Players reactions

[golfer704u]

Did I Miss this being posted already? Cleveland Browns players accept their responsibility in Eric Mangini's departure | cleveland.com

I think this story for me goes a long way to why I think this was a mistake to get rid of Mangini.

Name me the last coach that was fired that had a majority of the players speak in his favor AFTER his coaching especially with quotes like.


Receiver Josh Cribbs, who came out in strong support of Mangini after Sunday's game, wasn't available in the locker room, but tweeted: "I'm sad they let go of my coach, great man, great coach, just bad situation."

"He was there for me with everything I've been through this season," said Benard. "He showed a human side of himself that not many guys get to see. He really surprised me. If not for coach Mangini giving me a chance, I wouldn't be here. He believed in me and made me the player I am today."

Fullback Lawrence Vickers, who finally came around to the Mangini Way at the end of last season, was sad to see him go.
"We're blessed to play in this league, but at the same time, you wish things would have worked out for Coach," said Vickers. "He taught me a lot and he made me a better person, not just a player, but a better man. He taught me how to handle myself in my household and in my spiritual life. He cares about us a lot and he'll be missed.
"I have nothing but respect for him and I'll miss him as a coach, but I'll miss him even more for being the type of man he is."

Watson
"I think Coach Mangini is a great football coach. We just didn't make enough plays to win the games."

When coaches are fired players usually give bland non comittal answers, I don't rememebr anyone calling Romeo Crennel a great football coach when he was fired.

And all this amid talk from media and fans for two years that Mangini is a coach that has trouble relating to players....

I sure hope Holmgren knows what he is doing, I'll trust him for now.

[Masters]

I can find very similar quotes from 2008 when the team was obviously quitting on Crennel, and players about RAC when he was fired. The guys came to like EM, that's great, but it doesn't mean a thing about where this team was truly headed.

[golfer704u]

Also, is anyone else reading coments from Wallace in these stories and getting some idea that he somehow thinks that bringing in a new coach gives him a better shot to be the quarterback next year?

"It would've been very hard for me to come back [if he stayed]," said Wallace, who will be an unrestricted free agent. "[Now], I'd love to come back because I'd love to be part of the change in this organization."
He admitted that he held his tongue most of the season.
"I tried to," he said. "It was frustrating for me because I've been with a guy for so long, Mike in Seattle and knowing how to be a professional. Nothing against Mangini, but he takes a different approach in coaching. He's a defensive-minded coach. It was a little frustrating at times, but I just had to deal with it."


With team president Mike Holmgren and General Manager Tom Heckert both from the West Coast school of offense, there's a good chance the new coach will be from their family tree.
"It would be great for this team," said Wallace, who played for Holmgren for six years in Seattle. "I think it would be good in this division. I know because I've been in the system, we went to the Super Bowl in that system and we have the talent to do that on offense."
Wallace said the West Coast would be good for all three quarterbacks, including Colt McCoy and Jake Delhomme. "Obviously I've got the upper hand cause I've been in it for a long time, but yeah," said Wallace. "Jake has some history in it too. It's a system that quarterbacks can really flourish in. Obviously you see some teams go the Super Bowl with it."



SOOOOO how encourage are you all NOW in Holmgren bringing in a west coast guy? How happy would you be to see Senneca Wallace trotted out there in week 1 next year.

Stranger things have happened.....

[golfer704u]

Originally Posted by Masters

I can find very similar quotes from 2008 when the team was obviously quitting on Crennel, and players about RAC when he was fired. The guys came to like EM, that's great, but it doesn't mean a thing about where this team was truly headed.

Go find me ONE QOUTE after he was fired where someone said Crennel was a GREAT COACH, and made them the player they were.

You'll find the similar ones of "The players didn't win enough games for Romeo to keep his job and it's sad to see him go"....I don't think you'll find anyone, and definitely not as many in that wone story who called Mangini a GREAT COACH.

[golfer704u]

Originally Posted by Masters

I can find very similar quotes from 2008 when the team was obviously quitting on Crennel, and players about RAC when he was fired. The guys came to like EM, that's great, but it doesn't mean a thing about where this team was truly headed.

And it's not about them liking Mangini, it's about them seeing his vision and him being able to convince them that it was the way to do things. Jason said it before, I've said it before. THAT is the SINGLE hardest thing for a football coach to do. To articulate thier philosophy and vision to a team and get a large majority of the players to buy into thier system. From the looks of that article, a very large majority of Mangini's players bought into his vision.

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by golfer704u

From the looks of that article, a very large majority of Mangini's players bought into his vision.

Well I guess hyperbole is alive and well here in Barking Hard land. A very large majority??

Look we said the same thing when guys talked about RAC - if you liked your coach so much why didn't you play better? The coach did not do anything special other than to build a team of great guys who played hard. There is more to it than just buying into a system though -- it has to be a winning system.

