It's one day after the end of the NFL's regular season, and after a not so surprising collapse at the Meadowlands, the New York Jets wasted no time in dropping the hammer on head coach Eric Mangini.
Following a disappointing 4-12 season, the arrival of Hall-of-Fame quarterback Brett Favre to a disheveled Jets organization at the start of this year seemed like a godsend. But I should have known better. You see, I am a New Yorker, and perhaps unfortunately, also a huge Mets fan. The laws of nature state that there is an undeniable neurotic link between fans of these two NY - "ets" teams, fans who are usually one and the same. These two teams even used to share a stadium back in their early days. As Mets fans all know, abundant spending in the off-season inevitably leads to only the most artfully executed, heart-crushing late season collapses.
I know what you're thinking at this point: "Hey, I'm an avid reader of your fascinating, riveting work". "I mean, your writing is like a periodical delivered on the doorstep of my heart and soul, and this doesn't seem to match your initial enthusiasm about Eric Mangini". Well first off, thank you, anonymous fan. Yes I hear your heartfelt protest, but to be honest, I was different back then. Young, impressionable, and maybe just a bit too free-spirited for my own good. I've grown since that time. People change. It's the way of life, and we're all just spinning around on this big crazy blue ball of water looking for an answer.
Mangini, 37 (was) the youngest coach in the NFL. As a matter of fact, he was the youngest coach in any of the four major professional sports leagues in North America. Actually, he always reminded me of Kevin James, from the King of Queens. Imagine it, two funny fat guy honest-to-goodness Jet fans you just want to hang out with, have a couple of beers, and shoot the shit. My point might best be illustrated by the following panorama portrait (your welcome).
He went 23-25 in his three-year tenure as head coach of the Jets. Little did we know that when the somewhat painful decision to let go of former fan-fave QB Chad Pennington to bring in Favre came to be, a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions was in the works. Afterward, no one thought it a big deal when Pennington was almost immediately picked up by the Miami Dolphins, a division rival. Let it be noted that it's a not the biggest show of respect to your athletic ability when you're allowed to move to a team within your division without so much as the batting of an eye. The Jets must have thought "Hey, he's going to a team that was 1-15 last year, the worst in the league" "He can't possibly be a threat to us". Ah, me thinks Chad saw this as a slap in the face, and so Act 2 of our sad story began to play itself out...
At first, it seemed the stars were aligned in Gang Green's favor. Drama was high from the beginning, as the season opener was on the road against none other than the Miami Dolphins, of course with former Jets quarterback Chad Pennington at the helm. In the sweltering Florida heat, the Jets got off to a good start, winning their first game with a score of 20-14. Jets fans were further elated upon learning that at the same time over in Foxborough, MA, the hated Jets rivals New England Patriots had lost their golden boy superstar quarterback Tom Brady to a season-ending injury, when he fell to the field clutching his knee with 7:27 minutes left in the first quarter. "Oh my", we exclaimed in unison. "We've never had much luck against the Patriots, maybe this is finally our year".
We were set to face them next, in week 2 of the season. "They've won all those Superbowls with Brady, he's the face of that team". "This has to be a gutting loss for them, and their backup QB can't possibly be sufficiently prepared" we thought. C'mon, it's like being backup to Superman, or Jesus. The other guy is so good, you're never really going to see any play time, right? So basically you're dozing off during the practice meetings and wondering what's for dinner.
But since this is a tragedy, it can only play out this way. It seemed that 2nd string Matt Cassel, (in most likely his first start since high school) was paying attention, as he led his team to a 19-10 victory over the Jets. Our confidence was shaken. This is now 11 out of the last 12 games against the Jets that the Patriots have won. It's literally been years since we've had the upper hand. If we can't even beat them without Brady, Favre or no Favre, just how good are we?
Update: By the way, it seems Tom Brady dealt with the agonizing outcome of his season in the most inspirational heartfelt way. With great pain, he has apparently acknowledged his fate (the way any of us would) by proposing to Gisele Bündchen on Christmas Eve aboard a private jet. Our prayers are with him, things must be so darn tough for that guy right now.
