By Randy Lange
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Editor-in-Chief
It is believed the decision by Johnson and Tannenbaum was not made based on the outcome of Sunday's game but on the Jets' play over the last month of the season, when they fell from 8-3 and sole possession of first place in the AFC East with four losses in their last five games. With a solid foundation in place, the club has determined it has to move in a different direction.
The Jets management respects the tremendous amount of hard work and care Mangini, 37, has put into running the Jets' football operations. When Johnson hired Mangini, the former Jets assistant and New England defensive coordinator and secondary coach, Jan. 17, 2006, and at the age of 34 became the 15th-youngest head coach in NFL history.
In his first year at the helm, Mangini directed the Jets to a 10-6 record and a wild-card berth in the 2006 playoffs. Last season the Jets went 4-12. He finishes his tenure as head coach with a 23-26 record including the playoffs.
The Jets have announced today that Eric Mangini has been dismissed as head coach.
Woody Johnson, the team's owner and chief executive officer, and Mike Tannenbaum, executive vice president/general manager, have just made the announcement at a news conference this morning at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, N.J.
The team will begin an immediate, aggressive search for its 18th head coach and its 16th full-time field leader.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the Jets completed a 9-7 season with a 24-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins at the Meadowlands and finished out of the playoffs for the second consecutive year.