Your Average JoeCan Mangini Deliver For Die-Hard Browns Fanbase?
June 10th 2009 16:06
Check out this quote from Real Scouts on page 27 of Sporting News Today when referring to the new coach of the Cleveland Browns and former New England Patriots defensive coordinator, Eric Mangini…
"In the mold of his mentor, Belichick, Mangini is tough. But he is stubborn, which often limits his gameplans and hinders his relationships with players."
Tough, stubborn, strained relationships with players because of his stubborn ways hmmm.. Couldn’t this blurb have been written very similarly about the Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns back in lets say 1992? That coach was future Hall of Famer, Bill Belichick. Belichick was hated in Cleveland. Yeah, that drab personality doesn’t really fly when you’re pumping out 5-11, 6-10 types of seasons. It just goes to show you the importance of good decision making mixed with a little taking advantage of opportunity and some luck and how in a lot of cases it can either make or break someone. Not to mention, save you from being called a total dink for cutting your sleeves off your sweatshirt and wearing that hideous headband on your head.
Belichick was only 39 when he took the first head coaching job of his career with the Cleveland Browns. He had one winning season out of the five years he was there and was widely considered a flop. The best thing that happened to him was getting fired and having the string of extra seasons back under his mentor, “The Tuna”-- Bill Parcells, and cementing himself as the numero uno defensive mind in the NFL. Also, a great amount of time had passed since Cleveland, so when he took over as HC of the NEP, after resigning from the HC of the NYJ( I know some of you get that reference!), he had the complete resume and great reputation as a defensive genius which earned him immediate respect from all players. Yeah, I know, 5-11 in his first season with New England---we'll get back to that.
Eric Mangini rushed things and was 35 when he took the head coaching job with the Jets. He was known as a very good young defensive mind, but in my opinion, just wasn’t ready for total control. The resume and reputation weren’t fully ripened yet. Mangini’s personality--stubborn and considered by some as very arrogant--didn’t help matters. Some coaches can come in, and immediately, they have just the right mix of personality and coaching skill to connect with players as a head coach. They don't necessarily need the top notch resume or reputation right off the bat. They just have that perfect combination. Mangini, and for that matter, Belichick as well, aren't that type of coach. They are more drill sargeant--my way or the highway--style coaches. That style can sometimes blow up in your face, especially in today's age of athletes. If you're that style of a coach today, I believe you need the resume and reputation to precede you. That type of cache will immediately bring you the respect from these players that are signing huge guaranteed bonuses before they even play a down of football.
Yes, Belichick was 5-11 in his first season as head coach in New England. Then the next season--luck happened. Fortunately, Tom Brady burst onto the scene after my man Drew went down. Belichick was also blessed with someone who ended up being the best clutch kicker of our generation, in Adam Vinatieri. #12 and #4 can sure assist in making a defensive wizard like Belichick a more complete NFL Head Coach, don't ya think? That's taking nothing away from Belichick, but it's a fact. Luck is when a 6th round pick becomes the second best quarterback I've personally ever seen play the game. Sorry, I still say Elway was the best, but Brady is on pace to take that crown.
The question for Mangini is this--is he ready to take the next step in his head coaching career so soon after being axed in New York and deliver the goods to one of the most rabid fan bases in the NFL? In my humble opinion, he should've hooked on as a defensive coordinator or maybe as an Assistant Head Coach/D-Coordinator combo somewhere and honed his craft under someone else for a little while longer. I'm sure his ego wouldn't allow that at this point. Once your at the helm, who wants to step back? Well, he should've. Then he could make the most out of a future Head Coaching offer down the road. An offer would've come. He is that gifted of a defensive mind. He just needed to polish up the resume, mature as a coach and as a leader and let some time pass--just like his mentor did years ago.
(Thanks to Bearman for the great cartoon pic)
Chuck Hanf
Two Cents From Beantown
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