Not surprising. Can't really say they underachieved, but his days were numbered from the second they hired Holmgren.
I'm pretty confident in saying that Eric Mangini isn't a good NFL head coach. He is a good football mind and is a great assistant, but I don't think he has all the skills needed to be a head coach. He wears on his players as the season rolls on. You have to not only be a good football mind, but you have to have the people skills to manage the entire roster on a personal level.
He's been canned twice but somehow Kubiak has survived despite only posting one winning season during the same time period.
Honestly, I would have considered bringing him back for one more year. Aside from Buffalo, Cleveland might be the most talent-deprived team in the league yet they were able to score victories over New England and New Orleans as well as being in every single game they've lost (aside from Pittsburgh x2). Now, i'm not saying going 5-11 and merely being competitive is good enough alone to retain your job. I would just strongly consider who you're talking about replacing him with before making any decisions. Unless Bill Cowher or some other no-brainer option is clearly interested, I would have considered standing pat and focusing on roster upgrades instead. But regardless, those saying he's not NFL head coach caliber are probably right. Just trying to make the case he did a semi-respectable job in Cleveland this year.
Agreed - applying the Bob McNair rule, two 5-11 seasons = step in the right direction + contract extension Why? He kind of has sucked other than one good season for the Jets that he sort of walked into, and Holmgren wants his own guy. Good a time as any to make a change.
I would have considered giving him one more year if no better alternative was in sight. Given Cleveland's severe lack of NFL talent, going 5-11 with wins over New England and New Orleans and no real blowouts (aside from Pittsburgh x2) isn't exactly the WORST one can possibly do on that level. But in general, I agree with the logic behind the move. Two 5-11 seasons are difficult for a fan base to get excited about.
You're the Cleveland friggin Browns. Your team sucks donkey balls and is almost completely bereft of talent. Getting that *****heap to 5 wins has got to be a mammoth effort. Things kind-of-maybe-almost seem to be on the up swing now with Hillis. They made modest improvements on both sides of the ball statistically. At the very least 3 years to see the experiment through isn't unreasonable to ask. Hell, even Mike "The Black Elmer Fudd" Singletary got 3 years in SF.
The Mike Holmgren with big contract as bossman experiment is the one they're working on, not the "NFL failure Mangini as caretaker coach hired by caretaker GM Mike Keenan" Experiment
We had a good run (for the Browns) in the middle of the season: Beat NO Beat NE Lose to the Jets on the final play Lose to the Jaguars in the final minute (even though we had something like a ridiculous 6-1 turnover advantage) Beat Carolina Beat Miami Those last 2 wins weren't earth shattering but they added to the feeling the Browns were finally a decent team doing what they were supposed to do. But then they looked absolutely turrible against the Bengals and Bills (no offense Bengals/Bills fan). I think this was the downfall. That was an abomination to the game of football, not to mention the NFL. Adding how amateurish they looked against the Ravens and Steelers to finish the season, it did not help his resume. Like others have said, he and Holmgren was an odd fit that seemed destined to part. I'll trust Holmgren more than Mangini for guiding the franchise.
