The Daily News is likening it to a hostage situation......It's been reported for days now that Heimerdinger wanted out (to replace Kubiak in Denver), they didn't want Henderson, and Westoff has a job waiting for him in KC with Herm.
"Mangini has no prior working experience with these coaches, which should raise eyebrows. Because of his inexperience, the 35-year-old Mangini has a small network of coaching cronies, limiting his ability to assemble a staff.
Some close to the situation believe Mangini is being forced to retain the coaches because owner Woody Johnson doesn't want to eat their contracts. In Heimerdinger's case, the Jets could be trying to force him to quit or agree to a small settlement package - which would be a classless way to save a few bucks.
If the Jets really do want to retain Heimerdinger, it makes Mangini look like a puppet. In his introductory news conference, Mangini said he has the final say on coaching hires, but he quickly added, "We're going to make a collective decision."
League sources said Mangini wanted to hire Browns offensive line coach Jeff Davidson as his coordinator, although it's possible the Browns blocked that move. Even so, it's hard to imagine that Mangini took the job without knowing that Heimerdinger was a possibility."
In the Notebook section are these read between the lines comments:
"Patriots coach Bill Belichick, commenting for the first time on Eric Mangini going to the Jets, said yesterday that he didn't try to dissuade his protégé from becoming their head coach, as many speculated.
"He's been in the league for 11 years, and he was with the Jets (from 1997 to 1999), so he knows everything I know," Belichick told the Daily News. "He had to do what was best for his family and his career. I respect that. It's not my job to run his life."
In Patriot Reign Holley touched on how Mangini and BB had a different relationship than BB had with the rest of the staff. They went at it on a regular basis in heated screaming matches, only to show up in a meeting a half hour later like nothing was up. Eric's arguments may have carried the day on occasion, because BB respected his young football mind, but whose passionately held view carried the day was BB's decision. Perhaps Eric tired of that, and perhaps BB decided Eric was going to have to learn some lessons the hard way in a real world that's not as forgiving. Like most bosses won't engage in that kind of passionate give and take, let alone let you win a few or even stay employed. Should Eric in frustration get passionate with Bradway or Johnson his is liable to be a really short tenure.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/384299p-326191c.html
