seasons as head coach of the Browns, going 10-22, with his defense ranking 31st and 22nd overall.

Back in 2010, Mangini said his first experience as a head coach was nerve-racking. He felt overwhelmed at first. His players, meanwhile, said he ruled with an iron hand. Some told the New York Times’ Greg Bishop that he created an atmosphere of fear and often humiliated assistant coaches and players for mistakes. In meetings, he required players to take copious notes.

Yet, many of the Jets said he was a brilliant football man.

“He was tough,” Dustin Keller, a tight end for the Jets during that time, told Bishop. “But if you ask, everyone would agree he’s by far the smartest coach any of us have been around. It was almost psychotic how much he knew.”

He also had large input on the draft with the Jets during that time, when they took standouts such as Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangold and D’Brickashaw Ferguson.

Though he again failed in Cleveland, associates say Mangini lightened up. He learned to trust assistants, was more relaxed with players and coaches and grew noticeably from his Jets experience.

Since Cleveland, he’s worked as an analyst for ESPN, and then returned to the NFL with the 49ers, helping on offense for the first time to broaden his horizons.

Still only 44, Mangini has a wealth of experience now to go along with his football smarts.

But if he takes the job with the 49ers – or the Raiders, who also have interviewed him – Mangini will have very large shoes to fill.

Vic Fangio’s defense was among the NFL’s best in all four seasons he was in San Francisco, and his players greatly respected him.

The thing he’ll have in his favor is his football mind and his ability to game plan. He once wrote an article for the New York Post outlining the way to beat the New England Patriots after his Browns had beaten them. The Jets then reportedly used that blueprint to beat the Patriots.

He may be irritating, but he can scheme.

Said former Jets wideout Jerricho Cotchery: “Anyone with aspirations of being a coach when they’re done playing football should pick his brain.”

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