by Alex Marvez

Almost two weeks later, the coal arrived in their stockings with Wednesday's hiring of Eric Mangini as head coach.

Sure, Mangini might be the lump that turns into a diamond. It can be argued that he wasn't given a fair shake with the New York Jets, being made a scapegoat after a late-season collapse when there was plenty of blame to spread around. Some fired head coaches given a second chance learn from the mistakes made during their first go-'round a la Bill Belichick (Mangini's mentor) and Tom Coughlin. Mangini also is a 3-4 specialist, which means the Browns won't have to overhaul their defensive talent to fit a 4-3 scheme.

The list of negatives is more damning.

During his three years in New York, Mangini was knocked in league circles for poor relationships with players and assistant coaches. He had no answers as the 2008 Jets dropped from 8-3 to 9-7 and out of the playoffs, despite controlling their own postseason destiny in the AFC East. At age 37, there are serious questions whether Mangini is ready — or ever will be — to become a bona fide head coaching success.

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But this issue goes beyond Mangini, his strengths and weaknesses. It's the thought of what could have been that will haunt Browns backers if their new head coach isn't a true Man-genius.

There was one thing that kept hope alive for the Browns faithful during a horrific 2008 season: The excitement of what was to come. When it became clear that Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage wouldn't return, anticipation built toward the naming of Cleveland's next head coach and general manager. Cowher and Pioli topped the wish list.

It would be unrealistic to expect the Browns to hire both men. The duo has no history working together and each would want final say on football decisions. But one out of two would have been just fine considering how much praise Cowher (Pittsburgh) and Pioli (New England) deserve for their respective teams having played in five of the past seven Super Bowls and AFC championship games.

The Browns then whiffed as badly as an offense that didn't score a touchdown in its final six games.

Browns owner Randy Lerner has said there was nothing he could have done to woo Cowher out of retirement. He tried and struck out. Fair enough. But how dogged was Lerner and how much money was Cowher offered? For now, that isn't so clear.

We do know the fallback option was a no-brainer: Meet Pioli's price to become general manager and let him name the head coach. Even if he hired an unproven NFL commodity like Iowa's Kirk Ferentz, Pioli would be given a pass considering his track record in New England working hand-in-hand with Belichick.

When the Pioli deal couldn't get done for whatever reasons — he's not going to work with Mangini after the Spygate ordeal — there were more intriguing options at head coach. Mike Shanahan, unexpectedly fired in Denver, would have worked wonders with a young quarterback like Brady Quinn. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels probably could have done the same considering how well he groomed Matt Cassel.

Defensive coordinators for three of the league's top units — Baltimore's Rex Ryan, Tennessee's Jim Schwartz and Steve Spagnuolo of the New York Giants — are ready for their big break. Even the hiring of an under-the-radar position coach wouldn't be heavily panned after the 2008 success of Baltimore's John Harbaugh and Miami's Tony Sparano.

A retread like Mangini doesn't generate the same optimism. Neither will the expected hiring of George Kokinis as Cleveland's new general manager. Kokinis, whose history with Mangini dates back to when both were with the Browns organization in the early 1990s, will reportedly interview with Lerner on Monday to finalize the deal.

Kokinis has excelled in his role as a personnel director in Baltimore. So did Savage before his 2005 hiring by the Browns. He was ill-prepared to handle all of the general manager responsibilities beyond scouting. Yet that hasn't dissuaded Lerner from likely giving another newbie a chance.

Maybe the Browns will get it right this time. Decisions should be made based on the best interest of the team, not on the whim of fans and media swayed by the track records of ballyhooed figures like Cowher and Pioli. There also are no guarantees Cowher and Pioli can be like Bill Parcells and have success with different franchises.

Browns ownership, though, has done nothing to inspire confidence since the city rejoined the NFL in 1999. Cleveland has reached the postseason just once in that stretch. The biggest reasons for such futility: botched coaching and front-office hires that resulted in poor on-field performances and personnel decisions.

Winning just one playoff game will put Mangini ahead of predecessors Crennel, Butch Davis and Chris Palmer. But under the circumstances, the bar is already raised considerably higher. Mangini must now show he isn't another mistake by the lake from a franchise that has made far too many in the past decade.