The Browns will interview fired New York Jets coach Eric Mangini and current New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo this week for their coaching vacancy, NFL sources said.

Mangini, 37, most likely will be interviewed today, a source told The Plain Dealer, and Spagnuolo most likely will be interviewed Thursday or Saturday, the New York Daily News reported. The Browns are one of three teams, along with the Jets and Detroit Lions, that have asked for and received permission to interview Spagnuolo, who is on a playoff bye week. Spagnuolo will talk to the Jets on Saturday and may do all three interviews the same day.

The Browns also are trying to get permission to talk to some of their other candidates, including Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. It is not yet known if they will be interested in fired Broncos coach Mike Shanahan.

Mangini, who began his NFL career in Cleveland in 1994 as a ball boy and public relations assistant, would be an intriguing candidate for the Browns because he has experience as a defensive coordinator and three years of experience as head coach of the Jets, where he went 23-25 and 0-1 in the playoffs, with two winning seasons. He also earned three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, where he spent six years learning the Patriot way.

Basically, he fits the Browns' profile for their next coach.

The question is, can Mangini coexist with Patriots executive vice president Scott Pioli, who will be interviewed for the general manager job as soon as today? In a yearlong controversy known as Spygate, the Jets accused the Patriots of taping their defensive signals last season, and the Patriots were disciplined. Coach Bill Belichick was fined $500,000, the Patriots $250,000 and the team lost its original first-round pick in 2008.

Pioli and Mangini, who worked together for 11 seasons with the Browns, Ravens, Jets and Patriots, were close before the incident, but it's unclear where they stand now. Mangini and his mentor Belichick, who gave him his start in Cleveland, aren't on good terms. So if Lerner covets both Mangini and Pioli, he'd have to determine if that can work.

Under Mangini, who is the brother-in-law of Tribe GM Mark Shapiro, the Jets were in first place a month ago and then lost four of their last five games with Brett Favre at quarterback to finish 9-7 and out of the playoffs.

If Mangini does get the job, it increases the likelihood of fired Browns coach Romeo Crennel staying on as defensive coordinator. Mangini and Crennel were close in New England when Crennel was coordinator and Mangini was defensive backs coach. Had Mangini kept his job with the Jets, he might've hired Crennel.

"Eric and I have a good relationship," Crennel said in a phone interview. "I like Eric a lot. Still, I'd have to sit down and talk with Eric about what his capacity is, about what his vision is and then he'd make a determination from there."

Spagnuolo, the Giants' defensive coordinator for two seasons, presided over a unit that was fifth overall and fifth in points allowed. He has one Super Bowl to his credit, and New York has home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

The Giants ranked seventh in defense last season, Spagnuolo's first year as coordinator. The year before, they were 25th. Spagnuolo's defense sacked Patriots quarterback Tom Brady five times in the Super Bowl victory in February and knocked him down at least a dozen more times. Spagnuolo came to the Giants after working for eight years under Jim Johnson in Philadelphia.

It is not yet known how Pioli feels about Spagnuolo, but his first choice for head coach would be former Browns assistant and current Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, the Boston Herald reported Tuesday.

Pioli and Ferentz worked together for three seasons in Cleveland and one in Baltimore after the Browns moved there in 1996. But Pioli is believed to have several candidates in mind, including McDaniels, whom he hired in 2001 as a personnel and coaching assistant. He also worked with Schwartz in Cleveland for three years.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mcabot@plaind.com, 216-999-4670