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The New York Jets will be in the market for a head coach after firing Robert Saleh early this season. Former Jets head coach Eric Mangini has been floated as a potential candidate for the opening. He recently commented on the possibility of a reunion amid the team's dysfunctional 2024 campaign.
“It would make sense because I just sold my house in New Jersey. That's typically how the NFL works: once you sell property, you get an opportunity. Once you buy property, then you get fired,” Mangini joked on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “I think it was just part of an article. I obviously am not lobbying for the job, but I feel pretty good about what I did while I was there. We just had three of those guys that I coached go into the Jets ring of honor. I think we were a smart, disciplined, tough team.”
“It's like any other situation. There's a lot of things that you can do with an organization from a vision and principle standpoint, and I feel good about what I did when I was there.”
Mangini served as a defensive assistant with the Jets from 1997-1999 before landing the team's head-coaching job from 2006-2008. He posted a 23-25 record in three seasons at the helm. The Connecticut native made the playoffs in his first year as the team's head coach, losing to the New England Patriots in the 2006 Wild Card round.
Eric Mangini comments on possibility of Jets reunion
Following his Jets stint, Mangini served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns for two seasons before working as an assistant and defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers. He is now an analyst for Fox Sports and has not held an NFL coaching job since 2015.
While the Jets have been among the league's biggest disappointments in 2024, Mangini believed the team had the pieces to win entering the season.
“I thought they were gonna win the division. I thought they were gonna win it last year before Aaron [Rodgers] got hurt, and then I thought they were gonna win it this year,” he said. “I went through this with Brett [Farve], and we were 8-3 until Brett got hurt, and I thought it was gonna be a similar trajectory with Aaron Rodgers. And it should be a similar trajectory. Look, he's not what he used to be, but he should make everybody around him better because of the things that he can do.”
On Monday, Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said the team will stick with Rodgers despite losing seven of its last eight games. However, sources expect the veteran quarterback to seek an opportunity elsewhere after this season, according to The Athletic's Dianna Russini.
Owner Woody Johnson has a busy offseason ahead as he attempts to fill openings at general manager and head coach while evaluating his team's quarterback situation. Mangini could be one of several head-coaching candidates the organization explores as it attempts to climb out of the NFL's basement.
