Eric Mangini Says He Regrets Turning in Patriots During Spygate Scandal

by abournenesn

May 1, 2012

Eric Mangini Says He Regrets Turning in Patriots During Spygate ScandalAfter a few flameouts as a coach around the league, you would think former Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini would have quite the list of regrets. Apparently, one of the big ones is turning on his former team.

Mangini said on ESPN's NFL Live on Tuesday afternoon that he regrets telling the NFL that the Patriots were taping signals at a Jets game in 2007.

"If there is a decision I could take back, it's easily that decision," he said, according to an NBC Sports report of his appearance on the show. "Never in a million years would I have wanted it to go this way. It's disappointing whenever it comes up."

The incident indeed "came up" again Tuesday, when Ravens coach John Harbaugh said on a radio show that the Patriots' titles may be "stained." New England's championship years in 2001, 2003 and 2004 coincided with incidents that were later investigated in what came to be known as the Spygate scandal.

Harbaugh's comments quickly spiraled into a controversyTedy Bruschi defended the Pats on ESPN, and then Harbaugh jumped back into the conversation, saying he still thought New England earned the Super Bowl wins, and that they were legitimate. He had kind words for Patriots coach Bill Belichick, too.

Mangini, who was discussing Tuesday's flare-up on NFL Live, used the opportunity to say he regrets everything about Spygate. He said he doesn't think any of the Patriots' titles were stained, and that he never imagined his move would cause the fallout that it did.

"It's regret, it's disappointment, it's all of those things," Mangini said. "Because I know what it took to win those Super Bowls, and I have so much respect for the people that were involved there. I'm disappointed that this is what it's translated into."

Mangini said he turned in the Patriots not because he wanted to take down Belichick or the organization but because he wanted the Jets to win that day.

"Never in a million years did I expect it to play out like this," he said, calling the investigation and fallout afterward a "landslide."

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