Job Security: Mangini and Co.
I’ve seemed to notice in the comments some overall disgust with the coaching staff in recent weeks. If only there were a tool that put a numerical value on fans faith in coaching staffs…
Oh, yeah, ESPN.com offers a coach ratings program where fans can vote on whether they approve (or disapprove for Bills, Lions and Rams fans) of the job their favorite team’s head coach is doing.
At the moment, Eric Mangini, and by extension, I believe, his coaching staff are currently sitting at 74%, down from 91% following Week 13 and 80% to start the season.
Now, 74% is still a very good number and ranks 11th overall and 7th in the AFC. It’s understandable that the ranking has gone down from the insane 91% after the Titans win and I totally understand the skepticism and overall disgust with the team’s effort the past three weeks, but let’s break down the facts:
- Many Jets fans, and rightfully so, wondered if Mangini could win the big game. He did, twice, on the road.
- Could Mangini and Brian Schottenheimer adapt to successfully integrate Favre into an offense built on a strong running game and for either a first-year starter in Kellen Clemens or a weaker-armed Chad Pennington? Overall? I’d say the answer is yes.
- Given the multitude of new weapons in the front seven, would Mangini and Bob Sutton finally be able to stop the run? The team has slipped the past couple weeks, but this is still the team that shut down the Bills rushing game in Buffalo and the Titans in Tennessee. Granted, the Titans seemed to abandon the run but it was the Jets that forced their hand.
- And this is the most important issue: This is a 17-week, 16-game season. It’s not a three-game stretch or two-game skid. The team, and the staff, must be viewed on the whole, not the short-term viewpoint. And this was a team that was 4-12 last year. The front office spent the money, got the right players (7 Pro Bowlers, wow), and is in contention for a division title and a playoff berth.
I think Mangini and Co. get a bad wrap and too often Jets fans rip into them based on one or two weeks. Last year, the criticism was totally justified, but this year, Mangini has corrected many of his mistakes and has this team playing good football on the whole. Yes, they need to finish strong, but I guarantee you if they do that rating will go sky rocketing back up. But if they don’t, if they don’t win the division, Mangini’s head should not be on a chopping block. He has built a solid foundation, the team has drafted well and, generally, spent well. We all knew this would be more than a 2-3 year process. Turning around an organization as morbid as this one takes time. The man and his staff have earned it.
But that’s just one man’s opinion. Thoughts?
Filed under: Opinion
i think this coaching staff needs to get a damn clue, obviously we have the talent, if we sent 7 people to the pro bowl this year and still feel that 1 or 2 of our guys got snubbed, obviously personnel is no the problem here. im tired of hearing about how we improved from last year….i mean wtf did you expect to happen if we went and invested in two of the best o linemen in the game, the most dominant DT in the game, the best run blocking fb in the game, up graded your linebacker core, and oh yeah….pick up a hof qb in the offseason? somebody tell me! stop focusing on the one bad year last year….werent we 10 – 6 the year before?…with pennington at the helm!?…with a way less talented team!? we are one of the most tralented teams if no the most talented team in the nfl, with nothing to show for it. miami is looking us right in the eye right now for first place and what did they do this offseason?…trade away the BEST player on their team, put chad in at qb for TRUE leadership, change their coaching staff, and have managed to be in tie for first place this late in the season after winning 1 game last season!….ive seen alot of you jet fans be content with mediocrity quite lately, maybe thats whats holding this franchise back. there is a single edge we have on a less talented miami team and a beat up NE team. everbody is saying “why are you guy comlplaining, were in 1st place for once?”..yeah not becuased we earned first place but because age and injuries have been catching up to the patriots. lets be honest the, the only reason the jets jhavent soloemly claimed first place is because of NE’s dominance…thats it…the jets would be in contention for first place in any other division, but we share a division with a team that went 16-0 last year and are still managing to win some how. a lot of you people dont worry about this season, and are comfortable with the fact that we have a winning record, probably becuase you so called fans have no faith in your team, to play better and over achieve. no wonder we havent had a title in how many years.
