Mangini running Berea like Napolean

[Schruted it]

http://www.cantonrep.com/sports/x110296 ... ng-friends

A group of writers were sitting around the other night doing what we do best before a Cavaliers game — eating. While munching and waiting for one of the NBA’s best teams to take the floor, what do you suppose the conversation turned to?

Well, it didn’t turn to as much as it was consumed by ... the Cleveland Browns.

We are such miserable louts and as such take great joy in finding misery. There is no better place to find that than at 76 Lou Groza Blvd. A Browns insider told me the atmosphere at headquarters is, to put it mildly, miserable. New Head Coach Eric Mangini is running the place like Napoleon.

Days after Mangini slobbered about the history and tradition of the team, he had a mural of former Browns greats taken down near the players’ entrance. OK, maybe he wants the team to make new history and quit living in the past, but they had better understand the past.

The Browns are — hands down — the worst operated pro team in Cleveland, and that’s all we could talk about?

We were incredulous at some of the team’s moves, such as owner Randy Lerner handing out close to $30 million in salaries, then purging his staff.

Many of us had friends who worked for the Browns. They were laid off from $50,000-per-year-type of jobs. It’s hard to wrap your head around that when Lerner is paying former Head Coach Romeo Crennel, former GM Phil Savage and former Offensive Coordinator Rob Chudzinski about $28 million not to work for the Browns next year. That’s bad business, and that’s being a bad owner.

If you want to know what kind of flavor new GM George Kokinis has when talking to the media, stick a piece of notebook paper in your mouth and chew on it for a half hour.

I give Mangini and Kokinis no more than three years before Lerner has sold the team. That’s right. Lerner will sell the team before he hires another head coach.

Mangini is alienating players already. At a recent public function that Mangini and Pro Bowler Shaun Rogers attended, Rogers said he had yet to meet Mangini but hoped to that night. A few minutes later, Mangini walked past Rogers, who’s hard to miss at 360 pounds, without introducing himself.

Yeah, I see how things are starting. Mangini will run off the guys who don’t worship at his feet in the locker room, then need more “time” to rebuild the roster, thus keeping Lerner’s endless circle of rebuilding going.

If Lerner, Mangini and Kokinis fail, maybe he’ll do us a favor and sell the Browns to LeBron James.

[pup]

Fucking christ people. We really need one of these threads per week?

Yes, he is a dick. Yes, he has pissed off all of the lazy journalists who are no longer on anyone's speed dial. It will be the same next week, when another reporter reports it.

The mural is stupid. It is being moved to a more visible location. Another one is going up in the location of that one.

[jb]

Fucking christ people. We really need one of these threads per week?

Yes, he is a dick. Yes, he has pissed off all of the lazy journalists who are no longer on anyone's speed dial. It will be the same next week, when another reporter reports it.

The mural is stupid. It is being moved to a more visible location. Another one is going up in the location of that one.

LOL.

When it is as Porter writes you'll be the first to pile on about what a member he is.

[pup]

Fucking christ people. We really need one of these threads per week?

Yes, he is a dick. Yes, he has pissed off all of the lazy journalists who are no longer on anyone's speed dial. It will be the same next week, when another reporter reports it.

The mural is stupid. It is being moved to a more visible location. Another one is going up in the location of that one.

LOL.

When it is as Porter writes you'll be the first to pile on about what a member he is.

I am not doubting it is like he says it is. I just don't care how he treats the media. I will begin judgment in April. Unlike most who already have buried him.

[Lubber]

I have it from a very reliable source that at the function Mangini and Rogers were at, Mangini was on his way to speak to somebody and that is why he passed Rogers.

And while Rogers is a big dude, I am sure there were other big dudes in attendance, and Mangini did not bring along his scale to distinguish between the 360 pounders and the 300 pounders.

As Pup said, the mural is in the process of being moved to a better location with more visibility.

