I spy big reason why Mangini might be frozen out of NFL

Eric Mangini will never get another head coaching job in the NFL.

At least that's what a variety of NFL team officials recently stated, citing the belief that Mangini is viewed by a significant number of people within the sport as traitorous for outing Bill Belichick in the Spygate fiasco, and would be too radioactive for an owner to touch.

He might even -- might -- have a hard time getting an assistant coaching job, though that seems far more implausible.

"He's seen as a rat," said one assistant coach, "and to me he'll always be a rat. I'm not the only one who feels that way."

Said one general manager: "I wouldn't trust him and I'm pretty certain my coaches wouldn't trust him either."

This is the obstacle Mangini will have to overcome if he wants to be a head coach again: the belief that he stabbed his mentor, Belichick, in the back.

The irony is that no one has yet to prove definitively it was Mangini specifically who outed Belichick's videotaping habits to the media following that infamous Patriots-Jets game at Giants Stadium in 2007. That day the NFL confiscated a video camera from Patriots video assistant Matt Estrella, starting a chain reaction that would lead to one of the greatest scandals in sports history.

The belief among many in the NFL is that Mangini ratted out Belichick, the man who gave him an opportunity in New England, and Mangini will have a hard time earning people's trust again because of those beliefs.

This is not to say there's a unanimous feeling in the personnel and coaching community. Several assistant coaches interviewed said they'd have no problem working alongside Mangini. Some coaches believe that Mangini had no choice in the Spygate scandal and they don't blame him. Other coaches, frankly, aren't Belichick fans.

But the majority sentiment seems to be that front-office personnel and coaches would have difficulty trusting Mangini.

In fact, I think if an owner ever decided to try and hire Mangini as an assistant coach on a current staff, there'd be serious protests from some coaches on that team.

The problem for Mangini is that there's a bond among coaches. You see players sell each other out all the time, but you rarely observe coaches do that publicly. I'm not saying it never happens, but it's rare. One of the few exceptions seems to be in Jacksonville, where Jack Del Rio has fired more coaches than LenDale White has eaten boxes of double stuffed.

But even Del Rio's firing spree is seen as business. Mangini's actions are viewed by coaches as disloyal. There's a difference.

Mangini's best hope of catching on with a team, according to some coaches, is a New England rival signing him. Several sources believe franchises like Buffalo, Miami, Indianapolis and San Diego might overlook Mangini's reputation as a tattletale so they can drain him of what he knows about Belichick. Mangini did have limited success against Belichick and he knows the Patriots well.

It's also possible Mangini coaches in college next year, refreshes his image, and then makes a return to the NFL. Yet he'll face the same questions about his loyalty with college coaches as he does with the pros.

There are reports that Cleveland owner Randy Lerner will interview Mangini about the Browns' head coaching position. Mangini was a ballboy and then a public relations assistant for Cleveland before then-Browns coach Belichick hired him as an assistant. Their friendship started then and ended, basically, when Mangini went from New England to the Jets.

Halle Berry would become NFL commissioner before Mangini is named head coach of the Browns. It'll never happen.

Mangini won't be coaching the Browns next season. He won't be a head coach anywhere in the NFL next season.

He might not be for a long, long time.