Laveranues Coles Goes Public with Contract Dispute
“I’ve seen Laveranues evolve into an incredible person from a standpoint of almost a Curtis Martin type of persona within the building in dealing with his teammates, his coaches and the support staff. He’s a good football player and he’s really a great person. I hope Laveranues is here for a long time.”
– Mike Tannenbaum, 1/7/2008
“[My agent] told me it was going to be a hard process … the worst-case scenario is I’m back here, playing under the same contract – and that ain’t too bad for me … I don’t think we’ll have any fireworks – publicly.”
– Laveranues Coles, 12/31/2008
[Fast forward to mid February]
Can you guess that things have taken a big turn for the worse?
Apparently the mutual admiration society between Tannenbaum and Coles is done, at least for now. Tannenbaum and the Jets have offered to guarantee Coles’ contract for the next two years (a cool $11 million) but that’s apparently all according to David Hutchinson of the Star-Ledger.
“I played hurt. I ran clear-out routes for Jerricho (Cotchery). They praised me for my toughness and not worrying about my numbers. They tell me that I’m an unselfish player.
“I do everything they ask me to do and then when it comes to business, they tell me my production is down. That’s not right.”
Coles has said that he was told he was going to be compensated in the offseason, and by his standards that’s yet to happen.
“They asked me to not judge them on how they treated other players and to trust them. I tried to trust them until this point. But now I’m here and I’m getting slapped in the face. I tried to give the organization a fair chance.
“They said my production is down. But some of the best wide receivers in the league don’t have their best seasons until they’re in their 30s, (such as) Terrell Owens. I think I have four or five good years left. I just want to know where I’m going to end my career and I’ve made it clear I want to retire as a Jet.”
I admire and respect Coles a lot, and if I was the GM, I would probably be tempted to ‘break the renegotiation rules’ for a guy like him. I fear what damaging the relationship between Coles and the Front Office means … to other Jet players, free agents, etc. I don’t know the particulars, but I think that a lot of guys didn’t quit on a terrible season because he didn’t quit. This could create a vacuum on the team in terms of leadership, morale etc. and I’m just not sure I like how this could play out.
On the other side, no one’s holding a gun to his head saying he can’t retire as a Jet .. just look at WR Troy Brown as an example of a guy who says he wants to retire as a Patriot and truly means it … through dropped contracts, limited play … you name it, he has stayed with the team. What Coles means is “I want to retire as a starter with a signing bonus and six million per year for four or five years … and my hope is that is with the Jets.”
I don’t foresee this ending well.
The difference between Brown and Coles is that the Patriots use this system and it works and they win Super Bowls. The Jets haven’t done jack and this is horrible, I feel stomach sick. I lost some respect with them the way they handled the Kendell situation but if they screw a guy on an atrocious team last year when he put everything on the line for them when most would sit on the bench and make sure they were healthy for their contract. It will be hard for me to root for the Tangini regime.
You can’t go and promote a team culture and then come back and not reward your players who play for the team rather than themselves. Lavernues Coles is the most talented player on the team and should be compensated like it. How are you going to keep talent around if you show that you’re not willing to pay for it? Things like this infect the mood and thoughts of other players and have large side effects outside of the monetary impact of the deal itself. Tannenbaum needs to start thinking about the kind of culture he wants this team to have rather than being a crack negotiator.
this is gonna end up bad…it seems the FO likes to lie to the players…they did it to kendle last year and now its coles…and who knows what other players they lied to so far…they appeared to be dishonest with kendle and now they are appearing to be a very dishonest
Tannenbaum will never sign a top-flight free agent if he shafts Coles like this. It’s not like guys are lining up to play for a rebuilding program where the players are regularly overworked in the preseason. Throw in a cheap and insincere FO to the equation and no one will want to play for them.
If this goes through the way I think it will, I will root against the Jets this year and hope they fire the GM and Coach, I know that sounds wrong but I cant root for the New England Patriots II, at least the real New England Patriots win Super Bowls. We have to settle for 4-12 seasons and shafting our players. I guess this just goes with being a Jet fan.
11 million over 2 years isn’t so bad. I am sorry, but I am not exactly crying for LC.