Many of us also have friends that are being laid off right now due to the economy, but do you see us crying about it in our reporting (message boards, blogs, etc). In addition, those friends were let go because they were leaking info to Mr. Porter and others.

Who cares what the reporters think of Mangini. I like his hard ass attitude. Reporters don't win games.

[Chris]

As Pup said, the mural is in the process of being moved to a better location with more visibility.

This calms me a bit; where did you hear it though? And what is going up in its place?

[osucrazy18]

good god u guys are right we are gunna get one of these a week until training camp then they'll be five. mangini is a asshole, and to be quite honest we need that, i hope it turns into a swagger not a brain billick

[DrPoove]

As Pup said, the mural is in the process of being moved to a better location with more visibility.

This calms me a bit; where did you hear it though? And what is going up in its place?

In the OTHER thread that this topic was ALREADY discussed where Pup provided a link.

[hermanfontenot]

Napoleon won a lot of battles.

[pup]

As Pup said, the mural is in the process of being moved to a better location with more visibility.

This calms me a bit; where did you hear it though? And what is going up in its place?

In the OTHER thread that this topic was ALREADY discussed where Pup provided a link.

There is no link. More of a friend of a friend. But very trustworthy.

New mural is Browns players leaving the tunnel with a chinese proverb "Most battles are won before they even begin."

And the Hall of Fame Mural is going to the front entrance.

[Chris]

As Pup said, the mural is in the process of being moved to a better location with more visibility.

This calms me a bit; where did you hear it though? And what is going up in its place?

In the OTHER thread that this topic was ALREADY discussed where Pup provided a link.

There is no link. More of a friend of a friend. But very trustworthy.

New mural is Browns players leaving the tunnel with a chinese proverb "Most battles are won before they even begin."

And the Hall of Fame Mural is going to the front entrance.

That is awesome if true.

[Triple-S]

Many of us had friends who worked for the Browns. They were laid off from $50,000-per-year-type of jobs.

This explains a lot, and should be bolded in the article,

You know what

More power to the guy.

We have not had solid leadership in the locker room dating back to the 80's. Sometimes being a dick and not letting the media know every single little thing that goes on in the organization can be what the doctor ordered. Do successful NFL franchises have leaks and press conferences every other week? I don't see Belichick doing that, I don't see Tomlin doing that, and I see a team like Dallas implode because of it.

As for not introducing yourself to Rogers, uh, So what? If Rogers was so intent on meeting him and such, he could've went up to him and introduced himself. I'm sure it would've been no big deal.

[Earle]

Who gives a shit about a whiney reporter?
we finally got a coach with some balls!

[Bill the Butcher]

Napoleon won a lot of battles.

And was also exiled to an island in the Atlantic...

[4thQtrGlory]

Im so tired of the drama. Let the guy do his job. Romeo made everyone his friend....howd that work out for us? As long as Mangini has the team's hard work and respect, who gives a fuck how we get there? Nothing else has worked thus far, so lets try things his way. The guy hasnt said more than a few words since being hired, and he has turned in to an asshole? Do you want him to give the "state of the browns" address every week from his house, just to put us at ease? The media is pissed and turning their backs on him because he isnt telling you his master plan for 2009. We dont need updates every 5 minutes. In Cleveland, no news is good news.

[Brendan]

Napolean ruled the world. 'nuff said.

[mattvan1]

New mural is Browns players leaving the tunnel with a chinese proverb "Most battles are won before they even begin."

Sounds like Sun Tzu, "The Art of War" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War

[Chris]

Napoleon won a lot of battles.

And was also exiled to an island in the Atlantic...

Yeah but he won a lot of battles.

Not the big one though....

[Madre Hill, Superstar]

Fucking christ people. We really need one of these threads per week?

Yes.

Sincerely,
Brandon Phillips

[gotribe31]

Napoleon won a lot of battles.

And was also exiled to an island in the Atlantic...

Actually, the Med. And it took a coalition of several nations to finally take him down, including the Prussians on land and the English at sea (think the '85 Bears D combined with the '07 Patriots offense). If the Browns beat every individual team and then lose to the NFC All-Pro's, I'm fine with it.

Seriously though, who gives a flying fuck how "mean" he is to the media. I hate the media too. Maybe he decided that the players in the mural so little resembled the players currently suiting up for this franchise had so little in common that he would remove it until they earned the right to walk the walls with Groza, Graham and Brown painted on them. The point is, football seasons are not congeniality contests. RAC was a nice guy, by all accounts. BB is a dick. Ask me who I'd rather have leading my franchise right now. Lets AT LEAST reserve judgement until we see what kind of product shows up on the field in 2009.

[Larvell Blanks]

Until I hear players or coaches saying this guy's a d-bag, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. What writers and reporters say about him means nothing to me. They're not the ones out there on Sundays except to get their hands on the free buffet.

[stonepm]

This is why quality sites like this are succeeding in droves and shitty news papers are losing circulation! They don't have anything better to write about other than where a guy hangs a F@#$!ing picture! And all those people that lost those $50K/yr jobs-they obviously weren't very good at them. I can't wait till the Browns start cutting guys with $1M/yr jobs too!

[onlyindreams]

I love what I'm hearing about this regime. We need to be tough, who cares about whiny reporters! The players who are disciplined and want to work hard for the cause will stay, the others who get "alienated" because Mangini hurts their feelings can leave. I'm pretty sure this will weed out the losers and bring out the best in everyone else. If it costs us talents like Braylon oh well, but maybe Braylon will react well to the new regime and rediscover his previous form.

[4thQtrGlory]

WKNR is reporting this story like it is breaking news or something. They are reporting everything that was in the newspaper 2 days ago, and calling them "very reliable sources".....yeah, the source is the newspaper you idiots. Im going to start reading profootballtalk.com and reporting it as a "very close friend of mine", so you all think that im important.

[FUDU]

Many of us also have friends that are being laid off right now due to the economy, but do you see us crying about it in our reporting (message boards, blogs, etc). In addition, those friends were let go because they were leaking info to Mr. Porter and others.

Who cares what the reporters think of Mangini. I like his hard ass attitude. Reporters don't win games.

Well we are not professional writers and reporters, they are, so it goes with the territory that they would in fact write about the hard times etc. Guys like us might not write about it, we simply talk about it at the lunch table or at home with family and friends etc, what's the difference.

Just felt like adding that and giving lubber a hard time since it seems the in thing to do.

Carry on.

[Chris]

WKNR is reporting this story like it is breaking news or something. They are reporting everything that was in the newspaper 2 days ago, and calling them "very reliable sources".....yeah, the source is the newspaper you idiots. Im going to start reading profootballtalk.com and reporting it as a "very close friend of mine", so you all think that im important.

I'm listening too, I think Rizzo said "very reliable sources" told him about how bad things were at the END of the Romeo-Phil regime, with the texting during walk throughs and inmates running the asylum so to speak.

[Commodore Perry]

Isn't this a good thing?

Romeo ran Berea like a kindergarten. Anyone who comes in and imposes a little discipline is going to look like Napolean. Crybaby athletes are a problem on this team. They don't need to be coddled. Good for Mangini.

So is it Mangini that is unfair to the press, or it is the press that is unfair to Mangini?

[Triple-S]

The more I hear mangini...him acting like a dick, reminds me a big of the early criticism that Tom Coughlin received in NYC.


And I mean, that worked out horribly in New York didn't it?

I'd rather have a guy in the office going over film and being too busy to talk to the press, than some guy who's a media hound.

I dig that the real football players on this team like Josh Cribbs are buying into the program and like the fact there is more discipline in the locker room (no music, no messing around.), it's something this franchise has been lacking for YEARS.

Mind you I am in no way sold on him yet what-so-ever. But, I support him putting some discipline and leadership in the franchise.

[mattvan1]

Fans are upset at the silence - nothing out of the FO. Too secretive.
He hasn't met yet with any of his star players
The HOF TE and stud RB both have said publicly they want out
People are already questioning the process
No one likes the short list of HC candidates


The above complaints are brought to you by KC Chefs fans, and are all aimed at Scott Pioli

P.S. Regime change is hard.

[buckeye319]

I'm cool with keeping the media away if they think it works for the organization. But I hope they understand that if things don't go well at any point, they're gonna be hit hard by reporters, columnists, and fans in this town who wanted more explanation. You don't have to like the media to understand the need for good media relations.

[OSU819903]

I'm cool with keeping the media away if they think it works for the organization. But I hope they understand that if things don't go well at any point, they're gonna be hit hard by reporters, columnists, and fans in this town who wanted more explanation. You don't have to like the media to understand the need for good media relations.

If things start going horribly bad it will not matter how they treated the media up to that point. RAC was beyond nice to the media, I did not see any of them bending over to try and save his job. Nor did I hear many fans standing up and defending their coach who was more than available to them and the media.

[buckeye319]

I'm cool with keeping the media away if they think it works for the organization. But I hope they understand that if things don't go well at any point, they're gonna be hit hard by reporters, columnists, and fans in this town who wanted more explanation. You don't have to like the media to understand the need for good media relations.

If things start going horribly bad it will not matter how they treated the media up to that point. RAC was beyond nice to the media, I did not see any of them bending over to try and save his job. Nor did I hear many fans standing up and defending their coach who was more than available to them and the media.

I thought the media were patient with Romeo and gave him the benefit of the doubt a lot of the time (not unfairly necessarily). I guess what I'm saying is the media and fans could start giving them hell earlier on if they close ranks. But hey, if they don't give care that's their business.

[OSU819903]

I see what you're saying; my only problem with the premise: is that if you're not planning on failing then you really don't need to worry about how to save face if you do. I mean if the only reason to keep the media happy is for someone to have your back if you falter, and you're not planning to falter; then I understand why they're saying F- Off to the media....especially with the apparent leaks from the old guard.

[pup]

Win and it does not matter how you treat the media and how much info you divulge.
Lose and it does not matter how you treat the media and how much info you divulge.

End of discussion.

Would I rather a quote machine who wins 12 games a year? Sure, it would be fun. But name those guys.

[pod2dawg]

And was also exiled to an island in the Atlantic...

...........TWICE!

[aoxo1]

I'm cool with keeping the media away if they think it works for the organization. But I hope they understand that if things don't go well at any point, they're gonna be hit hard by reporters, columnists, and fans in this town who wanted more explanation. You don't have to like the media to understand the need for good media relations.

Honestly, wtf kind of explanation do people want? The same damn thing that every other regime in every other town (and here) says when they come in?

"We're going to build through the draft."
"We're going to bring in guys who are tough and are football players and who know how to win."
"We're going to have a disciplined, hard nosed team."
"We're going to create a culture of winning, and anyone who doesn't buy in will be gone."
"There is talent on this team, but it will take time to build a long team that will compete for years, which is our plan."

If you want an explanation of what they are going to do, go back and read the articles from when Butch was brought in and from when Phil/Romeo were brought in. They're the same damn articles and quotes. It's just like how every training camp guys look great, WRs are really turning heads in practice with great catches, Jamal Lewis/some other over the hill schmuck is in the best shape of his life, blah blah blah.

These writers could just recycle the same articles every time and use the CTRL+F and replace the names.

[gotribe31]

And was also exiled to an island in the Atlantic...

...........TWICE!

Once in the Atlantic, once in the Med. Funny, they learned their lesson after he escaped from Elba...St. Helena was literaly in the middle of the ocean, no where near any landmass. Where's HermanFontenot on this one??

[pod2dawg]

Once in the Atlantic, once in the Med. Funny, they learned their lesson after he escaped from Elba...St. Helena was literaly in the middle of the ocean, no where near any landmass. Where's HermanFontenot on this one??

...many would equate going to Cleveland a St. Helena type move.

[ramllov]

I guess it just depends upon what you want with the 2009 Browns and into the future.

If you want the media to be happy and the Browns to continue to play like they have for the past 10 years. Good luck, become a Cincinnati Bengals fan or a Detroit Lions fan.

I would prefer to watch a winning Cleveland Browns fan, I am tired of these last ten years.

The players might intially complain, when the training camp goes from club Med to Paris Island (Marine boot camp). However, the results of Club Med, we say in 2008.

We don't know what Mangini and Kokinis can do yet. We will have to wait and see. It is not hard to determine, but it has to be better than the past four or ten years.

[Tree]

Napoleon's soldiers were incredibly loyal to him much like Alexander The Great's were. Both instilled discipline and both were loved by his soldiers.

To this day we have buttons on the sleeves of our coats and suit jackets, because Napoleon ordered buttons sewn on to uniforms of his soldiers after witnessing one soldier use his sleeve to wipe his nose. He demanded that his soldiers were well drilled, clean, and mannered, and the discipline and orderliness he instilled gave him the edge in many battles were he was outmanned.

[Chris]

Napoleon's soldiers were incredibly loyal to him much like Alexander The Great's were. Both instilled discipline and both were loved by his soldiers.

To this day we have buttons on the sleeves of our coats and suit jackets, because Napoleon ordered buttons sewn on to uniforms of his soldiers after witnessing one soldier use his sleeve to wipe his nose. He demanded that his soldiers were well drilled, clean, and mannered, and the discipline and orderliness he instilled gave him the edge in many battles were he was outmanned.

But he never won the big one, like I said.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

He lost at Waterloo, because he invaded Russia. Alot of his army is still buried there.

So I guess the moral for Mangini is , just like in RISK, never start a land war in Asia.

[Chris]

He lost at Waterloo, because he invaded Russia. Alot of his army is still buried there.

So I guess the moral for Mangini is , just like in RISK, never start a land war in Asia.

I used to always do that. No wonder I always lost RISK games.

[gotribe31]

He lost at Waterloo, because he invaded Russia. Alot of his army is still buried there.

So I guess the moral for Mangini is , just like in RISK, never start a land war in Asia.

Asia wasn't the main problem. Never get in a land war on multiple fronts. Napolean, Hitler...no one ever learned.

Mangini doesn't have that luxury....he has to fight the Inbred and the Ratbirds.

[pod2dawg]

Asia wasn't the main problem. Never get in a land war on multiple fronts. Napolean, Hitler...no one ever learned.

.....Multiple fronts yes....harsh motherf$%%^&cking catastrophic Russian winters and the will of the Russian people sealed their fates. It's tuff fighting on a diet of snow and ...melted snow.

[osucrazy18]

"I STILL HAVE THE UKRAINE!!"

[Larvell Blanks]

"I STILL HAVE THE UKRAINE!!"

[tribefan333]

Am I the only one reading all this stuff about Mangini changing the mindset of the team and thinking: GOOD!

That was the worst thing about the 2008 Browns - their mindset and lack of toughness.

Keep it coming Man.

[jb]

Blind allegence to a man whose done nothing but fail and get hired by Rupricht.

Gotta love the loyalty of we fans. But this little preppie bastard needs to show me. Then again, when he fails here in 3 years and ole lucky sperm quits and sell, cool.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2009/02/nfl_insider_league_gets_anothe.html

Job well done: Players at the Pro Bowl often treat assistant coaches, teammates, family members or others important to them to the luau festivities in Honolulu, Hawaii. Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers was so appreciative of the job done by former Browns communications director Amy Palcic that he paid for her to attend the Pro Bowl. Rogers arrived in Cleveland with a reputation of being media unfriendly. He thought Palcic helped change that image. Palcic was a victim of the Browns' recent layoffs.