I really want Mangini to succeed, ’cause I can’t bear the thought of yet another new coach, system, etc. That being said, and I know that it’s hard to tell if any team is any good from week to week these days, this is Mangin’s 3rd year, and the team should NOT be getting worse each week. I’m waiting to hear after the season that he and Sutton have been throwing shoes at each other in meetings, or that Favre tells Schottenheimer which plays he is allowed to run, or something stupid like that to destroy the teams focus and/or concentration. Maybe we already heard it- when a team captain is pulled over at 6 am the day before a home game and has obviously been out all night- I don’t care what he was actually doing, he should have been resting and focused on his JOB. You think the Patriots ever do that stuff? Please.
Nice reminder, Corey. That needed to be said.
Here here! Sometimes people are way too critical. Not to mention rapid hiring/firing of coaches is a ridiculous way to expect to win.
However, I do think Sutton needs to go. Being able to stop the run is due to talent (chalk that up to Tangini) and not to scheming. With an offense this potent, risks should be taken. Mangini is a very aggressive coach overall and I don’t understand how he could be happy with this defensive playcalling.
I think Mangini gets a bad rap, too, due in some small but real part to his appearance and demeanor.
His style only becomes frusrating to tolerate when you’re piping hot and he’s seemingly unfazed and maddeningly monotone.
It doesn’t annoy quite so much when he’s on an even keel after a win, which most would argue is a good thing.
I also think people like to hold their favorite players (who they worship and whose jerseys and fatheads they own) largely harmless for as long as they can.
Therefore, the coaching staff make for convenient foils when things don’t work out swimmingly (esp. coordinators from Schotty to Sutton to Hackett to Cotrell and so on. For the record, I’m guilty of this, too, and want new coordinators.)
The truth is that in this league of parity and circumstance, no coach delivers the goods every year, in every job — not Holmgren, Reid, Cowher, Dungy, Gruden, Coughlin, Parcells, Belichick, Shanahan, Gibbs, Ditka, et al.
The grass is always greener for coaches we don’t scrutinize so closely.
The interesting dilemma facing the Jets is the possibility that Bill Cowher would come to NY. I like Mangini, I agree that we need another two regular season games and the 2009 season to pass final judgment, and I’m a loyal guy. But, like Leon Hess, I want results. Can we afford not to hire Cowher? I say anything less than at least one home playoff win, and, if Iron Jaw wants the job, we have to give it to him…
Bogner, just a point. Last time Leon “wanted results” we got Rich Kotite and 4-28. Just saying. Not saying Cowher isn’t an interesting possibility, but Bill was great cuz he got over a decade with the same team.
truth is that cowher will draw the ire of this site’s inhabitants, as well.
truth is also that he’s not going into an organization that has a strong gm already at the helm. he wants to buy his own groceries, don’t you think?
Hang on one second. You say if they dont’t win the division that their heads should not be on the chopping block, because it takes 2-3 yers to turn a team around, yet the team they will lose the division to was 1-15 last year.
As far as actual “job security” goes, Mangini is going no where for a long time. I’ve heard some peole suggest he’s in trouble. Couldn’t be fsarther from the truth. Woody J knows a successful org is based on long term stability. He will stick with Mangini for a long time, barring something horrendous happening of course.
The jury is still out on Mangini. He has only been an actual head coach for three years so it is tough to assess. Unfortunately, he is going to have to learn on the job b/c he doesn’t have any head coaching experience beyond the Jets.
I think that most of the personnel is in place but there is a problem with our coordinators and play-calling. Hopefully these problems will be addressed in the off-season, but we must ride it out for now.
He’s a young coach and still growing into the job. I’d like to see him get more aggressive with in-game management and curious if the staff included a top flight D coordinator like Romeo.
I really want him around. If he were to be let go, I have a real feeling he’d get hired and then become a top NFL coach somewhere else — which would be an unmitigated disaster for this franchise.
A new D coordinator and better offensive play (Either QB or playcalling) = Contender
We are 9-5 and contending for the division with 2 weeks to go! Who wouldn’t have signed up for that at the beginning of the season?
No matter what, Mangini stays. If the defense collapses these last 2 wks (my call is that they win out and go deep into the playoffs) then Sutton should go. Shotty has had some shoddy calls but we have scored a LOT of TD’s this year. So bring back Mangini and Schott and put Sutton on that hot seat unless the D comes up big again and helps us win out!!
defense win championships,herm was bad but his defense was better.sutton must go and bring in someone that has no link to mangini and has complete control over de.