He’s no TO. He chased the money before and was miserable with Washington. Why can’t he be happy with 11 million dollars. He can come teach in my classroom and i’ll take 11 mill for 2 years with the NYJ.
Although, we have only heard Coles side of the story — this sounds bad, coming after the Kendall debacle. Tannenbaum will lose credibility and the trust of the players, if he does not take care of this situation. Coles has proven to me that, he is the real deal. I say trade or drop McCairns and give Coles what he has earned. I agree with Gr33n, Coles could be our best player — Mike, do the right thing!
jets4…i feel what your saying…im tired of being a bad team…now we’re going from bad to bad and retarded…whats with this organization…its hard enough to get top fa’s to come play for us but now it will be harder with a disloyal org. at that…we need a new persona starting with the owner on down…the image of this franchise has to change…
I really like LC, but I get really sick of the constant barrage of restructurings that players demand – particularly with two years left on an already upped contract. Yes, he plays hard, but that’s what he’s already paid a ton to do. He’s a good player but far from elite so doesnt deserve elite money. All this on top of the fact that he keeps hinting that he may not have many more years to play – so are the jets supposed to mess up their cap for years then have him retire? trade him fast.
Tim…Its not the fact that he deserves it or not, its that the Jets are just not loyal to their players. They told him they would talk about a new contract after the season and now they have screwed him
i know im just a frustriated fan but this is what i wish and hope for…a real die hard jets fan becomes a billionare over night and buys this team from this moron…lolol…just a dream…
you say you won negotiate in the media and then do it 2 months later? i’m not sure how $11m for 2 guaranteed is a slap in the face, but i cant imagine they are all that far apart. does coles really expect a $20m plus deal guaranteed?
he’s under contract, so yeah, this might get worse, especially if they bring in another fa wr. sounds like a training camp holdout.
Just when I thought all we had to worry about this off season was finding a quality starter at LG, RT, and OLB. Oh, did I forget our Quarteback situation. So if that wasn’t enough, now lets throw in a contract dispute with our best WR to add to the mix — Good Luck to our front office.
FYI there’s no cap hit if he is traded. I guess they might be inclined to get this sorted well before camp rather than let it be a distraction a la PK.
I’m disappointed in Coles. A long term extension for him scares me because he is constantly banged up. He doesn’t have anything like the size of a T.O. to take that constant punishment. Extend him by all means, but I can’t see them guaranteeing too much more than the 11 already on the table.
I don’t think the Jets have misled Coles as much as it being yet another example of a guy with an overinflated sense of his own value. However, Coles IS a gamer and if there’s a time to reward someone with a little extra, this may be it. Not an easy decision.
don’t let this guy fool you into thinking he’s chad pennigton or curtis martin. he’s not. he left once for more money, then to get him back we had to restructure to bring him back, and by restructure i mean pennington gave back $$$$$. as jet fans, i think we are MIS REMEMBERING coles and his greedy past.
sure he’s a tough guy, good player, runs through walls and so on, but i’ll raise the same question i did with kendall, how many pro bowls? he’s not a top notch guy. this isn’t MLB and there is no arbritration. 2 yrs – $11 mil unless the FO thinks better.
trade him if there is no cap hit.
i trying to figure out when the perception has become that bosses should give into outragous demands, becasue in the real world it happens all the time.
Kind of surprised at all the people viewing this situation as the team being “disloyal” to a player. L.C. jumped at Dan Snyder’s dollars and left the Jets without looking back once before. That’s not true, actually. He did look back. To trash the Jets mercilessly the second he put on a Washington jersey. Then he trashed the Redskins front office while pocketing their millions and fled back to the Jets for the big contract he’s now describing as unfair. Anyone see a pattern here?
For those making the Pats comparisons above, the Patriots would never have signed a player like Coles in their early, team building phase. They could afford to take chances on more difficult personalities like Corey Dillon or Randy Moss once the team culture of stoic, workaholic, non-attention seekers was firmly established.
Tannenbaum and Mangini would probably never have signed either Kendall or Coles at this stage of the team’s development for exactly this reason. Now they’re faced with problems for which there is no easy solution.
