NY POST By MARK CANNIZZARO In time Jets fans, you're going to get to know Eric Mangini and you're going to like him. He just has to come out of the darkness of his office and the meeting rooms - places where he's been sequestered nearly 24-7 since being hired some two months ago to fix the latest Jets' mess - and you'll see him, hear him, recognize him and respect him. Last night, in the first extensive one-on-one interview he's granted since he was hired, Mangini made a pledge to Jets fans in an exclusive sit-down with The Post over a couple of beers at the swank Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress. "Jets fans are going to see that we're going to work as hard as anybody else in the NFL and that commitment to improving the team is not going to stop," Mangini vowed. "It's not going to take holidays, it's not going to have weekends off. That's what they can expect - that they know we are working as hard as humanly possible to improve this team. "It's going to be done in such a way that's methodical, well-thought-out and unemotional in a sense that the decisions we make are going to be the best decisions for the organization. There's a very strong commitment to that - doing whatever it takes and taking as long as it takes to get that done." To be honest, the 35-year-old Mangini, with his cherubic face and youthful vibe, looks more like one of the bellhops here than he does an NFL head coach. A few weeks ago, at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Mangini realized just how under the radar he's been when he encountered an exuberant Jets fan in a hotel. "Mike Tannenbaum (the Jets' GM) and I were going up the escalator - we'd been working pretty hard and hadn't been out in public very much - and somebody comes running up the escalator and has two Jets helmets and says, 'Hey fellas, I heard the head coach of the Jets is up here. Have you seen him?' " Mangini said. "We had to explain he was actually right there. I didn't want to disappoint a Jets fan. He was very apologetic and polite." Mangini signed the fan's helmet and pressed on to his next meeting. In another incident that portrayed his anonymity, Mangini and his wife, Julie, recently tried to bring their two young kids to lunch. "We were trying to get into a restaurant that was filled with Jets paraphernalia and signs," he recalled. "We walked in with the two kids and said we'd like to come in for lunch and the guy was like, 'Sorry buddy. It's a private party.' " Mangini knows that his low profile will be short-lived, because he knows the passion of the Jets fans. Having coached here as an assistant and coached against the Jets, he knows what the people want and he sounds hell-bent on delivering the goods. "That's what makes them great," Mangini said. "Jets fans are beautiful. How can you not love the Jets fans? I came here so many times as a Patriot and when you hear that swelling of emotions with that 'J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets' chant, you can't ignore that as an opponent. It's unique. I respect the passion. "When I first went to New England I hated coming back. You could feel that chant coming on. It was like when you're sitting on the beach and see the wave coming and know you're going to get hit by it, that's the feeling of that cheer starting to come up. I've been to a lot of stadiums and that's a unique wave of emotion." Mangini can't wait to hear that chant ringing through his ears as the Jets head coach. ===== The Jets yesterday signed Denver free agent DL Monsanto Pope, a 6-3, 300-pounder who's played in 48 games, making 21 starts in four years with the Broncos ... The Jets, too, were awarded a third-round draft pick (97th overall) as a compensatory selection for the free agents they lost after the 2004 season. http://www.nypost.com/sports/jets/61612.htm
Mangini is saying all the right things. I love what he had to say about us Jets fans in particular! Just the third-round comp pick, then. That's what many on this board were saying. Should be able to do something useful with that...
I like where we are headed, and yeh it did get me riled up, he is definately the guy I want running this team
There is no change in his feedback. This guy is the goods, we will be winning a championship soon. We should all be able to bring some weapons and after the chant we start busting in the air, that would really get the opposing team mad petrified haha J/K
Aw man no more giving courtesy contracts to good guys, that was a staple of the Herm/Bradway era:rofl:
Now that Cannizarro has broken bread and had a few beers with Mangini it will be interesting to see if his "reporting" becomes less negative. Nice quotes from Mangini though, I can't wait to greet him with one of our cheers. I love the fact that it pisses so many opposing teams off; how many times has Jason Taylor bitched about it......
Aw, We're JETS fans, we have tons of patience! LOL! Great article, sounds like Mangini is bringing some passion back into the FO. Hopefully, the players will follow his lead.
I really doubt it. I wish we could trade him for Luis Castillo, the NT we need. For D-Rob, Bradway would have gotten a 6th rounder!
That's a great story...Funny to see how everyone views him as a nobody and all, the restaurant story was great.
haha i love it we should have Aztec sacrifices where we grab a random fan of the opposing team and everyones face is painted green and were just doing the J-E-T-S chant until the Sun God comes for their heart muahahahaha sorry bout that guys im at work and sorely need to see the outside.:eaglessuck:
Wow. Talk about drinking the Kool-Aid. With the exception of the term "unemotional" (which I give him props for saying) what coach doesn't say those thing to their new team. I mean should he say "we'll be lazy, stupid and ill prepared"? Or better yet, "we play to lose the game"? All these speeches are great but we're I come from we have a little saying ourselves: "Don't talk about it. Be about it"