CIN, BUF, CAR, JAX -- a lot of good his "system" did for the Browns against these teams.

[Vegasdogg]

By the way Wallace seems like an asshat with his comments.

[PlaygroundLegend]

That right there is my biggest beef with Mangini. Any player that has ANY semblance of cockyness he cannot handle. Mangini's "Doghouse" was the single most horrid part of this organization. Jerome Harrison was in it, Robiskie was in it, James Davis was in it, Don Carey was in it, Seneca Wallace was in it.... its just stupid. Players around the league see that, and dont want to come here. All the while, Jerome Harrison has a good shot at a ring this year, and has come through when given his opportunities in PHI

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

By the way Wallace seems like an asshat with his comments.

Yes he does. And it's been the same kind of crap from him for most of the season. He reminds me of DA. Thinks he's MUCH MUCH better than he really is.

Originally Posted by PlaygroundLegend

That right there is my biggest beef with Mangini. Any player that has ANY semblance of cockyness he cannot handle. Mangini's "Doghouse" was the single most horrid part of this organization. Jerome Harrison was in it, Robiskie was in it, James Davis was in it, Don Carey was in it, Seneca Wallace was in it.... its just stupid. Players around the league see that, and dont want to come here. All the while, Jerome Harrison has a good shot at a ring this year, and has come through when given his opportunities in PHI

You got any proof of this supposed "doghouse"? Of course not. If a coach doesn't play someone YOU (general you, not specifically you) think should be on the field it's because the coach is mad at him? Seriously??? What is this? Junior High?

As others have previously pointed out Harrison hasn't done much in Philly. He's done more than he did here but isn't that because one of their other RB's got injured?

Robo was in the doghouse? Yet couldn't really perform when he DID get the chance? So that's proof there was a doghouse and not that he couldn't actually run the routes or get open or the QB's couldn't seem to find him? (Could have been the QB's fault too)

Seneca Wallace is an ass who made it VERY clear he wanted no part of the team, he is Holmgren's boy and very much of a "what can you do for ME".

Holmgren said in his presser that he's not sold on a WCO. He's going to be open to other coaching trees and styles. That says to me that he intends to LET THE COACH RUN THE TEAM! Just like he did with Mangini. He may tinker here and there, but the ultimate game day decisions on what kind of offense or defense to play is the decision of the coach.

[Vegasdogg]

Hiway I don't think any of us could really know if there is a so called doghouse for players in Mangini's system, but I find it hard to believe and quite coincidental that the day Haden "got it" is the same day Eric Wright got hurt. That doesn't mean Haden was in a doghouse but why wasn't he playing, and who else should have been playing at some other spots? I think a case can be made that Haden maybe should have been playing sooner.

[hiwaygal]

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

Hiway I don't think any of us could really know if there is a so called doghouse for players in Mangini's system, but I find it hard to believe and quite coincidental that the day Haden "got it" is the same day Eric Wright got hurt. That doesn't mean Haden was in a doghouse but why wasn't he playing, and who else should have been playing at some other spots? I think a case can be made that Haden maybe should have been playing sooner.

I won't argue that part...there is some sense of loyalty to veterans as opposed to rookies. Seems a lot of coaches have that. Don't know why.

It's possible that Wright and Haden were doing similarly in practice and the "default" was to go to the veteran. But, in reality, Haden performs better in realtime games but we wouldn't necessarily have known that.

Who knows?

I don't like the inference that Mangini didn't let people play 'cause he was mad at them. That's just juvenile.

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by hiwaygal

It's possible that Wright and Haden were doing similarly in practice and the "default" was to go to the veteran. But, in reality, Haden performs better in realtime games but we wouldn't necessarily have known that.

Here is the thing though. Last season and this season there were two players not playing with the 1's on Sunday - Harrison (2009) and Haden (2010). Sometime last season Mangini was asked why Harrison wasn't playing, and we kept hearing "some guys get it sooner than others, guys learn how to practice and then they make it to the 45 on Sundays, some guys need to show up on special teams before they can play, yada yada yada ..."

And then Harrison rips off almost 600 yards at the end of the season, and sets a team record for yardage. Who played in front of him? Jamal Lewis, who tiptoed his way to mediocre after mediocre performance. Haden played much better than Wright this season, and now I am beginning to wonder who else should have been playing.

Was St Clair really the only RT we should have been playing?
Was Wallace a better option than Delhomme?
Should we have done more with Mitchell at WR other than reverses?
Did we really need to dump Jerome Harrison and James Davis?

I have heard all the explanations from Eric and now I am wondering if he was correct in his evaluations regarding who he took to the game on Sunday, and who he started. Certainly practice and classroom performance tells you a lot, but the job of the HC is to bring the best 45 on Sunday to give the team the best chance to win. I don't think Eric did that.