Shedding some light on the Mangini Era
Starting with the release of six veterans this week – five of which were former coach Eric Mangini’s “guys” – the curtain has been pulled back a little bit on Mangini’s failed tenure as Browns coach.
General manager Tom Heckert explained that one the team decided to give Mangini a second year in 2010 the team owed it to him to give him the players he wanted – including Kenyon Coleman, Eric Barton, David Bowens, Robert Royal and John St. Clair
“Once we decided Eric was going to be the guy (and return), we knew that was going to be the case,” Heckert told The Plain Dealer. “And we were fine with that. We were trying to do everything we could to win and help Eric. And Eric wanted these guys, and that’s fine. We understood that. So there’s no sour grapes.
“If Eric was going to be the coach (in 2010), we weren’t going to say, ‘You’re the coach and we’re getting rid of these five guys.’ That’s not a good thing, either.”
It’s a very good sign that management is willing to give the coach what he needs and take a hands-off approach to let the coach do what he thinks best. But we’re left to wonder, in the wake of another 5-11 season, if Heckert and team president Mike Holmgren shouldn’t have taken a firmer hand in shaping the roster this past season.
Take, for example, running back Jerome Harrison, who the Browns traded to the Eagles in October. We didn’t mind the trade as it was obvious Harrison wasn’t going to receive playing time in Cleveland. But Mangini wanted Harrison gone, and Heckert gave in.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t have (traded him) because Jerome … he wasn’t begging to get out of here, but he was acting like he wanted to get out of here,” Heckert told The PD. “It wasn’t going to do us a whole lot of good to keep him here. Jerome was kind of going through the motions. I think he thought he should have been playing more.
“I think (the RB depth) was good for a while. When we had Peyton (Hillis), Jerome and a couple of other guys here, we were OK. But once Eric wanted us to get rid of Jerome, that’s when it started (going bad). Once you get rid of that guy then it’s just tough to find guys.”
We all saw how that played out as Hillis wore down by the end of the season because the Browns had no viable alternative in the running game.
And even when the coach signed off on the Browns picking someone up, that still didn’t mean the player would see any game action. Take defensive lineman Jayme Mitchell for example, who never played a down after the Browns traded for him on Oct. 6.
“He was by far our best pass rusher and never got on the field, so I can’t answer that one,” Heckert told The PD. “Eric watched him (on tape prior to the trade) and Eric liked him. So I don’t know what happened after that. He’s a nickel pass rusher on third down. We thought he could really rush the passer.”
So on a team that only recorded 29 sacks on the season, the player who was “by far our best pass rusher” couldn’t get on the field?
Heckert’s latest comments help crystallize the comments he made at new coach Pat Shurmur’s introductory press conference:
“Like Pat said, from the day he walked in the door, we were on the same page,” Heckert said at the time. “Everybody says they want the character and hard work and stuff, but we’ve been through it together and we’ve done it with getting those players. I think we are on the same page when it comes to players and what we are looking for, and we’ve done it together before. That can’t be a negative.”
So now, in theory at least, the Browns have a trio all working together with the general manager getting the players that the coach wants and – presumably – the coach will actually put those players on the field on Sundays.
And as Heckert said, if that happens it can’t be a negative, right?
Of course, with the way things have been going around here lately, who really knows?
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