I would, perhaps, sweeten the 11mil. guarantee slightly, as a gesture of goodwill – mostly or the benefit of the rest of the team – while simultaneously investigating trade possibilities long before camp to avoid the Kendall debacle. Guaranteeing L.C. 25-30 million dollars would be a foolish short-term solution that would hurt the team in the big picture. That is the approach I would call, “Same Old Jets.”
I get what Coles is saying, but let’s face reality. Guaranteeing the last two years of the deal is actually a pretty good thing, he could easily outlast Tannenbaum and Mangini with that deal. If the real truth is he wants to finish his career with the Jets, well then the last thing he wants to be is an old, outspoken, highly paid WR when Greg Schiano or whoever comes in the door.
But, if they really said something to him to the effect of “your numbers were down this year” which sounds like something Tannenbaum would say, that was a stupid thing to do, because that’s just going to piss Coles off.
its fair if tannenbaum, depending on the figures coles agent proposed, to reply i dont think the production we get out of that spot justifies that. if coles then takes that to the satr ledger as “your numbers are down” well, so be it.
remember, after kendall left, it was all good. as the corleones would say… its only business.
guys know they have a short time in the game and it can end at any moment. guys get cut everyday. they’re trying to get max dollars through whatever means are available to them. and i dont blame them. but it when goes public this early, you’re not going to get a good response from the club. i’d probably harden my stance if i was tannenbaum.
I like Coles, but he isn’t in the top 20 of WRs in the league. Having said that, I would like him back, but not at #1 WR money.
It wouldnt be #1 WR money and Coles is a top 20 WR in the NFL
The fact is a guy like Coles, used to making big money, sees the end coming and is trying to cash out as much as possible. I don’t blame him for that. But I don’t blame team management for protecting its interests looking down the road, either. From the tone of some of Coles comments it seems he’s asking to be paid for things he did in the past, like an executive’s golden parachute rewarding him for career service. But the NFL and the salary cap are not set up to allow for that. The Patriots were one of the first organizations to realize that giving in to that kind of sentimentality is destructive to the long term health of the team. They’ve proven that, in spite of whatever backlash there might be from the perceived “disloyalty” to once valuable players, the benefits of such cold fiscal restraint eventually outweigh the drawbacks. Particularly if one brings in the right type of player to begin with.
minus B.B. cheating…N.E.’s team was basically built over night with half the jets defenders and a good offensive line…that being said…by the time N.E. had its 1st contract dispute they already won 2 S.B.’s…the jets are far from being a SB contender and we already have 2 contract disputes and QB problems…my point is we can’t afford being cheap at this time…im not saying throw money at coles either…but pay him alittle more than you offerd and for 3\4 years with incentives… this way we save face loyalty and FA’s wont shy away from the team…just my thoughts…
this is off subject…but i just want to throw this out there…what if dmac did fall to us at 6…do you think chicago will want TJ back in a trade for another 2nd rounder…what do you guys think…yes no maybe so…lol..
How many times is Coles going to ask for a big payday? Sorry, I like him a lot, but this is sounding like a broken record. Doesn’t get big raise, goes to Washington, is miserable. Comes back in a trade, gets a big raise DESPITE being under contract. Now he wants more money again. Two years guaranteed ain’t so bad. This guy is no TO. He is not worth a break-the-bank 5 year deal.
You can’t pay everyone top dollar. That is what so many people don’t understand. Everybody says pay him! pay him! whenever someone cries about money. Do that too often and you have no money for anyone else.
When I read the first several posts, I thought this board had gone mad.
Guaranteeing a player his last two years’ salary on a non-guaranteed contract for two years for the first time in team history is showing love. Coles is just another concussion or two away from being finished. You really want want to tie up more than two years salary guaranteed?
If he pulls a Duaner Sanchez without signing this offer, he gets nothing. If he signs it and never plays another down he gets eleven mil. Those of you who think this is not showing the love just don’t get it. Eleven mil for doing nothing. How many folks will make 11 mil in their lifetime.
If Coles can trade himself yet again for #1 pick, great. Otherwise, let him choose whether or not he wants to play.
I’d offer him extra, non-guaranteed years to let him save face and ensure he is a FA after two years. I might even add $500K per year although the existing offer is already very generous. I doubt these will shut up the Ciminis and morons but it will certainly expose Coles even more when he doesn’t accept it.
