Mangini has an edge... Article on Mangini being tough...

[PlaygroundLegend]

 

Mangini has an edge

 

January 22nd, 2009 · No Comments

By SCOTT PETRAK

 

Staff Writer

 

The overzealous New York media crowned him Mangenius nearly immediately. Two years later, he was Man Without a Job.

 

Eric Mangini reached the postseason in his first year with the Jets, but a 4-12 record in 2007 and a 1-4 collapse to end this season without a playoff bid completed his downfall.

 

The Jets’ decision to fire him was welcomed by Browns owner Randy Lerner, who interviewed him the next day, committed to him soon after and hired him Jan. 8.

 

“I couldn’t be happier,” Jets tackle Damien Woody told ESPN.com. “Eric’s a great guy, an excellent young coach. He’s always on top of the details, from the smallest things to the big picture.

 

“I think it’s a great fit for Cleveland. Eric’s the type of coach to get them back on track.”

 

Change a coming

 

Mangini’s ultimate effectiveness won’t be determined for at least a couple of years, but what’s already known is that the personality of the job has undergone a significant shift in the last three weeks.

 

Mangini and former Browns coach Romeo Crennel were defensive assistants under Bill Parcells with the Jets. Mangini followed Crennel as Patriots defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick. They both believe strongly in the effectiveness and flexibility of the 3-4 defensive scheme.

 

The similarities end there.

 

Crennel is 61 years old, spent 24 years as an assistant before getting a head coaching job and won over his players with a friendly and honest approach. He was respected, but not feared, throughout the locker room and was loved by just about everyone in team headquarters.

 

He went 24-40 in four years in charge.

 

Mangini was 23-26 with the Jets, including 0-1 in the playoffs, after getting the job when he was 35. He made few friends.

 

Mangini cultivated an environment that kept everyone in the organization “on eggshells,” a former Jet who asked not to be identified told The Chronicle.

 

“If he walks past you in the hallway, he won’t acknowledge you,” the former player said. “He knows he could kick your (butt) out the door the next minute. It’s business.”

 

Browns linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was excited by the Mangini hiring, but wondered if he’d be approachable.

 

“That’s my only concern,” Jackson said by phone from Miami. “You could talk to Romeo and it didn’t have to be about football.

 

“If Mangini’s not like that, he’s not like that.”

 

He’s not like that.

 

One tough customer

 

After replacing Herm Edwards with the Jets, Mangini opened his first training camp practice with a live tackling drill where players, star receivers included, lined up 20 yards from each other in a restricted area.

 

“There were ridiculous collisions,” the former Jet said.

 

In four years, Crennel never ran this drill. He trusted his players to be in shape, to know their assignments and to behave themselves off the field. When they failed to comply, he was slow to pull the trigger on a punishment.

 

That approach may work with veterans but it can fail a young team, especially one that has immature stars with overinflated egos.

 

Mangini might be the perfect replacement. He held long, hard, detail-oriented practices and was a strict disciplinarian.

 

“Even though we were winning, it was dreadful at times,” Jet tight end Chris Baker told the New York Times, regarding three-hour training camp practices in 2006. “That first year he was here took some years off your life.”

 

Baker said he noticed a change in Mangini this season, as practices were shortened and he loosened up a bit. That doesn’t mean he’ll go soft on the Browns.

 

In addition to the physical element — the tackling drill was repeated throughout camp — Mangini demands mental toughness. He cranks the music during practice to create a distraction and covers every imaginable situation that could occur on gameday.

 

“Practices are even more intense than games,” the former Jet said. “He’ll have you prepared.

 

“If you’re used to pillow fights in training camp, that’s not going to happen. He’s going to find out what kind of players he has. And if he doesn’t like you, he’ll get rid of you.”

 

Mangini has a rigid set of rules off the field, as well, levying fines for a number of offenses.

 

“If the rules are broken, there’s consequences and those are strictly enforced,” Mangini said.

 

Jackson welcomes the change.

 

“With our young nucleus, it’s great to bring in a guy like that,” he said. “Not only does he have a winning attitude, he’ll be on our (butt).

 

“It’s going to be tough for all of us at first.”

 

Mr. personality

 

At his introductory news conference, Mangini was smart, focused and funny — even though he tried to escape without taking questions. He seemed likable with a genuine desire to coach the Browns.

 

Who knows if we’ll see that side of him again?

 

Mangini showed little emotion, and less of his personality, in his time in New York. Some players wondered if he was trying too hard to be like Belichick, the mentor he “betrayed” when he took the Jets job.

