Can A Former NFL Coaching Failure Help Save The Warriors?

He failed at the Jets. He failed at the Browns. Now, Eric Mangini is about to attempt to succeed somewhere no American has before: Australian rugby league.

Mangini – whose last NFL coaching position was defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers last year - has been named to a seven-man advisory board to oversee football operation at the New Zealand Warriors.

The Warriors are the only New Zealand team in Australia's National Rugby League (NRL).

The board - which also includes Warriors owner Eric Watson, club chief executive Jim Doyle and former All Blacks rugby coach Sir Graham Henry – will meet monthly to discuss "all football responsibilities" according to a press statement today.

"We're especially thrilled to have the services of Sir Graham, Eric, [former player] Awen [Guttenbeil] and [businessman] Owen [Eastwood]," the press statement continued.

"They provide exceptional knowledge and experience from the professional sporting world as we strive to improve our standards throughout the club."

Although he once coach semi-pro American football in Australia, it is not known how much knowledge Mangini – who is nicknamed 'Mangenius' - has about rugby league.

Former NFL head coach Eric Mangini once made a cameo on The Sopranos. Source: YouTube.

The 45-year-old visited the Warriors club in Auckland in May, thanks to an invitation by Watson.

During his visit, the former NFL head coach watched the Warriors 26-10 victory over the St George Dragons, spending time in the player locker rooms and coaching box.

It is understood that a friendship between Mangini and Watson has grown since the visit.

"I was so impressed with the physical [side] of the game [and] the toughness of the players," he told the NZ Herald during his visit.

"When you're talking 30 games, 80 minutes and the guys playing basically the whole game … that's a serious physical commitment and drain."

Mangini assembled a 33-47 coaching record in the NFL, during his stints coaching the New York Jets (2006-2008) and Cleveland Browns (2009-2010). He was fired from both jobs.

Sports Illustrated called Mangini the worst coaching hire in the last 25 years when he was appointed to the Browns head coaching role in early 2009. At both the Jets and Browns, Mangini was often criticized for his tendency to micro-manage as a coach.

Helping to turn around the Warriors will be a big job for Mangini. The club stumbled to tenth this season, missing out of the NRL playoffs for a fifth straight season. During that time, they have had four different head coaches.

The American ex-NFL coach's appointment is one of a number of changes at the club.

Steven Kearney – the New Zealand national coach – has been made the new head coach of the club, with this year's boss Andrew McFadden demoted to assistant.

The club is also rumoured to be on the verge of signing troubled standoff Kieran Foran, a former star player with the Manly Sea Eagles and Parramatta Eels.

Foran comes with excess baggage, however. The 26-year-old attempted to kill himself in a drug overdose earlier this year, and has been at the centre of a betting scandal in Australia.