Tag: Eric Mangini

Former Patriots coach thinks Mac Jones faces long road to earn back respect

A former Patriots coach thinks Mac Jones has some work to do to earn back respect in New England.

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Former New England Patriots coach Eric Mangini appreciates Mac Jones taking accountability for the 2022 season, but he still believes the third-year quarterback has a long ways to go to earning back the respect of everybody in the Patriots’ building.

Mangini spent six seasons with New England from 2000-2005. He spent those years on the defensive side of football and was a key part in helping the organization win three Super Bowls.

As for Jones, he will be looking to bounce back from a difficult season last year. He passed for 2,997 yards, 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

The former first-round draft pick regressed a bit from his Pro Bowl rookie season in 2021, and he now enters a pivotal third year. The Patriots have new offensive weapons and a new offensive coordinator in Bill O’Brien. So there’s an opportunity for him to turn things around this season.

He recently talked about earning the respect of everybody in the building again, which is what Mangini alluded to when speaking with the 33rd Team’s Trey Wingo, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Greg Dudek.

According to Mangini, there was a lot of respect given to Jones upon arrival in New England, and it’s going to take more than an offseason statement or a social media post for him to get that back.

“I like what he said. I like it a lot because I’ve always felt that Mac didn’t appreciate how good a situation he came into,” said Mangini. “He had Josh McDaniels, he had Mick Lombardi, a great offensive staff, he had as stable an organization as you could get. He had a team that played complementary football. He came from a program that was similar. It was a perfect situation for who he was. And then Josh McDaniels leaves, he talks about, ‘Oh, I’ve had multiple coordinators. It’s not that big a deal.’

“There was a little arrogance to the way he approached things. And then he found out how hard it is to win consistently in this league, and how tenuous your position is and that you probably shouldn’t go outside the New England Patriots organization if you don’t like what’s going on.”

The 2023 season will undoubtedly be a challenging one, as New England has the hardest schedule in the NFL. Nevertheless, a cohesive coaching staff and an offense in which everybody is buying into should make things a little bit easier.

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Eric Mangini: Giants face a ‘rough road’ in second year under Brian Daboll

Former NFL head coach Eric Mangini believes the New York Giants will face a “rough road” in the second season under Brian Daboll.

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Former NFL head coach Eric Mangini likes what he sees from the New York Giants these days but warns that after such a long stretch of losing seasons, the team must now learn to live with their success.

The Giants finished at 9-7-1 last season after averaging just 4.4 victories over the previous five seasons, the worst skein in franchise history.

Mangini, speaking to co-hosts Michael Holley and Michael Smith on their Peacock TV streaming show Brother From Another, said Big Blue is likely to experience “hiccups” in head coach Brian Daboll’s second year despite qualifying for the postseason last year.

“It’s going to be a rough road,” said Mangini, who worked with Daboll in the early 2000s when both were assistants with the Patriots in New England.

“I made the playoffs the first year with the Jets and expectations weren’t very high and as much success as he’s had — and we had — you’re still building your program, you’re still putting your vision into place. And there can be a lot of hiccups in Year 2 and they haven’t added that many players.

“They had to pay some of the players that they had (Daniel Jones, Dexter Lawrence, and potentially Saquon Barkley) a lot more money than the previous season. Then when you look at their schedule, it’s brutal. There’s like three games in the first 11 days. There’s like seven out of 10 on the road. It’s like they made someone in the scheduling department angry with their success.”

Mangini believes Daboll has readied the Giants for rough waters but now he must teach them how to deal with success.

“And then there’s the part where you have to teach your team how to deal with success,” he said. “We always talk about dealing with adversity — and there’s a lot of research and time put into that — but people have to learn how to deal with success, too.”

Mangini summed things up by quoting legendary boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.

“Success is like a martini, it relaxes you. They have to do things better as they won’t be sneaking up on anybody. It’s a different formula they have to execute this season,” he said.

It’s certainly a lot of negatives to think about, that is for sure. If Brian Daboll continues to be deified by the football world, he has to show he can overcome all obstacles.

