Eric Mangini's mistakes cost the Jets an easy playoff trip.

Bill Kostroun/AP

The Browns really couldn't do any better than Eric Mangini as their next head coach? Did Cleveland owner Randy Lerner watch NFL games over the last month?

The Jets had an easy path to the playoffs, but the team had a complete mental and emotional breakdown over the final five weeks of the season under Mangini. They dropped four games against mediocre competition (only one of the opponents ended the season over .500), and managed to beat Buffalo at home only because of a fluky late-game fumble.

Mangini made numerous tactical errors on the field and failed to inspire his team as the postseason slipped out of their reach. The 37-year-old coach tried to project a Bill Belichick-like stoicism when his team desperately needed passion in the locker room. Mangini's flat personality rubbed off on his players, who tried to play it cool but just came off as lifeless. When players ripped Brett Favre after the season, it was the first time the team showed a pulse in over a month.

From day one, Mangini was too interested in forming a positive relationship with Favre and failed to act as a coach when Favre needed it the most. How can a coach discipline a player after naming his newborn son after him? Favre was suffering from mental fatigue down the stretch and started making a lot of mistakes that had nothing to do with his tiring arm. That's when the coach has to crack down on his quarterback, no matter who it is. Look at how much success the Eagles had after Andy Reid benched Donovan McNabb for a half in Week 12. Mangini may not have been able to sit Favre, but he should have been able to do something to help his quarterback re-focus.

Even if you still have faith in Mangini, the Browns' approach to re-building the franchise by hiring a coach first seems totally backward. Miami's success with Bill Parcells would be a better model for Cleveland to follow. Great teams build from the ground up, establishing a consistent philosophy that defines both their personnel and coaching staff. What makes Lerner think Mangini is the man to spearhead that effort after he was part of a wasted spending spree in New York?

Mangini undoubtedly sold the Browns on the years of lessons he picked up from Belichick and Parcells. But as Cleveland already learned with Romeo Crennel, Belichick and Parcells didn't teach their assistants everything. It takes a unique mental make-up to run a winning team in the NFL and Mangini hasn't shown he has that in his three years as a head coach.