 

Mangini turned 38 on Monday; Belichick was 38 when he began coaching the Browns in 1991.

 

“Mangini rarely revealed his personality in public, leaving instead an image of a robotic, emotionless, analytical football coach,” the New York Times wrote. “On the sideline, he stood with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed, his cheeks ballooned from ever-present wads of gum.”

 

Mangini’s stoic demeanor irritated Jets fans, much the same way Crennel’s expressionless stare on the sideline drove Browns fans mad. Mangini may have been evolving in his final days in New York, as he became agitated following one loss and showed some humor with the media.

 

“The most important thing to do is to be yourself and that’s who I felt I always was,” Mangini said of the Belichick comparisons. “I worked under Bill for a long time, worked under Bill Parcells for a long time and they were my football parents and I know with my kids sometimes I say things that my dad said.

 

“But the important thing is to be the best coach you can be, the best father you can be, and learn from all of those experiences and grow and move forward.”

 

Lerner was impressed in the interview and believes Mangini is his own man.

 

“He has been around successful teams,” Lerner told the Plain Dealer. “But he is not a mimic of someone else … he has been taking the bits and pieces of what he has learned and putting them together into his own system.”

 

Second chance

 

Lerner is counting on Mangini having learned from his time in New York.

 

After one good and one bad year, the Jets spent $140 million in the offseason and traded for quarterback Brett Favre to make a push for the playoffs in 2008.

 

The moves appeared to be paying off when the Jets started 8-3 and led the AFC East, but Favre faltered and the Jets crumbled. However, Mangini left those in New York impressed with his preparation and attention to detail.

 

“He’s done some amazing things,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said. “Nobody’s worked harder. He knows his X’s and his O’s. He’s a good teacher, but Mike (Tannenbaum, GM) and I felt it was time to make a change.”

 

Crennel credited Mangini with the idea to try receiver Troy Brown at cornerback when the Patriots secondary was decimated by injuries. The move played a significant role in the 2004 Super Bowl run, as Brown had three interceptions and 17 tackles.

 

If Mangini’s intelligence can’t be questioned, his game management can. He was criticized for decisions he made in the Jets’ season-ending collapse, which featured losses to lowly Seattle and San Francisco.

 

Mangini was fired with one year left on his four-year, $7 million deal, and Lerner hurried to give Mangini a four-year contract expected to be worth about $20.

 

“He shouldn’t have gotten fired,” Woody said. “As players, we let him down.”

 

Lerner wanted a coach with experience who was still in his prime. Mangini fits the bill and could follow the path of Belichick, Marv Levy, Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy and Tom Coughlin – all of whom had much greater success in their second NFL stops.

 

In fact, nine of the last 11 Super Bowls have been won by coaches in their second jobs. Belichick has three of the titles.

 

There are also coaches who fail again when given a second shot, including Dick Jauron, Norv Turner, Wade Phillips, Dave Wannstedt and Herman Edwards.

 

Welcome back

 

Mangini got his start with the Browns as a 23-year-old ball boy who got promoted to public-relations intern, then low-level coaching assistant who specialized in gofer duties. He feels he’s completed the journey by returning.

 

“It is really special to be back here,” he said.

 

The Browns and Mangini could be writing a great story, one which Belichick was unable to finish in Cleveland.

 

“He’s a proven head coach,” Jackson said. “We have no more excuses.”

 

The former Jet doesn’t think Mangini will need any.

 

“I can’t believe he won’t succeed,” he said. “His focus is just on winning. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

 

 

 

 

 

Wow...... This is a great article... Im really starting to like Mangini, I especially like how his practices are designed to sperate those who give there all, and those who give a rats ass, no pun intended

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest 88fingerslewy]

One thing in the article mentioned sideline demeanor. I couldn't give $hit what someone's doing on the sideline as long as the team plays with intensity. Crennel got critisized for being too calm, etc. Bull$hit, Crennel's biggest mistake was he treated his players like men and they responded like babies. I think we'll see BE traded.

 

I like Mangini too, crack the whip and see what ya got.

[PlaygroundLegend]

It also says that Mangini (once the team started playing shitty) started getting riled up on the sidelines. I want to see him shoving that nose of his into our players helmets. But when things are going good... the article said he doesn't even recognize a players existence... thats harsh... but maybe its neccessary... If I were a player I would play my balls off to get the guy to notice me, or say something to me

[ballpeen]

Nice read..thanks for posting