Jets head coach Eric Mangini has deigned to allow the beat reporters to speak to the assistant coaches this afternoon - for a whopping 10 minutes. Total.
The coordinators will then have a Q & A session with the media afterward. 
Mangini is following the NFL's new guidelines for increased access to assistants ... or so he thinks.
In an effort to promote more communication between assistant coaches and the media, the NFL office, under the direction of commissioner Roger Goodell, has instructed teams to schedule media availability with the assistants/coordinators on a more regular basis.
Evidently, Mangini believes that one session during the preseason for all assistants is somehow a regular basis. The rules are stricter for the regular season (coordinators at least once every two weeks and other assistants on an as-needed basis), so presumably there will be greater access then.
Of course, if it were up to Mangini, the media would never get to talk to assistants, because he's straight from the Bill Belichick/Bill Parcells school of "one team, one voice." But we would remind Mangini, or any other coach who wants to micromanage what comes out of the mouths of assistants, that there is nothing wrong with allowing assistants to speak.
In fact, it is a way to help promote the head coaching aspirations of those assistants, (something Mangini should know, because he did have friends in the media before getting the Jets' gig), having been muzzled by Belichick during his days with the Patriots. It is also a way for reporters to better understand the nuances of the game and thus provide more perspective to their readers - in other words, you - who just happen to be the paying customers and television viewers for the most popular sport in North America. The sport that pays Mangini a handsome sum for his work.
And we would also remind Mangini that Goodell knows a thing or two about good PR. Having been a public relations intern right down the hallway where Mangini now works, Goodell worked under former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, widely considered the greatest public relations advocate in the history of professional sports.
So if Mangini thinks he's being cute by limiting the access of the media to his assistants and thereby establishing further control on the flow of information, then we'd remind him that commissioner Goodell might not take too kindly to his new media schedule.
Honestly, I don't get it with these guys. Having covered teams when there was far more access than there is now - with both players and coaches - you get a far greater understanding of the game and the people who play it and coach it when you can get to know them. You build relationships that only grow over time.
For instance, when the Giants were winning Super Bowls with Parcells, a bunch of us got to know Belichick and realized that this guy was a true genius, long before he started winning Super Bowls with the Patriots. He has taught me more about x's and o's than anyone in the sport, and I have become a better football journalist for it. My notebooks were filled with plays he'd scribble down while explaining his strategy. To this day, I know Belichick better than any other coach in the league.
Why head coaches - including Belichick himself - would want to eliminate that aspect is a real head-scratcher, because there's so much upside to it. Sure, I understand the media has grown exponentially over the last 20 years, and there has to be a way to manage availability. There also have to be parameters that are acceptable to the coaches and the journalists, informational lines that are not to be crossed.
But the notion that keeping assistants quiet is ultimately beneficial to winning on Sundays is just beyond me.
Comments (14)
Magini's responsibility is to win football games not to please the media. So what if you don't understand his logic. I have read alot of stuff that makes me scratch my head. Today is a perfect example. The article was not particularly news worthy. I am not sure how many football fans will be happy about your ability to talk to assisitant coaches.
I truly undersatand your position, however whether you speak with assistants or not means absolutely nothing to me. I think the media is always looking to make someone on the team thier "inside guy" I dont care! Let Mangini coach his team, the same as your boss coaches you.I like the media, but not when you guys start whinning like babies.
Arthur, Anthony, I understand the "crybaby sportswriter" angle, and I'm the first to realize that fans don't give a rat's you-know-what about what we have to go through. We have great jobs, no question, and I adore being in this business.
But Anthony, you SHOULD care whether we speak with assistants, because we get YOU the story and make YOU understand where the coaches are coming from and we're therefore better able to explain the game from their vantage point. There is value in that.
The more insight we are able to provide you with about the game, the better informed we can all be.
It's why commissioner Goodell is pushing for more communication in this area. He's no dummy. And he does care - about you, the fan, who deserves to know as much about the game as possible.
With all do respect it does sound like you're just complaining. I don't think Mangini is being "cute", he's being safe and keeping his wallet close to his vest. Although, like I said, that's just what I think.
Media tend to pick and choose what is and isn't a story. Sometimes it's obvious, but also tends to be quite subjectif. So how about letting us tell you what we want to know instead on occasion?
Personally, I don't care if I don't hear a single thing about my team during the week as long as they win on Sundays. It's all speculation anyway.
But on the flip side, I see where you're coming from. :o)
Just remember, Jordan. I'm whining on YOUR behalf. The more we get to talk to assistant coaches, the more we can share with you, the rabid fan.
I don't know that this is necessarily a "story," but it's a little insight into one of the battles we fight as journalists to bring YOU the most insight we can. Always remember that.
I understand it's on the readers behalf, but again, I personally wouldn't mind not hearing a peep about the team all week if it meant a win on Sundays.
On the same note,
I think it's just a matter of them wanting to keep everyone focused on what they're doing, rather than what the press is saying. It creates less distractions as a whole and will create a better relationship between the coaches and players, both knowing that they won't go spouting off about anything.
It's always nice to know more and I truely appreciate the job done by the press as a whole to tell us more, but it doesn't mean you bash them for not getting what you want.
In addition, kudos for writing back! I like seeing that kind of exchange... tell Tom he should take a note from you and respond to the comments a bit more. =)
I understand it's on the readers behalf, but again, I personally wouldn't mind not hearing a peep about the team all week if it meant a win on Sundays.
On the same note,
I think it's just a matter of them wanting to keep everyone focused on what they're doing, rather than what the press is saying. It creates less distractions as a whole and will create a better relationship between the coaches and players, both knowing that they won't go spouting off about anything.
It's always nice to know more and I truely appreciate the job done by the press as a whole to tell us more, but it doesn't mean you bash them for not getting what you want.
In addition, kudos for writing back! I like seeing that kind of exchange... tell Tom he should take a note from you and respond to the comments a bit more. =)
Jordan, I will see Rockhead tonight and tell him to write back! ...
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