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Lions, Browns, Jets Fire Coaches; Begin Searches

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The Associated Press

Published: December 29, 2008

Updated: 12/29/2008 06:48 pm

The Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets are ready to put the past behind them. All three NFL teams fired their head coaches a day after their disappointing seasons ended, then began the interview process for successors.

Detroit released Rod Marinelli, whose Lions became the first team to finish 0-16. The team also promoted Tom Lewand to president and former Bucs and Redskins cornerback Martin Mayhew to general manager.

ESPN is reporting that Mayhew has already asked to speak with New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo about the job. The report also says Mayhew would like to speak with Washington secondary coach Jerry Gray, a teammate of Mayhew's in Tampa Bay in 1993.

The Browns parted ways with Romeo Crennel and were promptly snubbed by one their first successor choices. Owner Randy Lerner met Saturday with former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who told Lerner he has no intention of returning to coaching in 2009.

The Jets axed Eric Mangini, whose team lost four of its final five games to miss the playoffs. Spagnuolo and Cowher have also been mentioned as possible replacements.

The Lions completed their winless season with a loss to Green Bay on Sunday, pushing aside Tampa Bay's 1976 season of 0-14 as the league's worst. Marinelli, the former Tampa Bay defensive line coach, won only one of his last 24 games and was 10-38 in three years.

"You can't go 0-16 and expect to keep your job," Marinelli said today at a news conference. "They don't fire players, they fire coaches."

The Lions also did not retain defensive coordinator Joe Barry, who is Marinelli's son-in-law; assistant offensive line coach Mike Barry, his son-in-law's dad; and secondary coach Jimmy Lake. Joe Barry was the Bucs' linebacker coach before rejoining Marinelli in Detroit.

Defensive line coach Joe Cullen's contract was not renewed and offensive coordinator Jim Colletto was demoted to offensive line coach.

Matt Millen was fired as team president three months ago, but the players he left behind coupled with the former Tampa Bay players Marinelli wanted created the perfect storm for a historical season of futility.

Marinelli was the third coach Millen hired - following Steve Mariucci and Marty Mornhinweg - in what has been the NFL's worst eight-season stretch since World War II.

Fans and reporters cut Marinelli some slack during in his first year, when he went 3-13, because of the Millen-created mess he inherited. Hopes rose when Detroit was 6-2 midway through last year but were quickly dashed when the team finished 7-9.

The Lions fired offensive coordinator Mike Martz after the 2007 season but retained Marinelli's son-in-law to lead the defense.

The Jets started the season 8-3 under quarterback Brett Favre, beating New England and Tennessee on the road in consecutive weeks and raising visions among their fans of a Super Bowl trip. But they went 1-4 in their final five games, losing to Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami and barely beating Buffalo.

They did not reach the postseason for the second straight year despite a massive offseason spending spree that included trading for Favre after his retirement and unretirement from Green Bay.

The 39-year-old Favre had just two touchdown passes and nine interceptions in those final five games, led the league in interceptions with 22 and complained after Sunday's 24-17 loss to Miami of shoulder, neck and back pains. The win gave the Dolphins the AFC East title under Chad Pennington, the Jets' longtime quarterback who was cut when the team obtained Favre.

Mangini, 37, was 23-26 in three seasons in his first head coaching job. He had another year remaining on his contract. In 2006, his first season, he took a team that had been 4-12 the previous year to the playoffs with a 10-6 record.

"For the current New York Jets organization, we've made the decision to move on," owner Woody Johnson said at a news conference this morning. "It's a judgment call.

"I don't think it was one thing. We had to go in a different direction. There's nothing specific. It's just a call we made. Hopefully, it's correct."

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum praised Mangini, saying he did not think he had lost the team.

"Again, Eric has left a really good foundation here, and we're looking forward to building on that foundation," Tannenbaum said.

Crennel's firing came one day after Browns general manager Phil Savage was dismissed. Crennel had three years left on a contract extension he signed in January after the Browns went 10-6 and just missed the playoffs.

In addition to meeting with Cowher, Lerner said he has asked New England for permission to interview vice president Scott Pioli for the GM opening. Lerner said New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Mangini were also on his coaching list.

Crennel went 24-40 in four seasons with the Browns, who entered 2008 with huge expectations but collapsed amid injuries and uneven play on offense and defense. They didn't score an offensive touchdown while losing their last six games and posted their fifth season of at least 10 losses in six years.

Although Crennel's dismissal had been expected for some time, Lerner waited until after the season out of respect for the 61-year-old coach and former defensive coordinator, who had never been a head coach at any level before taking over the Browns in 2005.

Three head coaches were fired during the season: Oakland's Lane Kiffin, St. Louis' Scott Linehan and San Francisco's Mike Nolan.

Mike Singletary, who took over for Nolan, was given a four-year, $10 million contract to take the job full time after leading the 49ers to a 5-4 record.

Raiders interim coach Tom Cable appears to have a solid chance of retaining the position after leading the Raiders to 4-8 record, including two wins to finish the season. However, ESPN is reporting that owner Al Davis has requested an opportunity to talk with New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride.

The Rams have not decided about the future of Jim Haslett, who took over for Linehan. Haslett was 2-9 after Linehan was fired after an 0-4 start.

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