7 day forecast
NFL Notebook: Holmgren patient on Mangini's fate
Share with others:
New Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren has not decided if coach Eric Mangini will be back next season.
Holmgren, who signed a five-year contract to try to fix the Browns, said he will wait until he arrives in Cleveland next week before making any changes. Holmgren plans to meet with Mangini after the Browns (4-11) complete their season.
"He's at the end of finishing his first season, the team is doing well and responding to him," said Holmgren, who spoke from Arizona.
Holmgren did not provide any clues as to which way he's leaning. He appreciates how tough it can be for a coach to transform a team in one season.
"I'm not a big fan of the quick hook," he said. "I never did that with quarterbacks when they played for me and I really don't think one year is enough to prove what you're trying to get done. But having said that, I haven't made any decisions."
Holmgren, 61, said he will evaluate the entirety of Mangini's first season in Cleveland, and won't decide based solely on the team's current three-game winning streak.
"I feel I have some time to think about this and I want to do what is right for the organization and the Cleveland Browns," he said.
"That's the decision I have to make and that is going to take a little time. Not a lot of time, but a little time."
Holmgren said he has no plans to coach "in the near future," leaving open the chance he could return to the sideline.
Holmgren did not reveal his intentions to reconfigure Cleveland's front-office, but the former Green Bay and Seattle coach said he plans to hire a general manager.
He said the chance to rebuild a once-proud franchise is what drew him to the Browns, who have made one playoff appearance since their expansion return in 1999.
"I took the job because there is something inside of me that enjoys the challenge of fixing something, tweaking something to get it back on track again," Holmgren said.
Jim Zorn knew his status as head coach of the Washington Redskins was tenuous back when his team was 1-1 -- and coming off a victory, no less. "It's kind of all around. I get hit with 'the look,' " Zorn said. "And I get all that. I just have to press on. I have to push forward."
The latest indication Sunday's game at the Chargers will be Zorn's last with Washington: The leader of the group that monitors compliance with the NFL's Rooney Rule said the Redskins already have interviewed secondary coach Jerry Gray. The interview satisfies the Rooney Rule that requires teams to talk to a minority candidate when filling a head coaching position.
Inside linebacker Channing Crowder will miss the rest of the season with a right foot injury, said a person familiar with the case. Crowder had an MRI exam, but a decision had not yet been made regarding whether he needs surgery.
Special teams coach Joe DeCamillis headed home from Washington a day after had an emergency appendectomy that kept him from the victory against the Redskins. "Everything went well," coach Wade Phillips said. "He says he's going to be back tomorrow. It wouldn't surprise me."
Before hustling out of the team's Giants Stadium locker room, Osi Umenyiora suggested that his days as a Giant are coming to an end. But Tom Coughlin said the team has no desire to part ways with the defensive end. "He's very much in our plans," Coughlin said. "I would tell you he's a very, very important asset to our team and leave it at that."
Carolina won't fire coach John Fox, but they also aren't giving him an extension, forcing him to return next season in the final year of his contract if he chooses to remain with the team, according to sources. Fox is to earn about $6 million in 2010, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL.
First Published December 29, 2009 12:00 am
