Oakland 2015: The Redemption of Eric Mangini

The first candidate reported to be considered for an interview as head coach of the Oakland Raiders organization was tight end coach Eric Mangini. The news was met with a collective outrage as fans and the talking heads at ESPN unanimously agreeing 'the same old Raiders' are making questionable decisions. The media pundits rated this a Darrius Heyward-Bey level decision. Just to be contrary, considered writing this piece on "Black Monday" when the news of the interview was announced. There are many reasons why Eric Mangini would be an interesting hire for the Raiders and as it turns out, he is a leading candidate for the defensive coordinator position under Jack Del Rio.

NFL Films released a documentary on the Cleveland Browns during the early 90's. The coaching staff of that team was stacked with personnel that would later go on to be successful in many capacities within the league. Bill Belichick had a coaching staff so deep that he would practically make up jobs for his coaching staff. Some of the men working under him were Ozzie Newsome, Nick Saban, Michael Lombardi, Scott Pioli, Jim Schwartz and Eric Mangini.

In 1995 Cleveland was in a similar situation as the Oakland finds itself in 2015. The losing seasons, the run down stadium, the faithful fans who longed for the glory days is something that Eric Mangini is no stranger to. As a head coach in New York he went 23-25 and only had one losing season. After he was let go, he coached the Browns to a couple of 5-11 records. While these numbers are not eye popping, Mangini is a very good defensive coach and a tireless worker. Don't be surprised when his name is announced later today as Jason Tarver's replace to be the head of the defensive unit for Oakland in 2015. If you don't believe in my bold predictions, just take a look below.