Just a bump in the road... or is it? In week 2, the Jets go on to lose again (record now 1-2). As the weeks go by, eventually the Jets pull it together, getting off to a 8-3 start, including a five-game win streak that saw them finally defeating those pesky Patriots, and riding that wave of confidence into Tennessee, where they beat an (at that point) undefeated Titans in week 12. The NY Jets now find themselves in first place. All of a sudden, New York media is abuzz with the possibility of a magical season. Could the possibility of a never before imagined "Subway Superbowl" between the Giants and Jets be on the horizon? Of course not. I should have known better. The Jets have been losing for 40 years.
To close out the season, the Jets go on to lose 4 out of their last 5 games, eventually missing the playoffs they seemed so destined for. Throughout the long painful final stretch, the camera shots and images of coach Mangini, during the game and afterwards, were not very encouraging. He was never one to show much emotion in the first place. The somewhat confused look we used to think of as "cute" or just part of his "stoic" nature quickly degraded into the appearance of a man defeated, his nonchalant expression week after torturous week began to inspire nothing less than blood boiling rage within my tender heart.
Now for our final act. What's a classic tragedy without the murder/suicide climax? The last game was upon us. At home, it seemed only fitting that we would close the season against the same team we started against. While in the shower a few days ago, I heard a haunting song on the local AM sports station WFAN through the bathroom radio. The song was set to the tune of a well known holiday classic....
"We're gonna find out if New York's got regrets,
For putting Brett Favre in charge of the Jets,
Cause Pennington is coming to town,
It's Christmas for Chad cause he gets to face,
The quarterback by which he was replaced,
Yeah Pennington is coming to town,
He knows about Mangini,
He's protected by big Jake,
They wondered if Chad's bad or good,
Well he's good for goodness sake,
We're gonna find out if New York's got regrets,
For putting Brett Favre in charge of their Jets,
Yeah Pennington is coming to town,
The Jets signed Brett and sent Chad away,
Now thanks to the Fins he's proved he can play,
Pennington is coming to town"
I should have known. It seemed only fitting that the close of the season would have Mr. Pennington coming back to his old stomping grounds for redemption. To face the team that cast him aside. To face the quarterback on the other side, who would perhaps be playing his last game of a legendary NFL career. It was only fitting that he would beat the Jets, 24-17 in front of a crowd that left way before the clock ticked down, for the writing was on the wall. I always knew my guy Chad Pennington would win the AFC East division in a game at the Meadowlands, just had no idea it would happen this way.
In the end, two amazing things happened: Brett Favre did set a season high NFL record. His 22 interceptions led the league this year, with no less than three in this last game, as a final "fuck you". It's not his personal best though, he did throw 29 picks in 2005. Something else amazing happened that fateful day. Chad Pennington did something incredible while helping his team complete an amazing turn-around from last season: He literally moved a fucking hyphen. Those 1-15 Dolphins of a year ago now became the 11-5 Dolphins of today, and with it AFC East Division Champs.
Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said of Mangini:
"No one's worked harder than Eric". "No one's been more loyal. Obviously I have a close, personal relationship with him....But at the end of the day, we had to make the decision that we felt was the right one, not the easy one."
Statement from Eric Mangini:
"I appreciate the opportunity that Woody and Mike gave me for the past three years as the head coach of the New York Jets. The organization has terrific people and I wish the Jets nothing but success. The time and effort invested by the coaches and players was tremendous and I value that beyond words. We worked hard to achieve two winning seasons out of the past three. I regret that we could not reach our goals for this year. I will always appreciate the passion and support of the fans as our focus was trying to build them a championship-caliber foundation and team."
The Jets are already searching for Mangini's replacement. On the short list so far is Bill Cowher, former Steelers coach who's pretty much a celebrity mustache and who hates his life working on television for the last year. Steve Spagnuolo, current defensive coordinator for the defending Super Bowl champs New York Giants (hothead, with feisty wife so he gets my vote), and Marty Schottenheimer (old guy with the most wins without ever coaching a team in the Super Bowl).
There you have it, folks. I'm not a clever songwriter myself, but I thought it only appropriate that I put my own hat in the ring for rhyming football compositions. A poem, if you like.
My "Ode" to the Jets..
Jets guilt must weigh a ton, to look at AFC East Champ, Pennington
Choose power rather than meek, It's Bill Cowher the Jets shall seek
For Jet nation not to starve, the team must keep Brett Favre (I mean hell, it won't be a crime to try one more time?)
But if next season should end in a frown, the next one fired should be Mike Tanennbaum
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