IMO Tangini will return regardless of the this season outcome and I believe they should. Sutton needs to go.
Mangini deserves to come back. He took over a disaster after 2005 and has had 2 winning years. He needs to get better as a head coach but other than an elite few, who doesn’t? He knows his stuff and I’m afraid if they panic and fire him, we’ll be losing a guy who bring long term success. Mr. Sutton is another story.
Mangini is a horrible coach…stop the trickery and run the ball! You have two pro bowl running backs one who has the most yards in the AFC. Mangini do something about the defense it is horrible teams like buffalo and san francisco that go up and down the field on the jets. Miami is going to destroy the jets if they play defense like they are now. I dont care if it is Bill Cowher or whoever just replace mangini and bob sutton
Wouldn’t it be nice if Tangini visisted this website to see how the fans feel. We hated Sutton last year and we hate him even more this year. Mangini’s a smart guy who’s best coaching years are ahead of him. Woody knows that and thus Mangini’s job is safe. But he needs to apease the masses and dump Sutton!!
Mangini is waiting for Ryan to be free. Then Sutton will be gone.
i’d doubt tangini bother monitoring the site, but you can bet jet pr flacks are. would bet 1 or 2 are among us lowly commentators.
dear jet pr flacks,
hi.
Who’s going to fire Mangini? Mike Tannenbaum? They are essentially a team. Are people saying they want Mike T. fired as well? Because that’s likely the way it would have to go. And then what? Bring in a new GM along with Cowher? You’d probably have to because most coaches at Cowher’s level demand a great deal of input on players, often to a team’s long-term demise. It would probably be a terrible idea to overhaul the CS and FO right now. More like the kind of move responsible for the Same Old Jets Syndrome than any miracle cure. I’m pretty sure Woody and Co. realize that and – sorry to all the people ready to run him out on a rail – he likely isn’t going anywhere.
Having said that, I think Mangini must shoulder responsibility for the team’s inconsistent play this season. I’ll give him that he had to work a large number of new starters and personalities in this year, a significant challenge, but consistency, quality control, preparation, motivation, proper adjustments, etc, are the Head Coach’s job as much as anything. He’s a very smart football guy with an instinct for the game but his individual style as a leader is still a work in progress. He is clearly a Belichik clone in terms of philosophy, but he won’t succeed attempting to use the exact same methods of conveying that philosophy and motivating players. He just doesn’t have the long history of success to command that same level of attention and respect. He also hasn’t had nearly as much time to collect the players most likely to respond to what comes natural to him. I just don’t see management firing him at this stage. Very likely a new DC next year, Rob Ryan seems like the best fit, and maybe even a replacement for Schott. But I think the Penguin will be with us for a while.
Tannenbaum’s job has to be pretty safe if the number of pro bowlers he has brought in is as important as it seemed when people were using it as a reason to run Bradway out of town.
Sutton needs to be fired, or better yet, maybe Mangini should take over the defensive coordinator role for the rest of the season and get this defense playing aggressive. I know for a fact that Belecheat would not allow this lack of defensive intensity. Step up and show some emotion Mangini, you are no longer a puppet! WE HAVE THE PLAYERS NOW WE JUST NEED BETTER SCHEMES!
Jeff..you are right on. We have the players. My question is who is coaching them to tackle the ball and not the runner. Watch them..they go after the ball and the runner is still moving forward.
Win six and all is forgiven!!!
It’s been said before, so I’ll say it again. Sutton must go (sorta like the Joe must go of the 80’s).
your a joke if you think this coaching staff has done a good job. They were blessed with a ton of talent, and are this close to blowing it all.
The defense is terrible. The offensive scheme is a joke.
tell me how Chad Pennington goes from worst QB in the league to the one of the best.
tell me how Brett Favre armed with one of the best arms in NFL history now looks like Chad Pennington throwing 5 yard passes and not attempting to throw the deep ball.
AND PLEASE, someone explain to me how you only rush 3 guys yet EVERY SINGLE receiver is open.
Mangini, Shotty, and the defensive coordinator need to go after this year. I don’t care if we make the playoffs
Corey, I don’t know what team you are watching but, my Jets have played like dogs for the past three weeks. We got lucky at the end of the Buffalo game.