And this for a WR who is not tall, not fast enough to be a deep threat or as dangerous as a Moss, TO, Andre and Anquan.
I sure hope management ignores fans who don’t get it.
h
BOTTOM LINE: LAVERANEUS COLES isnt even in the top TEN wide recievers in this LEAGUE!! YOUR GETTING ELEVEN MIIIIILLLLIIIIOOONNNN DOLLARS!! SHUT UP AND PLAY!!
dak…we get a $9m cap hit if we trade Jones. Unlikely.
I’ll admit there’s a sense of panic in me about this situation, but at the same time, I do see that Lav continues to go back to the well again and again in terms of the contract.
He IS a gamer, I will grant him that, but is he running “clear out routes” because that’s where he’s more valuable at this point? Although I don’t want to have to replace Coles this season, there are guys down the roster that can push … Brad Smith is still learning, and I think could be poised for some good things … Wallace Wright is earning the time he does see in the offense, and Chansi Stuckey is the slot receiver the team badly needs (as long as he can stay healthy).
LC would be in the Top 10 if…we had a qb who could throw and not leave WR’s exposed trying to catch a slow floater. ..if we had a line that could provide protection long enough for the qb to hit the route…..if we had a coach and FO with any football savy. LC has been great , maybe if he walks then we are seeing what most Jets Fans should do. This culture of pennypinching and the fans will buy whatever we send out on the field is why the Cubs haven’t won a championship in 100 years. We need a new owner and our own stadium. It is sad that we don’t reward proven vets but throw crazy money at rookies..
jeff ..agreed not evereyone deserves bigger money, but how did that Kendall thing work out? Pay your leaders what they deserve.
As usual, I’m in agreement with Harlan — putting aside what he’s done (which he’s been amply and repeatedly rewarded for) guaranteeing $11 million over two years to a 31-year-old receiver whose best days are arguably behind him and is one jarring hit away from having his career ended permanently is showing a lot of love.
Let’s put it this way — if Coles was a free agent and the Jets signed him to a longer than 3-year deal with a big bonus and over $11 million guaranteed, I don’t think everyone would be screaming from the rooftops about what a great deal it was to sign a guy with injury concerns and age issues (in the sense that after 30, most receivers tend to go downhill). It wouldn’t be taking care of bidness the way we want it to be done.
There appears to be a pattern of promising players one thing, and then reneging. That’s where it gets problematic. The Jets’ FO is dangerously close to having a credibility issues with the players. This has nothing to do with actual figures, or who deserves what. This has to do with the basic principles of laying down a foundation on how you deal labor.
The only mistake the Jets FO has made was to tell LC come back at the end of the year and we’ll negotiate. The only problem there is that if Coles is expecting to get top 15 WR money in this league, its not going to happen. Is he a “gamer”? Yes. Does he play hurt? Yes. So did Wayne Chrebet and he never got payed nearly as much as LC and made plenty more big third-down catches. The FO is talking about offering him the next two years of his deal guaranteed. That’s 11 million dollars!!!! They would probably also be willing to add years onto the deal, but if Coles thinks he’s going to get 5 years and $30 million he’s nuts. That’s at least what he got to go to Washington and then he started crying like a baby when he got there. I understand he’s trying to make as much loot as he can now and sign his last contract for big money, but the reason he’s trying to do it now is because he knows that two years down the road when his current contract is up there won’t be a team willing to shell out big money to get him.
You want to know a player I compare Coles to at this point in his career. Hines Ward. Ward is only one year older but has taken a ton of punishment in his career and his body is starting to break down. It would be foolish to throw a huge contract with guaranteed money after the first two or three years at a player who will probably lose a lot of the physical skills that made him competitive over that time period. We’re not talking about a big receiver here, he will get hurt and let’s face it, the Jets are not going to go deep into the playoffs next year. So in the next 2-3 years when they have the opportunity to be a marquee player or two away from REAL playoff contention do you want LC’s broken body and big guaranteed contract coming between that player and the Jets?
Jerry, your post makes absolutely no sense.
