Patriots and Jets, Belichick and Mangini, IT IS ON

Bill Belichick hates Eric Mangini. Eric Mangini doesn't like Bill Belichick.

Yep, such is the story whenever we talk about the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. It seems whenever these two NFL Football teams meet on one playing field, the face-off between the two coaches is bigger than the battle at hand between the two competing sets of athletes in separate uniforms.

You see, the feud between the two coaches began when Mangini decided to leave Belichick in New England. It was Belichick who gave Mangini his first break in the NFL, appointing him as his assistant coach with the New England Patriots. It shocked Belichick when his protoge decided to leave the Patriots for a head coaching job with the New York Jets.

The two couldn't stand each other ever since.

Belichick has refused to refer to the New York Jets coach by name since Mangini left after serving five years as his defensive backs coach and last season as defensive coordinator, helping the New England Patriots win three Super Bowl titles.

After one of their NFL Football games where they met each other on opposing sidelines, Bill Belichick exchanged a cold handshake with Eric Mangini in the middle of the muddy field. This is after Mangini shocked the Patriots and the rest of NFL Football with a win at Foxboro, 17-14.

Their first midfield meeting after the Patriots won in New York this season wasn't a study in warmth either.

Despite this somewhat ''colorful'' relationship, it seems like the playoffs have thawed the personal Cold War between Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his former assistant, Jets head coach Eric Mangini.

''When I was at New England with Bill I thought that he made outstanding adjustments and I think that's a very good staff,'' said Mangini. ''I think he's an excellent evaluator of talent in terms of players and coaches.''

As for Belichick? He had this to say about his former protoge coming to their huge AFC wildcard playoff encounter.

''The bottom line is that the Jets are a good football team. Eric's (yep, he finally referred to the Jets head coach by his first name...) done a good job with them and his staff has done a good job. They got a lot of great players. They're playing as well as anybody in the league right now.''

I don't know what to make of this sudden ''peace'' between the two head coaches but one thing's for sure, come Sunday, each will be gunning for the other guy's head as they look to advance to the next round.

Can Eric Mangini lead the New York Jets pass his mentor and the rest of the New England Patriots? Here are the odds from All Star Sportsbook on this huge AFC wildcard playoff game.

New York Jets +9

New England Patriots -9

Want more odds? Visit OddsHQ for the best odds on some of today’s biggest sporting events.