In what may be a sign that Browns head coach Eric Mangini is losing power in Cleveland, the team has reportedly fired a close Mangini confidant whom the coach brought with him from the Jets.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Browns quietly dismissed Erin O’Brien, who was hired by Mangini in February.
O’Brien had been Mangini’s personal assistant in New York, and in Cleveland she was given the title of director of team operations. In March, a story on the way Mangini was shaping the franchise mentioned O’Brien as one of several people Mangini brought with him from the Jets.
And her connection to Mangini goes further back than that. A September 2007 story by Michael Silver about the then-unfolding SpyGate case mentioned that when Mangini left the Patriots to become the head coach of the Jets, he convinced a Patriots employee -- Erin O’Brien -- to come with him. A January 2006 piece by Mike Reiss, from shortly after Mangini left the Patriots for the Jets, suggested that O’Brien would be the only Patriots employee who would follow Mangini to New York.
So why have the Browns now fired O’Brien? A Browns spokesman told the Plain Dealer that O’Brien resigned “for personal reasons.” But the paper quotes unnamed sources as saying O’Brien “had burned so many bridges that Mangini could not save her job.”
Whatever the reasons for her departure, a close Mangini confidant being forced out doesn’t look good for the coach, especially in the wake of owner Randy Lerner bringing in former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar to be “another set of eyes” on the team.
The Plain Dealer piece strongly suggests that Mangini’s job is in jeopardy, and the paper even reports that Bill Cowher is looking to return to coaching in 2010. Things aren’t looking good for Mangini.