On what do you base your statement, “There appears to be a pattern of promising players one thing, and then reneging.” Have you overheard conversations and then seen our FO reneg. Or are you only basing this on complaints voiced by some sleezy players and agents.
Think about it. Is a player who wants to break a contract with two or more years on it that he was not forced to sign to get more money, have any incentive to lie? If he and his agent don’t claim they were promised a raise they look like the sleezy bums they are (in Coles’ situation he has asked for more money than he signed for twice before).
Worse, you seem to forget PK’s last words on the deal once he got his trade and his dollars. He admitted it may have been a “misunderstanding” and there was no clear promise.
Reread the Coles’ stories. The Jets did not promise to give him more money. They promised they would treat him differently. And they did. They offered him something the franchise has never offered any other player. Guaranteeing the last two years of a guaranteed contract in spite of the risk it brings to the franchise as noted above.
Actually, these stories say more about the intent of the sports media who pander to them and who refuse to expose these greedy players for who they are (because complaints sell newspapers and they would rather report a lie than bite the quotes that feed them) and the moronic fans who jump on a FO in spite of the fact the claims make no sense.
I have serious questions about Tangini. I will want them replaced after this year if they don’t use our cap space and the draft to sign at least 5 and preferably six serious upgrades with at least of 5 of them being front 12 players. But, I think complaints about their integrity show more about the players making them, the media like Cimini and Hutch and Lebs who eat this stuff up, and those fans who respond to it like it was real than our FO which clearly has integrity — if nothing else.
How soon Jet fans forget Herm who regularly and publicly threw players under a bus. Eric has never used his players as an excuse. Mike has never called out a player who has called him a liar even when the claim is obviously specious.
Get a grip.
h
Jets FO makes so much of character and integrity from its players, yet has none of their own. Great teams lead by example not by hypocracy.
Kendall’s payack for being a teacher and mentor was to be pushed out the door for nickels and dimes he was promised. LC is the heart and soul of this team, and has character and leadership ability much like Curtis Martin.
I have been a loyal fan for 40 years….lived and died with my team. If the Jets do LC dirty I will find another team to call mine.
Neil that is how I feel, they are being hypocrites. LC is are captain and he is getting shafted.
Harlan,
Neil and Jerry are on the money (no pun intended). You saw what a difference it made to our team, to not have Kendall. Our O-Line fell apart and the team was in disarray. Maybe it was Kendall and maybe it was the treatment of Kendall. I would not have guaranteed LC $11 mil but, I would have paid him like a number one receiver, which he is for us. Without him the level of the receiving corp drops way down. If you noticed, last year, when Kendall stated that he was promised extra money — no one argued. The FO has to stop making promises or live up to them. This goes beyond LC’s desire for money.
Neil, I could not agree more. Our FO is a laughing stock!
Let’s see if I have this right. If a player willingly signs his name to a contract that says “I will play for this many years for this amount of money” and then halfway through it says “I changed my mind,” he’s not a hypocrite? But if the front office says “We’ll do something with you after the season and offers to guarantee 11 million dollars in money he was never legally entitled to and may never have earned, they are hypocrites who are shafting the player?
Yep.
Our front office a laughing stock? Clearly that isn’t true. You might think they *deserve* to be a laughing stock (and maybe you will be proven right), but if you think moves like trading Pete Kendall or not overpaying a 31 year old wide receiver (who most fans of other teams probably think we overrate) even register with anyone outside of Jets fans, you’re deluding yourself.
A contract is supposed to measure your future value – “we think you’re worth $X million over the next Y years.” Coles wants to be paid like he’s going to be a top-15 WR over the next 4-5 years. The facts say that’s just not what he is (or will be).
He’s broken 1,000 yards once in the past 4 years. This year, he was 39th in the league in yards/game (Cotch was 9th, so this isn’t just because we had QB problems). He only had 9 catches over 20 yards (Cotch had 18). He’s 30 years old, and he missed 4+ games this year with a serious injury. If other teams had their choice of any WR to take for the next 5 years, based on age and all the rest, would Coles be in the top 30? 40?
I love Lav’s toughness and leadership as much as the next guy, and guaranteeing $11M seems like a very fair offer to reward those traits and keep him around. For him to be insulted by this offer is beyond me.
