Maybe the author had an axe to grind. Who knows. I don't remember Edwards giving up game plans during media sessions either but it took years before Herm started getting the "fisheye" from the local media. Mangini is different and he's had ONE successful season so far. Hopefully, he'll have many more to add to his resume but lets remember he's a 2nd year coach. His resume is still being built, not the finished product like a Parcells or a Ewbank. To me, Mangini did a great job with a team that sorely need leadership and had existing albeit aging talent in critical areas. "Tangini" is still a work in progress. We as fans have to be patient, but we don't have to be acolytes. I agree this author may not be Mangini's biggest fan, but he doesn't deserve to be run outta town. Not yet anyway....
Byz, it does appear from the reading that the author has an axe to grind. During the offseason, how many of these types of articles have we read over the decades? Herm had an open-door policy. Mangini is change. Mangini doesn't do the "transparency" thing. He's secretive. He's a poker player's worst nightmare. And so it goes with the media. What Mangini has to learn, is that in the media market that is New York/New Jersey, he will have to throw the media a bone more often than he would like. Perception is a powerful force as you well know. Mangini will get a pass from the Fans and the Media as long as he wins. We all know what the other side of the coin looks like.
I have to disagree with you CMan. Mangini is getting flak for not doing what you're assuming he "must" do, give a tidbit here and there. He's breaking that rule, and he doesn't care. I applaud that. Basically, what he's saying is: "Go ahead and judge me. But you're going to HAVE to do it based on my performance." As long as he has the stomach to deal with the fabricated stories, and has the control in the locker room to not allow the team to fall prey to BS stories, then he has no need to appease the media. I don't want a media darling. I want a Lombardi Trophy.
Exactly my point Alio. Nobody wants a media darling, but do we want a Media pariah? As long as he wins, he doesn't have to appease the media. That's the hook. Would it be wiser NOT to alienaite the media early on? I'd have to say it is. The Media in NY/NJ has far more power than alot of folks are comfortable admitting. They can make or break a person. If Mangini wants to be judged on his record, I have no problem with that as long as he doesn't get a pass IF that record comes up a bit short. Time will have the final say on this latest chapter in Jets history. Can Mangini repeat or is this just another level in his learning curve. Time will tell..
Why is sport journalism plagued by puns? Where has this culture of wisecracks and criticism come from and why is it embedded in sport media? I certainly didn?t take pun class 101 at University, but the more sport coverage I digest the more I think that wisecracks/criticism are a precursor to gain employment in the industry. If so, my dad would have made the best sport journalist of them all. This article had more to do with bad wisecracks/criticism than real journalism. Peace out, L3
Any coach in the game will become a media pariah when they start losing. That is just the cold hard facts of the game. The media doesn't deserve even a whiff of jack. I am all for the team giving them the silent FU or FO. They don't have to be asses to them, but I very much approve of the approach they take now. Football is not some reality show and does not require the attention-whoring the media would prefer. We watch football to see the games. Not learn how many times Mangold has a bowel movement in a day, or how many times Thomas is whacking it.
The bottom line here is his players obviously respect him, there has been alot of positive media for him in the last six month..I guess we should'nt get to fired up by some loser writing a BS article about Mangini..BUT it was not based on facts just him being a wise ass and thats why it pi**ed me off Mangini will be judged on W's and L's..period, He knows this and the bottom line is win football games..If I wanted a comedian for a coach I'd hire Jerry Seinfeld not Eric Mangini..I want a hard working , smart ,and tough coach who gets the most ot of his players and his team is properly prepared every week to compete...I believe thats who I have now coaching my NYJ's!!!
See, but we don't exactly agree CMan. Let me make an example by crossing the sport boundary into baseball. Alex Rodriguez, quite arguably the most talented baseball player to ever don a cap, was villified last year by the media. While still putting up some very good numbers, (some would argue just as good as most other years of his career,) however, he "appeared" to have failed far more often than he should, and in 20/20 hindsight, that was largely due to the NY media making more of his "failures" than was necessary. The NY media alone made ARod a public enemy, to his own fans. Then this year, he's having a career year, even for him, and suddenly he's everyone's hero again. Randy Johnson won 17 games in both of his seasons in New York. No one remembers that though. When RJ's name is mentioned in terms of NY, everyone remembers him pushing a camera man. A record of 34-19 over two years is forgotten, and he's remembered as a total failure. There's no "winning" with the media in the NY Metro area. I think Mangini understands this. Think of it this way, sure, the media is beating on Mangini for his attitude towards them. But what is the fan reaction? Even people who don't agree with his lack of information output are defending him. Stories such as the one this thread is based on are being discarded as trash journalism. Rather than Mangini feeding the piranhas, he just ignores them. No matter what he says, they're going to fabricate whatever story they want anyway. With his approach though, we as fans are forced to watch the team's performance, and judge him accordingly. Personally, I think it's pure genius. Man-genius.