No one would be critical, if the team hadn’t fell off the table. After watching, there is no other conclusion to come to except – The Coaching Sucks!
Can they wake up? Yes. Will they wake up? That is the problem, we all don’t know. I guess we will see , in Seattle. If the Jets blow out the Seahawks, and the defense gets back to business — I don’t think you will hear any bitching.
i agree 100%, this is not a one year thing here, when mangini was hired it was for the long term, to build a new foundation, mind set and overall culture of this entire franchise, and i think hes(and mr. t) well on his way! coaches are hired and fired to prematurely these days, look how long it took cower to win! who feels like starting all over again?maybe ridingmywave does(im not sure if he was ripping or endorsing mangini) but i dont think our players or the majority of the fan base does!
IMO, I think that Tannenbaum is doing a terrific job. We’re lucky to have him.
Regarding Mangini, I’m still on his side, but my faith is wavering. I’d really like to see some more passion in him sometimes. Yet, if I was the owner, I’d certainly not fire him… yet. I’m prepared to give him at least one or two more years, depending on the team’s performance.
However, his two coordinators are a completely different story. I don’t have any faith in them. I think both Sutton and Schotty need to go! (Mangini really should have changed Sutton last offseason, but I guess when he couldn’t get Rob Ryan he decided not to make the change.) I’d like to see us get Charlie Weis on offense (Is he really keeping his job at Notre Dame?) and Romeo Crennel or Rob Ryan on defense. I think having two new and improved coordinators on our coaching staff would make a HUGE difference next year.
We definitely have the talent to be a playoff team at least, if not quite a Superbowl team yet. While yes, we have made great strides from last year, I think any failure to make the playoffs this year, (especially considering New England’s slide compared to last year,) in an indictment of the coaching staff, particularly the coordinators.
With a few more players and especially two better coordinators, look for us to be a very serious contender for next year’s Superbowl! Go Jets!
im also getting tired of people saying the jets got lucky against the bills, jauron coached the whole game as if the bills had nothing to lose( going for it on fourth down 2 times, fake punt etc. which led to points) and thats why buffalo was in any position to win! elam had the presence of made to strip the ball, ellis would not be denied the endzone! good teams make their own luck! the jets WON that game and i expect them to find a way to win their last two and if you dont feel that way f**k you go root for the giants
i think the problem that lies with mangini is;
1. he s coaching in NY and no one is ever satisfied, thats a given.
2. we expected him to be belichek and he s not. he s not even close. doesn t mean he cant win a SB here(thansk to Mr T), but he’s not the HOF coach that belichek is. He s the stud prospect tearing it up in AAA, that amounts to no better than avergae player in the majors.
we a re going to have to live with the fact that mangini is NOT belicheck. plain and simple.
so the question we’re left with on this board is should he be fired becasue hes not living up to tha specific hype?
the problem with our team now is consitancy. the big wins are the ones that the defense and offense both show up for, but too many times we ve seen only one squad show.
last week, favre and CO. showed up in the first half. the defense was opprotunistic and WTF was the deal with ST?
think back from game one up until now and the strengths and weaknesses of each game.
where does the resonsibilty fall for this?
there will be a change in the offseason. there has to be. sutton was as good as gone last offseason if the guy from oak was coming. i can t blame Mr T for keeping him another year though, but no doubt he’s gone. love the idea of romeo. kind of think schott is gone too. what happened sunday? he had the 1st two drives scripted, then we go into a shell? i had enough of that with paul hackett. when your on your killing it, when your off you couldnt score in a whore house.
oh and cowher is not coming to NY. ever.
Mediocre sports franchises and investment portfolios share a common trait: failure to recognize and divest bad investments fast enough. I’m not ready to label Mangini a “dog” just yet and I do think he deserves one more year to prove himself. However, four years is enough of a sample for Woody and Tannenbaum to determine whether he has the necessary (and rare) skills to be an exceptional HC. Otherwise, we’re stuck with a merely adequate coach and the 40 year wait continues. Admittedly, it’s not an easy call to make. I just hope they don’t take 8 years to do it. That’s how you wind up going 40 years between SBs.
I don’t believe these posts.
