I wrote about the following topic for the newspaper … but I may as well put it in the log as well …
I like quarterbacks coach Carl Smith. A lot. He knows his stuff. Been in the NFL 20 years, and for 13 of those he was an offensive coordinator.
Smith knows the rules enacted by Eric Mangini, that he's only supposed to talk to the media when requested, and with permission. But he stood and waited for me after the game in a tunnel outside the locker room.
"You have a tape recorder," Smith asked, then stepped into a tunnel to talk.
And he wanted to talk about coach Eric Mangini.
"They missed it on Eric," he said. "They missed it."
The "they" he referred to were the folks who criticized Mangini throughout the early part of the season, folks like … me.
"I don't blame anybody," Smith said. "Because it's hard to know. It's not Entertainment Tonight.
"They missed it on (Bill) Belichick. They missed it."
In Cleveland?
Smith nodded.
"There's this whole big ball of football stuff that you have to know," he said. "And even for the people that know it it's hard to get it. They missed it.
"It's got to be people that know three techniques and hand placement and under and over and chapter 5 and spacing and slooping and all those things. You have to have lived and died it to have a chance to get it. They missed it.
"Because Eric can (win). He can (get it done). He knows.
"And while I'm sitting on my box here. They missed it on (offensive coordinator Brian) Daboll. Totally missed it on Daboll. He's terrific.
"Unless you're in there with him and know that big old ball of football stuff you're going to miss it. He's terrific.
"He's got an uncommon connection with his players. Linemen, receivers, running backs, all of them. That's rare to connect with the whole boat. He's had unbelieveable training — a decade – with Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Pennington, Troy Brown.
"And he learned it. He knows it. He's got an unbelievable work ethic. Every game, every snap, the connection to the Xs and Os. They just missed it. He's terrific."
It was not the right time to argue with Smith, so I merely asked him a question: What happened at the beginning of the year then?
"That's all I got for you," Smith said with a smile as he walked away. He then said how great it was to win four in a row before turning a corner.
Does this make me pause?
Yes. Smith is knowledgeable and worked with Mangini all season long.
Does it change my opinion on the future of Mangini?
A little, but not enough to say I think he earned the right to stay. Not with the 1-11 start and the mess that was present early in the year. But at this point I have to say that what I think matters less than little, though, because it's all Mike Holmgren's call.
Was Smith saying this to save his own job?
I very much doubt it. He's been around long enough to understand things. Which includes part of his profession means constant hirings and firings.
I just found his words interesting, so I felt everyone should read them. All of them.
Well Pat if thats not Fair and Balanced enough for your haters then they are A$$#$! I concure 1-11 and such a mess the likes we have not seen since the Stepian era….BUT if (he had me at Hellomgren ) says he stays.. in the end all i am is a Fan.. with my only recourse if i do not like it is to spend my money elsewhere..Go CAVS!!!! Go Browns Hey they are 9-23 the past 2 yrs its something to build on………………………………………………………………
By praising Daboll that really takes away from the nice stuff he said about Mangini. This comes from a Mangini supporter.
By the way, the Steelers were just eliminated from the playoffs. That loss to the Browns was the nail in the coffin. Eff them.
Oh, come on … if this isn't a guy who's brown-nosing for a job, then I don't know what he is. What's the difference if you had a tape recorder while he was secretly waiting in a tunnel to talk on the record when he's not allowed to? As if your notepad wouldn't suffice. He had to have a tape recorder for posterity. Big Carl. Deep Throat II.
Mike Holmgren. Head Coach, 2012.
"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Dear Steelers. The Browns ruined your life and ate all of your steak. Enjoy the playoffs from home. Looking forward to your ancient roster next year. You suck.
By the way, ASAP start your draft coverage Big Mac!!!! Senior bowl next week…
The win streak was gratifing, but so is using the bathroom after a big meal.
I can understand you feeling some remorse/guilt. Now you can understand why the hangman wears a mask.
Do you think that Holmgren may bring back some of the Cleveland Browns office staffers that Mangini fired last march? I wonder if they are having a party celeberating Mangini's apparent short future.
Payback is a bitch, just ask Kokinis
I don't doubt that Mangini is a decent enough football coach. It's all the other things that make me question his job – the way he treats players and Brown's employees, his draft selections, his hiring and inability to co-exist with Kokinis, his handling of the QB situation, his refusal to play Jerome Harrison earlier in the season, etc.
Maybe Mangini gets IT (meaning something that can lead to greatness) — and I don't mean it insincerely as perhaps the proof is his coaching up the practice squad castoffs to win 4 straight. That is, he must know something … but it's not enough in itself. To succeed he needs to communicate IT — at least to hand picked coaches who are able to teach IT. Maybe Mangini has as much (or exactly as little) personality as Belichik, but he hasn't selected the assistant coaches that Belichik did (or he isn't getting it across to them so that they can implement it before 12 games have gone by) and it will be awhile before he has the reputation Belichik has where the best want to work with him.
I think of it like an editor knows how to write, but that doesn't make him Stephen King (or Faulkner or someone if you want to be high brow) — or lots of people have an idea of what needs to be done in America … but it doesn't get one elected.
