This article was written last year so consider it a tad dated. I thought it would be a good follow up to the Ryan-to-the-Jets talk and also give an in-depth look at why the relationship is where it is. Enjoy..

I am a die hard Jets fan, I must admit that before going forward. I live and die by the Jets. For this post though, I'd like to put aside my love for them and talk about the Mangini-Belicheck relationship. Yes it is very well known, Bill doesn't talk about or to his former Coordinator and does not explain why. Well that's why I'm here, I think it is very clear why and i will map it out for you to understand.


Eric Mangini is the former defensive coordinator of the Patriots, yes, all football followers know, the "teacher and protege" dynamic that has gone sour. Sure Mangini learned a lot from Bill but i think it goes farther than that.

All of the other coaches that left Belichick's regime were his counterparts, Weis and Crennell came from the Parcells era where they all learned together. When Charlie was the offensive coordinator and Romeo was the defensive coordinator, Bill was merely a head man on a team stacked with three more than qualified head coaches each running a separate division of the team. That two coaches left on Bills natural side of the ball (defense) had learned under him, Eric Mangini and Rob Ryan. Rob's entry into the coaching ranks of football was certainly much easier than Eric's. Rob's father happens to be football legend Buddy Ryan. When Rob left to become the Defensive Coordinator of the Raiders, other than losing a good coach, I don't think Bill saw any problems with it. He would be in a division separate than his across the country. They could meet once in a season, if that much.

Now there's Eric. Eric is a guy that Bill who happened to stumble upon in the copy room late one night when Eric was a ball boy in Cleveland where Bill was the head coach. They started talking and found out they went to the same college (Wesleyan University) and were members of the same fraternity ( Chi Psi). Belicheck found out Eric's ball boy internship was up the next day so he got him a job in the film department putting tape together. They became fast friends and when Bill became defensive coordinator under Parcells in 1999 for the Jets, Eric became the assistant defensive coordinator to Belichick. Bill was determined to teach Eric everything. When he named Mangini his defensive coordinator, something he didn't do the year prior when Romeo left, it was because he trusted Mangini so much with everything he taught him, he knew the defense would be run just the way he wanted.

You see, Bill trusted and opened up to Mangini in a way the most strategic coach of all time never did to anyone in the game. His trust no one mentality was rule for everyone but Eric so when Eric took the job as the Jets coach, the Patriots rival in the same division, Bill felt betrayed. Eric left knowing the blueprint for a championship team that he learned while being under Parcells and Bill. He also knew all of Bill's strategies which he could utilize twice a year against his mentor. That's why they don't talk, that's why it's strained. Eric is the brain child of Bill. Bill fears Mangini because he knows what he knows and understands how he works.