I will get into this again in Friday's column, but I really have strong feelings both ways on the Browns' Eric Mangini hire.

On the one hand this addresses a longstanding need by the organization to bring in someone with previous NFL head coaching experience. And Mangini certainly has emotional and professional ties to Cleveland that should help make him invested in the franchise from Day 1.

But the hiring also stinks because, unless there is some as-yet-unannounced handshake agreement with a general manager who signed off on Mangini, the Browns are bringing in a coach before bringing in the man who will have to work most closely with that coach to ensure the team's success.

Mangini also will be faced with the stigma of being Randy Lerner's consolation prize after it became clear that Bill Cowher wasn't coming to Cleveland. And Browns fans will be left to wonder if Lerner might have been better served by getting a read on Cowher's intentions before letting Crennel and Savage go. Had Cowher expressed some interest in coming to Cleveland in 2010, Lerner might have kept Crennel and Savage around for one more season, then made the big move.

-- John Dudley