If Mangini does not make the playoffs after three years and drafts, after getting more than $150 mil of FA, after having the main opponent lose its starting QB for the year (not to mention all its RB for various games, several DL for games, LB for many games, etc.) and our other main opponent was a 1-15 team that because of the cap had to let a pro bowler (JT) go and now have as their QB the guy we determined to not be adequate, with more than three times the number of pro bowlers than these opponents, with inexcusable loss to the Raiders and two lucky wins versus KC and the Jills, he should be fired.
You all are so used to losing it has become acceptable. One cannot blame the coordinators. Mangini can replace them and has not nor has he trained them to do better. One cannot blame the players; at this point we have more talent than any team in our division and players we hand picked.
The issues with this team are being ready, game plans, adjustments, use of personnel that makes no sense, accepting inept performance as acceptable, carrying four kickers on a roster, etc.
This team should easily win the AFCE. Failure to do so should be rewarded with a pink slip.
harlan
Mike, the Bills continue to run the ball, we lose that game. We got lucky – their coaching was worse than ours.
I would much rather be praising everybody than complaining but, with all the healthy talent that we have on this team, I have just been trying to figure out why we have looked so bad for the past three weeks. It comes down to coaching. Not coaching tackling or blocking but, play calling on both sides of the ball.
We have the players. We don’t have to wait any set amount of years to win. We can win right now. If we play the way we did in Tennessee — we can beat anyone. Now is the time.
If we play aggressive on both sides of the ball, we will crush Seattle and Miami. Our coaches are the ones who dictate our style of play. I just hope they open things up.
Mangini is a bright young coach and i for one am damned happy he’s coaching my NY Jets..This organization now has a professional feel..We are prepared every week and even last year the team played extremely hard all 16 games..i think the players like Mangini’s attention to detail and feel they are well prepared to win everytime they take the field..It wasn’t always that way Jet fans..
Lets keep some real stability in this organization..Mike and Eric work well together.Obviously Eric is not afraid to make changes in personal, coaches, philosphies..I truly believe we have an exceptional young coach on our hands and Woody should reward him with a nice long contract..
They are heads and shoulders above where they’ve been, but if Seattle is getting 5 points at home after the Jets have behaved like the Jets and lost to everybody on the coast, well, I’m layin 100 on the hawks. I just don’t think this team has the gonads to win the tough games yet. I don’t think the coaching staff has the gonads yet. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m not I might as well make some money on it.
I to agree that Mangini needs to stay.What do we/you want?Vince Lombardi.And I doubt very much that Bill Cohwer is walking in the room.Right now his heart and mind is in North Carolina with his wife and daughters.And the amount of money and authority he would command,if your on Mangini for this!I can only imagine what would be said we he too hits some potholes.Lets give him some time and maybe even Crennel or one of Buddy’s sons Rex or Ryan.Then make a determination.
P.S. And try to ignore all them TOOLS on them talk shows.”Cause it must be great to have a job thats a spectators sport”.And all of that opinion from the last guys picked in gym class.They know who they are,and we do to.
Amen Harlan
just for the record im not against mangini, i just hope he doesnt get stubborn and not acknowledge that there is motivation and proper gameplan lacking. he must realize that our defnesive scheming is terrible, sutton HAS to go. im not a big believer in changing coaches like underwear, if its not broke…dont fix it, but there are spots in this staff (especially defense) that need a bandage or two.
Harlan is right
If we can get Cowher to come here then its time for Mangini to step down to D coord. or hit the curb.. Cowher never had a team that was SB worthy he always ove rachieved.. He won 13 games with KORDELL STEWART and Mangini cant win a game with a HOF QB and 7 other pro bowl players. Mangini will get a job anywhere because he can never adjust to teams during the game and he ruined his rep. with the whole spygate.
any way you put it he needs more time, this happened that happened,people who pay damn good money to sit in that stadium want results. they dont want to watch the same old thing over and over. same mistakes week in week out. mangini has done a terrible job this second half and really doesnt have the credibility nessacery to lead a veteran football team on a deep playoff run. we’re probably stuck with him next year but he wasted a whole year with his stubborn bookwormy attitude. his team is a reflection of him, talented , no emotion or fight, unable to adjust. this is what happens when you try and copy someone else and dont have your own way. NY fans can spot a FUGAZE
How is Mangini talented? Our players are talented, yes, but Mangini is closer to a caveman then a talented football coach.
Fire Mangini