Greatness is determined by time... I have said the same thing. One good season does not make mangini the savior of the franchise. Let's see what he does next year.
Of course, and the brunt of the abuse he gets will be from the media. Why? Because they have to actually do their jobs. We're now apparently living in an age where the sports reporter tries to raise himself up to a level of importance that he does not deserve. I can see this on practically every ESPN program, and in the language of most of these sub-par NY/NJ media turds. They all want more money, and to get more money in that business people have to know your name. And negativity seems to gain them more notoriety than actual well-written, well-researched pieces. KOZ hit it on the head in his Beat Writers thread. We are getting better camp info from board members than we are from members of the NY sports media. Because the fans WANT to do their own research, because we all know how lazy these writers are getting. Maybe if Ian O'Conner showed up to camp and actually paid attention, he would have been able to write something of substance rather than the smear piece that started this thread. I wonder, for all his blubbering about Mangini's personality, if Ian O'Conner, or most of the NY Sports media in general, understands what is required to run an NFL franchise effectively from the coaching standpoint. Not just point to HOF coaches and say 'He sure ain't Bill Walsh!' but I mean actually trying to understand all of the variables involved. Maybe they should hire some fans to write their pieces for them. That way there will be substance instead of self-important whining drivel.
I'm with Winston and Vick. I don't really disagree with the article but I do think he can help the team so I'm optimistic as I usually am.
I think the reason for articles like O'Conner's and any frustration from beat writers is that they are feeling the pressure from digital media and bloggers. If they don't get "special access" and report info from "sources" or that no one else has, they are no better than the bloggers, and in many cases worse. So, if Mangini limits and information the beat writers have no way of differentiating themselves.
Not speaking for the masses of genius lovers but quite honestly, I dont get guys that write these types of articles. Its a nickname. The nickname comes from half respect for the way he ran a football team his first year and half for the way it was run the previous years. The chickens with their heads cut off are spinning quite harmlessly in some deli instead of the Jets sideline. Mangini wouldnt be considered a "genius" if he followed 80% of the coaches that were fired. Not many truly believe that Mangini is a genius...or that the superbowl is just a matter of a year to two away. Most Jet fans that like the guy just enjoy putting on the TV or showing up at the game knowing that you will watch a cleanly coached football game (with the occasional goof onside kick). He gets the genius label mostly because Jet fans are not accustomed to having all their timeouts left with 3 minutes to go. The label comes because most non Jet fans are used to putting on the TV and watching the Jets take a knee to better their chances at making a 40+ yard field goal in Pittsburgh in January. What this writer doesnt understand is that the days of knute rockney coaches are over. Winning coaches in most sports are not shouters and screamers. If he feels so strongly about his position he should get a one way ticket to Kansas City where he can watch a coach give him daily updates about what it takes to be a man. Mangini gets his new found label more from the way things used to be around here...not because he really is a "genius". And as far as not being media friendly....exactly why should that bother me? Im not paid to fill space every day...I buy my paper to read articles about the previous weeks games and about the teams performance. This article is just another attempt for a writer to say he has to search too hard for a story..and quite honestly?, Im bored to death with it.
Good thread. I think that one often overlooked aspect or the Sportswriter-Athlete/coach is that there is a little long-running antagonism between the twp groups. Sportswriters were english majors, not athletes in HS and college. While they toiled away on the school newspaper and the creative writing club, the athletes got the glory...and the cheerleaders! Don't think for a minute that even as adults they don't get some kind of satisfaction at knocking down players and coaches a notch. I'm not saying this is a conscious vendetta or anything, but there is a built-in antagonism betwen these two groups that seeps into their writing.
Good post. Exactly. The system between press and Coach/player or anyone else that is judged by the media is a pretty interesting one. The press would be like your boss...except they rarely pat you on the back to your face. Win a superbowl or MVP and they tell the world what you already know. Do something bad and they are in your face...face to face, right after it happens. Some coaches play that game well..some poorly. Some, like Mangini, beat you to the punch before it goes sour. "I never liked you when things were good and I dont like you now". Bottom line is that does Mangini really deserve the nickname? Of course not. My point is does anyone really take that nickname seriously? Is he smart and detailed? 100%. So he gets the nickname.
I really don't think Mangini has alienated the media. Once he got comfortable with them last year, he was fine. Remember, he visited Dave Hutchinson in the hospital before the regular season got underway. And he also thanked the media after the season was over. That's what makes O'Connor's hatchet job so weird...it reads like it was written last summer.
I hope Ian O'Connor's wife bites down on his cock tonight. Out of pain, O'Connor throws his head back and bashes his head on the wall which then wakes up his kids who run into the bedroom to see him lying on the floor holding on to his dick while the misses is laughing. Mangini answers the media's questions the way they should be answered. Giving information in order for them to report what is going on with the team without jeapordizing someones stature, profile, reputation, or injury. And if O'Connor ever watched more than one press conference, he would know that Mangini can be witty at times, when he wants to. I hope O'Connors kids turn out gay.