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Former NFL coach: Frank Reich should tone down praise for Bryce Young

Former NFL HC Eric Mangini thinks Frank Reich may be heaping a tad too much praise on rookie QB Bryce Young at this point. Here’s why:

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Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich wants you to know that Bryce Young is his guy. He’s called the 21-year-old quarterback the best player from the 2023 NFL draft, he’s said his football IQ is comparable to Peyton Manning’s and gave his opening session of OTAs a perfect 10-on-10 rating.

But is it too early for this much praise? Well, one former NFL head coach thinks so.

Eric Mangini, most known from his days of heading the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns, recently spoke with Trey Wingo and The 33rd Team regarding the love fest. And although he understands and appreciates why Reich would wax poetic about Young, Mangini said it could be doing the rookie a bit of a disservice.

” . . . I think he’s in a situation where the expectations are so big, and the best thing that you can do for him is take some of that pressure off,” he stated. “Your job should be constantly resetting expectations—and to some degree, lowering expectations. This is a rookie quarterback who’s gonna go through a ton of struggles and the last thing you want is the whole fanbase and the whole world thinking, ‘Well, he was so great early. Why is he suddenly struggling now?'”

Panthers fans probably didn’t enjoy reading much of that. But Mangini does raise a fair point.

Young is already facing some extremely high expectations. Not only did the Panthers draft him atop the board, but they traded popular wideout DJ Moore and a handful of premium picks to get to that No. 1 overall spot.

If Young experiences early growing pains, would the faithful start questioning the organization? Would they feel like they’ve been bamboozled, hornswoggled and/or hoodwinked?

Meh. We’re confident that the vast majority of fans are quite reasonable. But perhaps now, just a week into “gym class,” isn’t the best time take anything too seriously.

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Former Patriots coach pushes back on notion that Bill Belichick has changed

A former Patriots coach pushes back on comments that Bill Belichick has changed

Former New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel dropped an article that hinted on the idea that coach Bill Belichick had loosened his typical ruling with an iron fist on players’ comments to the media.

There have been remarks touching on concerns and uncertainties with the way the offense is being handled.

FOX Sports analyst Colin Cowherd took things a step further by saying the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach had changed. He pointed to the success, money and age being the primary culprit in the metamorphosis of Belichick.

Well, former Patriots assistant coach and former NFL head coach Eric Mangini disagreed with those comments, during an appearance on “The Herd.”

“I heard you talking about Bill yesterday when you said that he changed, and I don’t know many people in their 70s that changed,” said Mangini. “If anything, they become more ingrained in what they believe in. Bill has not changed. There’s been one comment from one guy. There wasn’t comments before. There hasn’t been comments after. And you’re not going to see anymore comments.

“That’s been handled. That’s been addressed. And there is a plan, and there is a consistent plan. And I can promise you that money hasn’t changed him. The fame hasn’t changed him. He’s been wealthy since he was in Cleveland.”

There aren’t many talking heads out there that know Belichick as well as Mangini. So his points are duly noted in this segment.

However, it will be interesting to see if other comments sneak through the cracks if the team struggles down the road. But so far, it has been dead silence since the initial comments—just like Mangini said.

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Eric Mangini says it’s ‘too late’ for Tebow to transition to tight end

Former NFL coach Eric Mangini doesn’t think Tebow’s odds of making the Jags roster are very high.

There are certainly a fair number of critics toward Jacksonville’s decision to bring in Tim Tebow as a tight end. The 33-year-old hasn’t been on a 53-man roster since 2012 and hasn’t played tight end since his freshman year of high school.

Among Tebow’s critics is former NFL coach Eric Mangini, who was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2006-08 and Cleveland Browns from 2009-10. On an episode of “The Herd” with Colin Cowherd, Mangini said that it’s too late in Tebow’s career for him to switch positions like this.

“Urban’s going through a learning curve with a lot of things…and this looks like one of those situations where he had a guy he likes and cares about and wanted to give an opportunity,” Mangini said to Cowherd, according to transcripts obtained from 247Sports. “As he comes in, looks at him and realizes, not just age, but the transition to a different position and the other skill guys he has available. It’s just not going to work. Maybe it works from a practice squad perspective, maybe he can keep him around in that way. Maybe he just wants the presence in the locker room and that becomes a practice squad type role, coaching in the locker type of thing. But it’s too late to make this transition and not enough to make it work.”

