@chicopee-john said:

As the UFL Hartford Colonials begin their search for a new coach, Hartford native Eric Mangini will be candidate to replace Chris Palmer.

Team owner William Mayer said in a statement Thursday that he hopes to talk to Mangini, who was fired by the Cleveland Bowns after two seasons as head coach. It's unknown if Mangini would be interested in the UFL, but the Colonials have identified him as a top candidate.

Mayer met with UFL commissioner Michael Huyghue for two hours Wednesday in New York before leaving for a business trip to Italy. Mayer will be back next week, when the search for a coach accelerates.

"He is one of the people we would hope to talk to," Mayer said. "What comes out of that, I don't know. I've been looking at our Facebook site, and it certainly has generated a lot of conversation. He's a Connecticut native and he's had experience. Whether we end up doing anything with him or not, we haven't sat down yet, so it's not at all clear whether this timing would work for him. . . . That doesn't mean we're in negotiations or that he's going to be the next coach, but he's certainly on the list."

The Colonials (3-5 in their first season in Hartford) are also searching for a team president. Palmer was coach/general manager before returning to the NFL as offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

"I certainly celebrate his move," Mayer said. "I talked to Chris at some length before he made his decision, and it was a difficult decision. As somebody told me, the past is the past, and I can't change it. I wish him the best."

Palmer was a Southern Connecticut graduate who coached at New Haven, so he had ties to the state. Mangini, a graduate of Bulkeley-Hartford and Wesleyan, would also bring a local connection.

But Mayer said that's not the only criteria.

"It's a little part of the deal," Mayer said. "When we came to Hartford, Chris' ties to the community were very important, and they would continue to be important. That factor, on the list of the top 10, is a little lower than it was. Overall, it's important, but slightly less so since we've spent a season in Hartford. On balance, if you have some local ties, that would be great."

As for holdovers from Palmer's staff, quarterbacks coach Dave Ragone is also considered a candidate for either the head job or an assistant job. Palmer strongly endorsed Ragone when he spoke to Mayer early in the week.

"We are looking for a head coach who to some degree, has some of the same traits that Chris had," Mayer said. "There's quite an element of teaching, and the concept of teaching is really important to help them develop on the field and off the field. It's highly likely the person will carry the title of coach and general manager."

There is some kind of karma that the a UFL team went from Browns Coach Chris palmer to Browns coach Mangini.

@beefjerky said:

He'll end up being a DC somewhere on an NFL team sometime.

Well, Chris Palmer was a UFL HC and he ended up an OC in the NFL. That said, sure, it is probable that a DC job in the NFL would be preferable to him, but tell us now which DC job is open? I believe all the hires are made for next year, so, if he does want to coach and not just sit or do commentary a UFL HC job is not necessarily a dead end.

He'll end up being a DC somewhere on an NFL team sometime.

@calfoxwc said:

He's still a good bit young, and will learn.

Tried to like mangini but it just became glaringly obvious he wasnt the right guy especially with holmgren as president, as for being young and learning, he is thick headed and set firmly in his ways making it near impossible to better himself as a coach, the guy runs his program like it is a proven system and like he has won championships when in fact his core program is quite flawed and untested due to not being able to hold a job..

Which of course goes hand in hand with his flawed program in general..

He's still a good bit young, and will learn.

@kosar_for_president said:

I believe it is probable that Mangini would continue to get paid by Lerner if he took the UFL job. Certainly that job will be no where near as high paying as the Browns job was. The only thing that might happen is that Lerner would be able to offset Mangini's UFL salary against what he owes him. Example (and I have no clue what the exact figures are): Let's say Mangini would be paid 3 million dollars by Lerner to sit at home, but Mangini takes the UFL job that pays 500K. Lerner may be able knock that 500K off what he owes Mangini and only have to pay him 2.5 million.

This is just speculation, but it is plausible.

Hillis-iz-Boss said:

Check your sources.

Titans New DC

Hillis-iz-Boss said:

Huh?