Brett Favre

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBS/AP) ― The New York Jets fired head coach Eric Mangini on Monday, following a collapse that saw the team lose four of their final five games of the season after sitting comfortably in first place in the AFC East.

Team owner Woody Johnson and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum announced their decision during a 10 a.m. news conference. The 37-year-old Mangini was 23-26 in three seasons in his first head coaching job.

Mangini did not attend the news conference.

Johnson said he and Tannenbaum made the decision together, but said there wasn't one specific act that led them to make the change.

"For the current New York Jets organization, we've made the decision to move on," he said. "I don't think it was one thing, it was just Mike and my judgment that we had to go in a difference direction and there's nothing specific, it's a call that we made and hopefully it's correct."

The 37-year-old Mangini, who was 23-26 in three seasons in his first head coaching job, took the news professionally.

"We thanked him for all the good things he'd done for us. We thanked him for his dedication and his loyalty, but he understood," said Johnson.

"Obviously I have a close personal raltionship with him and that makes the deicsion for Woody and I that much harder," added Tannenbaum.

The move comes one day after the Jets blew another chance to get into the playoffs, finishing the season at 9-7 after being 8-3 at one point, even beating the then undefeated Tennessee Titans.

Johnson said he and Tannenbaum will begin their search for a new head coach immediately.

"This process is starting right now and we will be very, very thorough in trying to select someone to succeed Eric and build on the good foundation that he and people in management have built," he said.

The Jets' collapse ended with a loss to the Miami Dolphins, led by former New York quarterback Chad Pennington, 24-17. Also, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Baltimore Ravens, giving Baltimore an AFC wild card playoff slot. The Jets needed to win Sunday, the the Ravens lose, for New York to get into the post-season.

Mangini had another year remaining on his contract. In 2006, his first season, he took a team that had been 4-12 the previous year to the playoffs with a 10-6 record and earned the nickname "Mangenious" from the local tabloids.

He said after Sunday's loss that he expeected to return in 2009.

"We have never discussed it throughout the course of the season," he said," but that's my anticipation."

After an 8-3 start and being mentioned as possible Super Bowl contenders with an NFL-high seven Pro Bowl selections, New York went into a tailspin by losing four of its last five games, with Brett Favre looking every bit a 39-year-old quarterback.

Before the season started though, the Jets appeared poised for a stellar '08 campaign.

The Jets began the offseason by spending $140 million on veterans, notably offensive linemen Alan Faneca and Damien Woody and linebacker Calvin Pace. They also traded linebacker Jonathan Vilma, a young standout, because he did not fit Mangini's 3-4 scheme and traded for Kris Jenkins, a 350-pound defensive tackle with a history of back problems.

Jenkins was dominant early on but tailed off toward the end of the season because of a herniated disk, as did the rest of the defense.

"Hopefully, we'll be better in all those areas," Johnson said.

While cleaning out their lockers before heading home for the offseason, players said the firing was unexpected.

"I was surprised," Faneca said. "I got the call earlier today and it caught me off guard."

Added tight end Chris Baker: "Knowing how tight Eric and Mike are, I didn't really see it happening."

Jenkins was particularly bothered by the firing, praising the former coach for bringing him to New York and giving him an opportunity to rejuvenate his career.

"I'm going to miss him," Jenkins said.

Before joining the Jets, Mangini served as New England's defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick for a season after five years as the Patriots' defensive backs coach. He quickly became regarded as one of the game's top young coaching minds.

After the Jets traded the rights to coach Herm Edwards to the Kansas City Chiefs for a fourth-round pick in the 2006 draft, they replaced him with Mangini.

With a workmanlike and tightlipped approach, Mangini drew instant comparisons to Belichick. And they appeared warranted, especially after a quick turnaround season.

When Mangini came to the Jets, it was believed Belichick was annoyed his young assistant left him, marking the beginning of a rift. There also was talk that Belichick was angry Mangini was speaking to Patriots players and coaches about joining him in New York. That was capped by New England filing a tampering charge against the Jets in connection with New York's trade talks with wide receiver Deion Branch. The Jets were cleared of the charges and Branch ended up in Seattle.

The dispute came to a head last year when the Jets reported the Patriots illegally used videotape to steal New York's defensive signals during the season opener. Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team docked $250,000 and a draft pick.

Still, Mangini couldn't lead the Jets out of the Patriots' shadow -- even with Tom Brady sidelined for the year -- and were surpassed in the division by the Miami Dolphins.

"He did a great job for us for three years and he helped lay a great foundation," Tannenbaum said. "We felt, in our judgment, we want to build on that and go in a different direction."

 Click here to read what WCBSTV.com Senior Producer Jeff Capellini thinks about the decision to fire Mangini and where the team should go from here.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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