Tebow has long been considered a longshot to make the roster since his signing. Jags coach Urban Meyer didn’t offer much clarity when asked last week about Tebow’s odds of making the team, saying that his former player at Florida is simply “one of 90.”

As Mangini mentioned, Tebow could certainly be a practice squad candidate if he doesn’t make the 53-man roster, as the Jags’ thin tight end group could use a developmental prospect. The only question will be how much Tebow can actually develop at the position.

It’s clear most around the league don’t expect the Tebow experiment to be successful, and it’s fair to say there isn’t much reason to. But only time will tell whether he’ll have a role with the Jags come fall.

Ex-Jets GM says Joe Douglas should target offensive line with 23rd pick

Mike Tannenbaum thinks the Jets should draft an offensive lineman with the 23rd overall pick.

The question over what the Jets should do with their second first-round pick is a big one.

After grabbing a quarterback second overall, the Jets could go in a myriad of directions with the 23rd overall pick. That includes beefing up the pass rush, fortifying the offensive line, snagging another offensive weapon or strengthing the secondary.

All options should be on the table for Joe Douglas, but former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum thinks New York needs to grab another lineman to block for their new quarterback.

Tannenbaum is already a fan of Zach Wilson – the Jets’ presumptive pick at No. 2 – and he would know the importance of drafting offensive linemen early. His first two picks as Jets general manager in 2006 were offensive linemen. He picked tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson fourth overall and used his second first-round pick on center Nick Mangold with the 29th overall selection. The Jets went 10-6 that year under new coach Eric Mangini and Chad Pennington won Comeback Player of the Year thanks to a better offensive line.

Ferguson and Mangold became two of the Jets’ best offensive linemen of all-time and combined for 10 Pro Bowls from 2006-2015. Ferguson retired in 2015, while Mangold retired in 2016.

The Jets had not drafted an offensive lineman in the first round for 14 years until last year, when Douglas took Mekhi Becton with the 11th overall pick. That decision worked out well for the Jets and now Douglas has the opportunity to add another young player to his offensive line if he goes that route with the 23rd pick. There are a lot of good prospects in this draft, so even if Douglas chooses not to pick a lineman with his second first-rounder, he’ll have plenty of chances to find a starter later on.

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No team has fewer homegrown players than the Jets

The New York Jets have the least amount of homegrown players on their roster in the NFL, with just 22 players.

With the draft less than a week away, the Jets are looking to right their past selections gone wrong.

Currently, the Jets have the fewest homegrown players on their roster in the NFL. Of the players on New York’s roster, just 22 signed their first contract with the team, per OverTheCap.

The Browns and Panthers are the next closest with 26 each. Cleveland has had similar drafting woes as the Jets, while Carolina has experienced a mass roster exodus as it attempts to rebuild on the fly.

For comparison, the average amount of homegrown players on NFL rosters is 34.

Taking a glimpse at the Jets’ current roster, just 15 of New York’s 72 draft picks since 2010 remain. Those players include Brian Winters, Quincy Enunwa, Jordan Jenkins, Jamal Adams, Marcus Maye, Sam Darnold, Chris Herndon, Nathan Shepherd, Folorunso Fatukasi, Trenton Cannon, Quinenn Williams, Chuma Edoga, Trevon Wesco, Blake Cashman and Blessaun Austin.

The lack of homegrown talent the Jets have to offer is a poor reflection of past regimes, which cleared the way for someone with the drafting pedigree of Joe Douglas to take over. Mike Tannenbaum, John Idzik and Mike Maccagnan did not provide the Jets with ample talent via the draft, like most successful franchises; foundations rely upon. Stockpiling free agents to offset the lack of homegrown players hasn’t exactly been a recipe for success for Gang Green, either. The Jets have endured some miserable seasons after big-money free agents failed to make a difference.

Leading the pack in homegrown talent in the NFL are Green Bay and Cincinnati with 42 each. Minnesota, Dallas and the Los Angeles Rams each have 41. The common theme here? Each of these teams has been to the playoffs within the past five years, while the Jets’ haven’t played into late January since 2010. The Jets teams that went to back-to-back AFC Championship Games were benefitting from the draft picks that former head coach Eric Mangini made when he was in charge of the team’s personnel.