Like with Pete Kendall, the only mistake the Jets would make by not caving in to LC’s ridiculous demands is not having a replacement. LC is 31, only 5-11 and is a concussion away from being another Chrebet or Toon. It would be foolish to overpay him. There are, at least, 1/2 dozen younger free-agent WRs that could match LC’s production. And, the Jets have more issues with whose throwing the football than catching it. I like Coles, a lot. I liked Mawae even more. But, it would’ve been dumb to keep Mawae at his excessive cap # coming off an injury and in the twilight of his career. Signing an aging veteran to a stupid contract sounds like the pre-lockout NY Rangers more than the Pats.
Instead of signing an aging WR with an inflated view of his worth, let’s get a pass-catching TE and a deep-threat for KC. WR is a fungible position in the NFL. Look, Cincy is getting ready to jettison Chad Johnson. Ocho Cinco is a top flight NFL WR, unlike LC, who is only okay. But, when you have a guy like Housh and Chris Henry waiting in the wings, together with a franchise QB, WR just isn’t that important. KC, needs a possession WR (Jericho), a deep threat (?), a slot guy (Smith, Stuckey, Wright, Ball, etc.) and a bona fide pass-catching TE (?). Coles just doesn’t really fit and now he could be a distraction.
LC, it’s been great knowing ya, but don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.
The unfortunate thing is that if there is going to be a trade, our leverage is gone, which puts his value through the floor.
If they do trade Coles, I’d hate for it to be to another AFC team.
Maybe there’s a compromise position where both sides can save face, but it doesn’t look likely.
bent…thanx for the insight…i didnt know we would get stiffed for 9 million if we were to trade TJ…anyway…this LC problem isn’t gonna end well…i really dont care if we keep coles or not…but what i do care about is the image of this organization…what will other FREE AGENTS think of this when all is said and done…thats what im worring about…just my thoughts…
there is just too much over reaction to the effects of not giving in to coles.
pete kendell was a complete joke and its only a matter of time before he pulls the same thing in washington. seattle, arizona, then here. coles has followed similar patterns with contract negotiations. he’s the guy who screwed himself by going shopping with pete warrick. thats the reason he dropped to the third rd and cost himself $$$$ in his 1st contract. sure it wasn’t this regime that took the chance on him, but it was this organization and he has time and time again proved that meant nothing.
if anything is going to screw this team with recruitment in free agency, it will probably be the in season workouts. we’ve already heard whispers from guess who? Coles (publicly of course), of course that things have been too hard or atleast harder than Herm’s “you look tired today, why don’t you rest” approach.
its fine, your gonna get some free agents and your gonna lose some. herm landed ty law, but he also couldn’t get the god father to his son. bradway couldn’t convince a cornerbacks wife the advantages to the new york city metropolitan area vs that of minneapolis. free agency is what it is and i doubt the contract status of pete kendall or lav coles would impact that
Let’s put it this way, at this point would you rather have Coles or Berrian for the type of money Coles is probably asking for? If the answer is Berrian, then Coles is not worth what he’s asking for. Berrian has Coles in speed, big-play ability, age the only thing Coles has going for him over Berrian is experience which is another way of saying he’s old.
The Coles situation provides a good example of why I’d like to see the Jets clean house as a means of furthering the rebuilding process.
Pennington, Vilma, and Coles are all useful players that have in the past been the ‘heart and soul’ leadership of the team. Now that their time is past, better to move them for what you can get (a collection of 4th rounders? That wouldn’t be too shabby) rather than paying to have them a) provide decreasing returns on the field and b) negatively influence the next generation of Jets leaders.
From a football perspective, the logic of parting ways with this group has been enumerated well by others — Pennington, high cost for a backup, and requires a different set of personnel than Clemens to succeed; Vilma, not a fit for the 3-4; Coles, a gamer but fragile, aging, and doesn’t have the size or speed needed.
And I agree with subwayfare above — the players, in this Coles, is the one being unreasonable, not the FO.
48 comments and counting… WOW.
In 2008 the Pats will dominate and the Dolphins will be much better. The Bills have a decent passing and running attack. As for Team Tangini, they’re on borrowed team. They might be out before the decade is over.