Pat, I sure appreciate your coverage of my beloved Brownies. Here's the thing: while I share your skepticism of coach Mangini, doesn't the team's play over the last four weeks at least make you wonder if his "system" isn't working? Do the players have to love him in order to play hard, disciplined football for him? We finally got to see a Browns team play real NFL football in December for the first time in two decades. What could it hurt to give the man at least one more year with a front office filled with true football minds? With 11 draft picks, and an actual football hierarchy in Berea. couldn't Holmgren and Mangini make it work?
Thanks for the insights from Carl Smith. And no, the man wasn't lobbying for his job. Regardless of what happens with Mangini, he will be working in the NFL next year.
1. Holmgren's call sure enough. It is fun to weigh in but Holmgren and Mangini need to think about what to do next.
2. It was fun to watch the last 4 games. For 10 years I have been waiting for this new Browns team to gain 1 yard on 4th down AND believe they would actually do it.
3. We beat the Steelers. I can't let this one go. Getting the Browns geeked for a Thursday night game and then winning, unbelievable and then to run the table nice.
4. To bring in some solid players who filled holes throughout the year was really sometihng.
5. We did not go 6-0 to start the season and miss the playoffs!
6. The Bad: Kokinis
7. The Bad: Quarterback Situation
8. The Bad: The Secondary
Wow! 10 points is hard to do, which is why I guess you are the professional.
don't know about mangini,but clearly there are some players that do not know the word quit.(cribbs,harrison,jennings,roth,moore,etc.)unfortunatly,these guys were not deemed to be good enough to get on the field for most of the season.WHY IS THAT?the judge of talent on this team is in need of serious scrutiny.i love my browns and what a great finish to a tough year.thank you browns.
Cribbs was on the field most of the season – some thought too much Cribbs too early.
Roth was not on the team until late and I believe he started the Sunday after being acquired on Thursday – Getting Roth was identification of talent.
Harrison – Too much Jamal this is not the first regime to rely on him too much.
Moore & Jennings – Could it be the coaching up of these guys that made them play well when they got here? They are street free agents not draft picks.
my $.02
I won't challenge whether Mangini gets "it" or not, but I'm pretty sure that Holmgren gets "it", so I'll trust that he will make the right call.
The last 5 weeks have been impressive. To "bmsjr's" point: We've been waiting for more than 10-years to see the Browns run with authority and to be able to close out a game through the ground.
I'd be fine with giving Mangini and his assistants more time – - but for more than 2/3 of the season, I cannot forget that this team ranked dead-last in offense AND defense – - and the coach couldn't function with his hand-picked GM. That's cause for concern, to put it lightly. Here is hoping that Holmgren's fresh perspective will assure the right decision.
I think the criticism about the use of Cribbs was not letting him run the ball more the first half of the season. His carries for the first 7 weeks were: 3,1,0,1,1,6,1. He averaged 7.8 yards/carry in those 13 rushes.
Since Pat is afraid his total visitors will drop below 100,000 if he writes about the Cavs, I will add this here. Andy Varejao (#1) and LeBron James (#3) are among the leaders in plus/minus in the NBA (point differential when a player is on the court):
http://xr.com/plusminus
I feel like most of the Mangini haters forget that he inherited a team that couldn't even score a touchdown for the last half of a season last year. Idiotic to expect instant miracles at the beginning of this year. Given some time and orientation, Mangini has the team turning a corner. They've played with discipline all year, and then they are starting to win. And for those that say the schedule got easy, maybe it did, but they played with heart, they won the games they were supposed to win and they never got the chance to play a good team….except for the sliding Steelers. They went from 1-11 to 5-11. That's got to count for something.
So Pat, WHAT ABOUT THE 1-11 START you and all the Mangini haters are so obsessed with? Is that REALLY more important than the finish to the season?? Are you listening to the coaches and players? Or are you just unwilling to admit you are wrong?
Oh yeah, I forgot, Mangini took down the mural in the headquarters.
terje,
I love your quote from "Back To School"
Here's my suggestion for Holmgren.
The next GM of the Cleveland Browns should be George Kokinis!
Give him a nice salary increase to drop his lawsuit. Give him the FULL backing of Mike Holmgren. Give him the proper authority of a GM, and let him do his job!!!
It would be nice for Mangini to, if he stays, be forced into eating a huge helping of humble pie!
Some of us have never even bothered to bring up X's and O's when we have railed against Mangini. I'm not qualified to know if he knows them or not, but at least I understand that is only one part of the equation in being a head coach. A lot of guys know the X's and O's. Probably most guys in the NFL–and not named Carthon–know them. But that doesn't make them head coaches.
Romeo knew them. Butch did too. Neither of those guys were head coaches.
A head coach isn't just a coach. He's the HEAD COACH. It's a multifaceted job, and the football part of it is not the only part. It might not even be the biggest part. So, yeah, Mangini knows about spacing and hand placement. Wonderful.
Unfortunately, he doesn't know anything about being a head coach. He proved that in New York, and he cemented it here. And when Beavischik was here, he was clueless also, although not as clueless as EM. BB has admitted as much, saying several times in interviews that he learned from the loads of mistakes he made in Cleveland, and that he has changed considerably since then.
Carl Smith is an accomplished man, but he can take his criticism of my criticism and fold it until it's all sharp edges and . . .
Because Carl Smith just missed it.