NFL coaches get the axe

The day after the NFL regular season, the winless Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets are looking for new coaches.

Rod Marinelli was fired by the Lions on Monday after an 0-16 season and Romeo Crennel was let go as expected by the Browns. In a mild surprise, Eric Mangini was fired by the New York Jets, who lost four of their last five games and failed to make the playoffs with Brett Favre at quarterback.

Three coaches were fired during the regular season — Mike Nolan in San Francisco, Scott Linehan in St. Louis and Lane Kiffin in Oakland.

Mike Singletary replaced Nolan and will be retained after the 49ers went 5-4 in their final nine games. Interims Jim Haslett in St. Louis and Tom Cable in Oakland are on shakier ground.

Marinelli was 10-38 in his three-year stay, winning only one his last 24 games after the team started 6-2 in 2007. Marinelli was hired by Matt Millen, who was fired as team president three months ago.

Crennel, whose Browns finished 4-12 after going 10-6 last season, was dismissed after a 31-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Also, general manager Phil Savage was fired Sunday.

Mangini, dubbed “Mangenious” after taking the Jets to the playoffs as a 35-year-old rookie coach in 2006, was fired after his team lost four of its last five following an 8-3 start. The losses came after consecutive road wins over New England and Tennessee.

Tags: sports, nfl, coach, fired