LC is right to demand a new contract. He has a certain mojo this team SORELY lacks. I’d rather have him play Left Tackle over Brick. sure he’d get manhandled but at least he’d give a good fight.
Before we start bullying our players like the other franchise in our division we need to actually start winning. We’re not the Pats so Tangini needs to understand that. Coles is a player with awesome talent and will play no matter what. He’s without a doubt a leader on this team and we need him on offense. The last thing we need is another Pete Kendal situation. With all due respect to Jerricho Cotchery, whom I love and plays with the same fire and intensity as Coles, is not a number 1 wideout. He needs a guy like Coles on the other side, not to mention Clemens doesnt mind throughing to #87.
Good Luck guys! In a couple of years the team will be consisted of boy scouts and teachers who will be upset getting just 11 millions over two years.
This FO scares me to death!!! The issue is not about Coles… it is how they end up loosing control of every single situation ,… I think that none of the players respect them and I am sure the NEWS are out. I just pray that they do not turn the organization into a Joke.
There is another Jeff? Amazing how many people showed to respond!!! Good post Bent!
I believe this is the worst thing possible for the organization. Since this is now public everyone knows about it, and it is going to hurt the FO in trying to attract FA this offseason.
I love Coles, great player gives a 110% on every down. But he is not a top-10 receiver in the NFL. He is damaged goods, and if he keeps getting injured he will only be around for 2yrs. The problem is that he is overvaluing himself because of his past performances, and his abilities are underutlized. Since he is a deep-threat receiver that can’t be thrown deep since the O-line is soo bad that the QB has to dump passes since there is no time to throw. I wish he would have never had gone public since that made me lose any respect i had for him.
Lets look at this another way. There certainly are intangable and abstract benefits to having Coles remain happy and productice. Not least of which is the dynamic impact he has on other players ability to step up and perform under adversity. The core values the Jets FO lives for are pesonified by the actions LC takes daily in the face of adversity.
What is it worth to keep him happy? How much better are the Jets as a team by him being there? Are the examples of achievemnt he brings sometimes intangable and not covered by his contract….and what kind of team would the Jets be without him?
The man that LC has evoled into, and what that means in todays game….role model, leader and mentor are priceless. These are things not covered in any contract, but without them there is no team.
We are fans, and love our team. We pay for tickets and Jet merchandise and without us no team can prosper. The front office will have to answer to us if they do LC dirty…and we must respond. LC has suffered by not having a Quarterback that can get the ball down the field, yet never complains and considers his friendship with Chad to mean more then his production numbers. Look at the selfish receivers out there who would scream and point fingers. Look at Coles fearless and selfless approach to the game…what is that worth?
Neil, there are other guys out there who do the same types of things for their teams, but if that’s your criteria for paying a guy what appears to be an outrageous sum then in the long-run you are not going to be successful and will run into the same type of cap purgatory that the Jets did when they had to let Mawae, Ferguson and McKenzie go (the last two especially).
Sorry Neil, but to compare L.C. to Curtis Martin is an insult to perhaps the greatest Jet of all time. Did you ever hear Curtis Martin publicly whine about the off-season conditioning program? Did he ever bitch in the press about how difficult training camp was? Criticize the game plan in the paper? Have himself quoted saying, “The team has slapped me in the face,” and in the next breath say he wants to retire as a Jet? What kind of mentoring for the young players is that exactly? Hell, next to Coles Pete Kendall was a consummate company man.
The fact is that Coles is, and always has been, the quintessential malcontent. What he gets is never enough and nothing’s ever his fault. Coming out of college it was everyone else’s fault that his shoplifting arrest was being held against him and he dropped to the third round. He swore undying loyalty to the Jets for being the team to finally take a chance on him and then fled to Washington for the money at the first opportunity.
He is not a good example of a team player, character guy, leader or mentor at all. What he is is a very good football player (not great, mind you) who is tough and plays consistently hard. His upside is high enough that it would make sense to pay him well and overlook his cranky, difficult, potentially disruptive attitude as long as he kept it reasonably in check. Chastising the front office in the press in yet another effort to redo his deal while asking for top fifteen money pushes the equation way into the negative.