For the Jets to get back to the postseason — granted it will be easier with an expanded format — they’re going to need to hit on more of their picks, starting next week.

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Former Jets GM used hunting, fishing to bring Brett Favre to New York

Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum convinced Brett Favre to play for the Jets after telling him to go fishing and hunting.

With the NFL offseason underway, player movement is around the corner. As that process unfolds, details as to how teams courted their top targets are sure to emerge.

Sometimes, that just means fancy visits, lengthy talks and offering the most money. But, often teams go the extra mile to get their guy. That was the case with the Jets in 2008 when they convinced Brett Favre to come out of retirement and play for them.

After Favre came out of retirement, he and the Packers talked about a possible return. However, they ultimately agreed that it was time to part ways, but Green Bay wasn’t going to just release the Hall of Fame quarterback. So they put him on the trade market and received calls from the Buccaneers and Jets, among other teams. Of course, there was no guarantee Favre would play for just any team he was traded to.

Jon Gruden was the coach of the Bucs and was once Favre’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay. Gruden told Favre that Tampa Bay wasn’t a far flight from his hometown in Mississippi and that New York City wouldn’t fit his lifestyle.

That led former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum to take a deep dive into Favre’s hobbies. The exec assured the gunslinger that he would still be able to do some of his favorite outdoor activities.

“We’re going to make it mandatory on Monday afternoon and Tuesday hunt and fish at our owner’s farm 20 minutes away,” Tannenbaum, now with ESPN, said on Get Up. “He didn’t believe us; we actually sent Google satellite imaging of the farms.”

Once Favre heard those words, he approved a trade to the Jets. New York sent the Packers a mid-round pick in exchange.

Luckily for the Jets, they moved their training facility from Long Island to North Jersey that season. It was more of a rural area than urban, so it had plenty of spots for Favre to fish and hunt.

In Favre’s only season with the Jets, he led them to a 9-7 record, but they missed the playoffs. It was Eric Mangini’s last season as head coach.

If it wasn’t for Tannenbaum’s clever convincing, Favre may have never been a Jet. Make what you will of the quarterback’s lone season with Gang Green, but you have to give Tannenbaum credit for getting creative.

Eric Mangini believes the Patriots will overcome offensive struggles ahead of playoffs

It’s hard to believe that this Patriots offense could find its rhythm and crank it up before the playoffs.

It’s hard to believe that this New England Patriots offense could find its rhythm and crank it up before the playoffs.

They are in the middle of the pack in yards per game and Tom Brady’s only trusted wide receiver in the group is Julian Edelman. Rob Gronkowski is no longer around to draw double teams, while dominating as a blocker and pass-catcher. The offense has only consisted of Brady, Edelman and James White over the past few weeks.

New England is ranked No. 30 when it comes to passing in the red zone also. So, can they overcome these deficiency’s with only three games remaining in the regular season? Former member of the Patriots coaching staff, Eric Mangini, believes that they can turn it around before the playoffs begin.

“When you see N’Keal Harry, he’s come back, they’re learning about him. Mohamed Sanu, they’re learning about him. Isaiah Wynn, he’s just gotten back in two or three games ago. So as much as we talk about their development, these guys are new additions to the team and they’re still learning about them,” Mangini said, transcribed by NESN. “Do I think it’s where they want to be offensively? No. The problems they have on the offensive line are real and I’ve said that for weeks and weeks now. But I do think they have the ability to figure out a way to overcome those deficiencies.”

Brady does have larger, capable receivers in Sanu and Harry that he’ll have to trust and throw to. The Patriots play the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins to finish off the season. The Bengals and Dolphins matchups will give Brady the opportunity to experiment a little more, and attempt to develop chemistry with his new receivers.

Wynn’s development is ascending and he’s the reason that the Patriots have more affectively ran the football. His growing trust with Brady’s blindside will help keep some duress out of the pocket.

The Patriots carry one of the league’s best defenses, and only time will tell if this offense can find their rhythm in time for the playoffs.

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