Mangini

CLEVELAND — From a Browns ballboy to their head coach. Eric Mangini's football career — still in its early stages — already has come full circle.

Mangini, fired last week by the New York Jets, will be named Cleveland's 12th full-time coach today, a person with knowledge of his hiring told The Associated Press.

The 37-year-old Mangini agreed to a four-year deal with the club Wednesday, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because contract details had yet to be finalized. He will be introduced at a news conference in the club's headquarters in Berea, which has seen plenty of turnover since he was last with Cleveland.

Mangini started out as a ballboy with the Browns in 1994 under then-coach Bill Belichick, who liked the kid's work ethic and quickly promoted him to a public relations assistant before adding him to the scouting department. Now Mangini's taking over the job of one of his best friends in the game, fired Browns coach Romeo Crennel.

Mangini went 23-25 with one playoff loss in three seasons with the Jets, who started 8-3 this season but lost four of their last five games and missed the playoffs.

Mangini and Crennel both lost their jobs on Dec. 29, although Browns owner Randy Lerner was not aware of Mangini's dismissal when he met with the media to discuss Crennel's dismissal.

Despite the Jets' meltdown, Lerner, who is also looking for a new general manager, was enamored with Mangini's potential and believed he would bring discipline to the underachieving Browns, who went 4-12 during a disastrous season marked by injuries, ugly losses and a 1-7 home record. Lerner believed Mangini, who will be 38 on Jan. 19, learned from his mistakes in New York.

Mangini's hiring could lead to Crennel staying with the Browns. Mangini and Crennel became friends during their days as assistants with the Jets under Bill Parcells.