Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Pat McAfee Mourns Former Jets Center Nick Mangold: ‘The World Lost a Damn Good Man'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Oct 27, 2025 11:14 AM ET

As a rookie in 2009, Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee had the opportunity to face Nick Mangold and an upstart New York Jets team twice. The first occasion, a Week 16 showdown in Indianapolis, is best remembered for Colts coach Jim Caldwell resting his starters in the second half, allowing Mangold and the Jets to end the Colts’ undefeated season.

Less than a month later, the two teams squared off in the AFC Championship Game. McAfee’s Colts got their revenge, clinching their second Super Bowl berth in four years and the final in the Peyton Manning era.

Although McAfee never had the opportunity to play with Mangold, he saw and heard just what made the two-time All-Pro such a revered center and player. McAfee mourned Mangold on Sunday afternoon, shortly after the Jets announced their longtime center’s death at 41 from kidney disease.

“Thru AJ, I’ve learned so much about him,” McAfee wrote on Twitter/X, referring to Mangold’s former Ohio State teammate AJ Hawk. “The man, the dad, the husband, the teammate, the EVERYTHING great he was for everybody in his life.

“The world lost a damn good man and obviously a legendary beard,” McAfee continued.

Nick Mangold spent his entire career with the New York JetsBrad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Mangold’s death came less than two weeks after he and the Jets revealed that he needed a kidney transplant.

The Jets Community Fondly Remembered Nick Mangold

McAfee may not have played with Mangold, but those who spent time around him spent Sunday paying tribute to Mangold, a seven-time Pro Bowler and 2005 All-American. Former Jets coach and ESPN analyst Rex Ryan notably broke down upon learning of Mangold’s death.

“I remember, it was obvious I was getting fired [in 2014], my last game, Mangold is injured — like injured — and he comes to me and says, ‘I’m playing this game.’ And he went in and played for me,” Ryan shared. “That’s what I remember about this kid. He was awesome and just way too young. I feel so bad for his wife and family.”

Rex Ryan mourns the loss of his former player Nick Mangold following his death from kidney disease. pic.twitter.com/xhpJJ0yue3
— ESPN (@espn) October 26, 2025

Ex-Jets linebacker Bart Scott, a key piece of the 2009 and 2010 playoff teams, said he was at a “loss for words” during the Jets’ pregame show on SNY. Scott joked that Mangold was a “thorn in his side” when they went head-to-head in practice.

“He’ll be missed, and I still can’t believe it,” Scott said. “It still hasn’t soaked in yet, and I miss my friend.”

Scott’s SNY colleague, Willie Colon, played alongside Mangold on the Jets’ offensive line from 2013 through 2015.

“When I got the nod from Rex Ryan to come to New York and play, I didn’t just want to play for the Jets,” Colon recalled. “I wanted to play with Nick Mangold. I wanted to play beside D’Brickashaw Ferguson, because we were all in the same draft class. We all got drafted in ’06 together, so we had that kinship.”

We extend our condolences to Mangold’s friends, family, and the entire football community.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: