Lucked into an NFL work/writing gig that took me out to the beautiful Biltmore Hotel in Scottsdale, where I was able to chat with a number of Head Coaches, reporters and NFL folk, including our very own Eric Mangini. Not a lot of insight, but here are my impressions, not that anyone is interested! Mangini - still a little wary of the media, but more confident than last year. I asked him what he thought about the Thanksgiving game and he laughed and said that it seemed years away and that a lot was going to happen before Nov. 22. With Wadsworth, he said that he looked great and had a tremendous attitude. Who knows how it will go. Dungy - as classy as you'd think he'd be. He missed Peyton on SNL, but was sure that he would have been great. Herm - loves a crowd and everyone loves Herm. Quick with a quip, and actually the most outspoken on the Player Conduct policy issues. Coughlin - genuinely nice and pretty funny. He seems so angry on TV, but couldn't have been more pleasant. Marinelli - also seems like a real good guy. makes you want to root for him. Tomlin - easily the "star" of the weekend. Made a huge first impression. Knows he's got big shoes to fill but confident without being cocky. Kiffin - smart, but def seems young. Childress - liked him above all the others, personally. Really hope he has success. Gruden - smart and funny. Great sense of humor, but also well aware that his team was 4 and 12, and that won't cut it. Payton - also a really good guy. knows that whatever success they had last year was great, but it's over. the "feel-good" story won't carry over, particularly if they dont start winning. Spoke with Lovie, Lewis, Petrino, McCarthy, etc. Nothing controversial to report (sorry!). What was most interesting was that while this is a great job, it's so intense. The hours these guys put in are insane and there's really no offseason anymore. Job security is anything but. It did really make me pull for all of these guys. Except for Belechick. He wasn't there. He's always a no show.
Pretty sweet gig man.....that awesome... One question...is it hard to avoid asking those sort of "Jets fan" questions when talking to Mangini?
Nice gig for you. Congrats. I guess my only question is that pretty much everyone you spoke to was at least okay, if not a great guy, yet football coaches have the overwhelming reputation of being egotistical tyrannical bastards. Any idea about the disconnect?
Thanks for the report. It's always nice to hear real impressions of people that are not constrained by worries about access afterwards. Tomlin looks like a Steelers coach. I'm guessing they pick right up and keep going on a 9-11 win pace until he really gets a feel for the job. People thinking that moving the team to a 4-3 is going to be controversial in Pittsburgh should remember that the Steeler's glory teams all were 4-3.
one of my good friends is from Pitt - needless to say he's die-hard - and he tells me the exact same thing. he's not too worried about the "controversial" transition. cheers
Yep. Pittsburgh is going to miss Cowher just like they missed Chuck Noll but they're going to like the new guy a lot too.
It's funny, we (the guys I was working with) talked about that. I guess part of it is bluster, part is just show.... maybe they were all in a good mood because they were on "vacation"!? I was really surprised about Coughlin, how cool he was. It's hard not to think that he's going to be a jerk. But the way that team - Strahan, Tiki, etc - sort of underminded him in the media, hard not to blame him. There's a real difference between the Billicks, Holmgrens and Shanahans though and the newer HCs... a real skill in soundbites... just impressive guys. But, they definitely don't take a lot of guff. And people are very very on their toes around them. I guess having a ring will do that!
First, congrats on the new gig! That's very cool. Also, its great to see you back around these parts, even if I'm not here much either.
