The Jets started the season 8-3 under quarterback Brett Favre, beating New England and Tennessee on the road in consecutive weeks and raising visions among fans of the team's first Super Bowl trip since 1969.

"I don't think it was one thing," owner Woody Johnson said at a news conference Monday. "We had to go in a different direction. There's nothing specific. It's just a call we made. Hopefully, it's correct."

The 37-year-old Mangini was called by Johnson one of the league's up-and-coming coaches, but he went 23-26 in three seasons in his first head coaching job. He had another year remaining on his contract.

"For the current New York Jets organization, we've made the decision to move on," Johnson said. "It's a judgment call.

The Jets went 1-4 in their final five games, losing to Denver, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami and barely beating Buffalo. They did not reach the postseason for the second straight year despite an offseason spending spree that included a trade for Favre after his retirement and return at Green Bay.

The 39-year-old Favre had just two touchdown passes and nine interceptions in those final five games. He led the league in interceptions with 22 and complained after Sunday's 24-17 loss to Miami of pain in his right shoulder and neck.

The win gave the Dolphins the AFC East title under Chad Pennington, the Jets' longtime quarterback who was cut when the team obtained Favre.

As a rookie coach, Mangini took a team that had been 4-12 the previous year to the playoffs with a 10-6 record in 2006 and earned the nickname "Mangenius" from the local tabloids.

Johnson said the final decision was made Sunday night, but the process had been going on a long time. He met with the coach Monday morning.

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

Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum praised Mangini, who he considers a friends, saying he did not think he had lost the team.

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