I would hope that management learned enough from the Kendall situation to be actively searching for his replacement and hoping some other GM is foolish or masochistic enough to offer something for him in a trade.
My sympathies to Curtis Martin, the very definition of character, for being the victim of such a comparison.
perfectly said by subway.
OK guys…listen up. His team elected him captain, yet you feel he lacks character and leadership ability. Somehow his team feels differently then you.
I have followed Coles from his days at FSU through his current days. He has evolved as a man and as a player. He suffered the horrible indignity of being molested by his father as a child, and went public with it several years ago. He now helps others that have suffered the same horrible fate. His public service and charity work are well documented. His to best friends on the team are Chad and Wayne…WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?
He stands up to Mangini in the name of his team mates when Mangini overworks his team. He held the locker room together during a miserable season. He played with a severe injury and put his future career on the line. I do not know which LC you know, buthe one I have come to know is rather remarkable.
Curtis is old school and has a different mentality then most. He is the benchmark of character and honor, but LC is cut from the same fabric. If you ask Curtis what he thinks about Coles I am certain he would agree with me.
Lastly, if he had a strong arm Quarterback throw downfield his stats would make him a top 10 receiver on a yearly basis. His routes are crisp, his hands soft and he has deceptive speed.
Sounds to me Subway like you are a few tokens short of a full fare.
neil –
most don’t deny most things you just said, but he also has had draw backs. like it or not, 2 years $11 mill is enough for everyhting you just described.
You guys kill me. Football players have a very short career, and should be greedy….we all know the owners are, and make a fortune on the work and sacrifice of the players.
Its like a fortune 500 company crying about the high commissions it pays its sales staff. Lets examine the careers of 2 former Jets Wayne and Al Toon. Thy ended up with brain damage and miserable lives of fear and pain.
For what? certainly not enough money was paid them for the human sacrafice they made. They helped fill the stands and made the owners a fatter profit.
Coles is already one concussion away from brain damage…and he got it as a New York Jet going over the middle to make his best friend Chad look better then he was. He got it making tough first downs, and playing hurt.
Who are you to say what he is worth. Whatever the market will pay him is what he is worth, and whatever he can get is still not enough.
Talentless entertainers like Garth Brooks make 60 million a year. Julia Roberts gets 9 million a movie. Lazy, stuffed suit CEO’s make 50 times what the top football guys get.
Go have a look at Earl Campbell the great running back…a long look and see the consequenses of the sport we love to watch. Then sit back and mind your own business when it comes to how much these guys deserve to get paid. How would you like a fotball player to determine what income is fair for YOU?
Neil,
Two years ago I was teaching autistic pre-schoolers for $10.00/hour. Now I know my work was worth a lot more than that. These guys are making MILLIONS. It’s their choice to beat up their bodies. There are plenty of people in the workforce with the same types of skills aside from football working construction and putting their bodies at risk as well for a lot less money.
Yes, Coles has put his body at risk, but that’s his choice and the NFL is a business. It’s not the Jets responsibility to pay Coles for the damage to his body. It is their responsibility to make this team viable in the short and long-term. I don’t think Coles is worth huge #1 WR money for the next 5 years.
Neil,
I am with you. You made some very good points. If a player doesn’t fight for his money, the team will use him to death. Coles would be a much better reciever, if the last two GM’s didn’t forget about the Offensive Line. Coles is our best reciever, by far. If we don’t do the right thing by him, we better have a good draft. We have a tough enough time scoring with him. Without him moving the ball up the field — good luck. Some fans have very short memories.
I wouldn’t say anyone has a short memory or is underestimating what Coles did or does for the franchise. There is just legitimate concern over giving guaranteed money to someone who may be (as Neil says) “one hit away from brain damage”. I don’t think anyone would have a problem with a big money, long term deal, as long as it is not made up of guaranteed money, so that if he clearly isn’t going to be worth the full sum, he can be released.
By offering to guarantee $11m, they have already done more than enough for him.
In all seriousness, in my opinion, if Coles is at risk of having serious issues with concussions similar to Toon or Chrebet, then he should be thinking about retirement, not encouraged to continue playing for several more years by being offered a long term big money deal. That would be irresponsible and does the opposite of rewarding him for all he has done in the long run.