{"id":17456,"date":"2025-10-26T17:52:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T17:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/17456\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T17:52:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T17:52:12","slug":"nick-mangold-former-jets-great-dead-at-41","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/17456\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Mangold, former Jets great, dead at 41"},"content":{"rendered":"

CINCINNATI \u2014 Jets legend Nick Mangold died on Saturday night from complications of kidney disease, just 12 days after revealing he needed a transplant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mangold was 41 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jets selected Mangold in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft and he quickly endeared himself to the organization and its fans with his toughness and everyman persona. Mangold had a trademark look with his long hair, backwards hat and bushy blonde beard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former Jets center Nick Mangold has died at the age of 41. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nick Mangold (74) played for the Jets from 2006-2016. Charles Wenzelberg\/New York Post<\/p>\n

Mangold spent 11 seasons with the Jets and was a key piece of the 2009 and 2010 teams that went to the AFC Championship game. Mangold was twice selected as an All-Pro and went to the Pro Bowl seven times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNick was more than a legendary center,\u201d Jets owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. \u201cHe was the heartbeat of our offensive line for a decade and a beloved teammate whose leadership and toughness defined an era of Jets football. Off the field, Nick\u2019s wit, warmth, and unwavering loyalty made him a cherished member of our extended Jets family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mangold retired after the 2016 season and was inducted into the Jets Ring of Honor in 2022. He capped off his acceptance speech at MetLife Stadium by cracking open a beer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nick Mangold and his family when the Jets inducted him into their Ring of Honor in 2022. Michael Simon \/ Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Nick Mangold holds his daughter, Eloise, as he announces his retirement from the Jets on April 24, 2018. Bill Kostroun\/New York Post<\/p>\n

The Centerville, Ohio native had a strong sense of humor and always kept his teammates laughing. Mangold used to walk around the Jets locker room in a plush green robe with his name and jersey number 74 on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNick was a jokester man, he always kept everything funny,\u201d former teammate Damien Woody said Sunday. \u201cHe always had those one liners that would get you in the moment. Man he was just such a great dude. He was a family guy that would give you the shirt off his back. You couldn\u2019t ask for a better man, a better teammate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Oct. 14, Mangold announced that he had been diagnosed in 2006 with a genetic defect that led to chronic kidney disease. He said he had a \u201crough summer\u201d and was undergoing\u00a0 dialysis while seeking a kidney transplant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nick Mangold with his wife Jennifer and their children. Nick Mangold<\/p>\n

Nick Mangold with his wife Jennifer and their children. Nick Mangold<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew this day would come, but I thought I would have had more time,\u201d said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Woody said he was shocked when he found out that Mangold had died. The two did not live far from each other in New Jersey and he saw him recently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like a month ago to be honest with you,\u201d Woody said. \u201cHe looked tired, but he was the same old Nick, laughing and joking. Man, it just happened so fast.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former Jets coach Rex Ryan broke down on ESPN Sunday<\/a> when talking bout Mangold.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nick Mangold takes the field with an American flag on the 15th anniversary of 9\/11 on Sept. 11, 2016. Charles Wenzelberg\/New York Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s brutal. Such a great young man. I had the pleasure of coaching him for all six years [I was coach] with the Jets,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cI remember, it was obvious I was getting fired, my last game Mangold\u2019s injured \u2014 like injured \u2014 and he comes to me and says, \u2018I\u2019m playing this game.\u2019 And he went in and played for me. That\u2019s what I remember about this kid. He was awesome and just way too young. I feel so bad for his wife and family.\u201d<\/p>\n

As beloved as he was off the field, Mangold was just as valuable on it. He did not miss a game in his first five seasons and was the key cog in a Jets rushing attack that finished No. 1 in the NFL in 2009.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNick was one of the best centers of his generation,\u201d Woody said. \u201cI mean, he was one of the best linemen that I ever played with. He was so cerebral, like the way he could just see things with the defense and was able to put everybody in the right position.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Jets drafted Mark Sanchez in 2009, Mangold helped him by calling the protections. Sanchez would often check with Mangold at the line of scrimmage for adjustments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was one of the rare people I\u2019ve ever met where he was joyful and affable and yet tough and dependable as they came,\u201d former Jets general manager MIke Tannenbaum said. \u201cThere\u2019s no way we would\u2019ve had the success we had without him because he was like the perfect person to be a leader in New York. He had broad shoulders and in the good times and bad times he held people accountable, but he did it in a way that people really enjoyed being around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mangold is survived by his wife Jenny and four children \u2014 Matthew, Eloise, Thomas and Charlotte.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CINCINNATI \u2014 Jets legend Nick Mangold died on Saturday night from complications of kidney disease, just 12 days…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,430,10,22,3062,319],"class_list":{"0":"post-17456","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-headlines","10":"tag-new-york-jets","11":"tag-new-york-news","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-nick-mangold","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}