Hello TT readers. I hope everyone is enjoying January football. Even without the Niners in the playoffs, there have been plenty of good games and drama about deflating balls (I am convinced this was done by an 11 year old boy looking to be entertained or “Saturday Night Live’) to watch. As all of this is going on, the now dramatic San Francisco 49ers are working to get their balls in a row and have hired Eric Mangini as their Defensive Coordinator. He is an interesting guy, so in an effort to educate you all, I present Five Fun Facts About Eric Mangini.
- Mangini made a cameo on HBO’s “The Sopranos”‘ second to last episode. He was referred to as “Mangenius”, a nickname he acquired early in his coaching career.
- Remember when the only cheating controversy surrounding the New England Patriots was Spygate? Well, the man responsible for bringing that to light was none other than Eric Mangini. It’s a good thing that didn’t happen on The Sopranos. They take loyalty very seriously.
- Mangini served as the 49ers’ tight ends coach for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, but the majority of his background is as a defensive coach. Perhaps that’s why TE Vernon Davis had such a bad year. Hmmm. Anyway, Mangini was the Patriots’ Defensive Backs coach from 2000-2004 and Defensive Coordinator in 2005 (see fact 2). He has been the head coach of both the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets.
- His brother-in-law Mark Shapiro is the President of the Cleveland Indians, which is interesting, as watching the moves of this team is very reminiscent of the movie Major League – without the funny and I don’t think Jed York has any interest in moving or selling the 49ers.
- Each of his three sons is named for an NFL player or coach: Jake Harrison named for Rodney Harrison; Luke William named for Bill Belichick (awkward); and Zack Brett named for Brett Favre. Wow. I named one of my dogs Kappy and that felt like a big deal.
We’ll see how this one plays out. He’s no Vic Fangio but Mangini is not a bad hire and his experience with a 3-4 defense fits well with what San Francisco has going on on that side of the ball. He also has a lot of talent to work with, which will make his job much easier. As with all recent decisions by this organization, time will tell.