| Dwayne Smith. 14th October, 2006 - 1:47 am
 Hempstead, NY – As the New York Jets recover from their worst loss in 20 years, they find themselves preparing for a critical division contest against the underachieving Miami Dolphins. Among the intriguing sub-plots in this annual rivalry is the relationship between the two head coaches. It wasn’t so long ago when Jets Head Coach Eric Mangini was bringing coffee or driving Miami Head Coach Nick Saban.
Mangini served as a ball boy and then a public relations intern with the Cleveland Browns while Saban was a Defensive Assistant. Even though Saban denies asking anybody to get him a cup of coffee, “I still get my own coffee, I don’t even ask my secretary to get me coffee”, the task would not have been below Mangini’s station with the Browns at the time. What Mangini does remember about the current Miami coach in his time with Cleveland was driving Saban to the airport when he left the Browns for the Michigan State Head Coaching job.
While Mangini toiled under Bill Belichick from Cleveland to Baltimore to New York and finally New England, Saban became an outstanding collegiate head coach, winning the National Championship with Louisiana State University in 2003. Mangini himself nearly worked for Saban in Miami last season, interviewing for a coordinator position before he would be offered the defensive coordinator job with the Patriots. Saban explained, “Eric is a really bright guy, he understands football, he’s been in a great system for a long time with a great coach in Bill Belichick and obviously we both come from the same tree, root system, professionally and philosophically.” It was these qualities that would’ve made Mangini a great fit for Saban as he took over the Dolphins in 2005.
While things worked out for Saban, finishing strong in a 9-7 season, Mangini would take over as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator helping them win another AFC East title. These credentials were strong enough for the New York Jets to target him as their top choice to replace Herman Edwards as head coach.
Absent from this Sunday’s reunion of former co-workers will be the sub-plot of betrayal which Belichick emoted through his lack of acknowledgement of the Jets Coach in the buildup to their game and the rushed end of game handshake. Both Mangini and Saban have been glowingly generous in their praise of each other. In describing the personality of Saban, Mangini said, “he’s incredibly thorough in everything that he does. He's very detailed-oriented. He works extremely hard and he's smart. That's a pretty good package.” Judging from his countenance as the Jets Head Coach, the description of Saban could just as easily have used to describe Mangini, making the game a chess match between two very similar minds. |
