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      Crennel out, Cohwer tells Browns he’s not interested

      December 29, 2008 /

      The Cleveland Browns fired one coach and were told to buzz off by the one they wanted to hire. The Browns officially fired Romeo Crennel on Monday, but were told by hopeful candidate Bill Cowher that he wasn’t interested in the position.

      Romeo CrennelLerner met with the media this morning to announce that Romeo Crennel has been fired as head coach.

      Speculation for his replacement had been centered on Cowher for several weeks, but Lerner said Monday that he met with Cowher on Saturday night and that Cowher said he would not return to coaching in 2009 and asked Lerner to take him off the Browns list of candidates.

      Cowher told Lerner that he was comfortable with his lifestyle in North Carolina at this time.

      Lerner said he’s already asked for permission to talk to New England Patriots Executive Vice President Scott Pioli and that he’ll focus on the general manager role next.

      Lerner also said he’s receiving permission to talk to another unnamed NFL exec. He appeared interested when informed that Eric Mangini had been fired by the New York Jets this morning. Mangini, a former Browns employee, worked with Pioli in New England.

      Crennel, 61, was fired after going 24-40 in his four seasons at Browns head coach. He had three years left on his contract, which had been extended in January after he guided the Browns to a 10-6 record and just missed the playoffs.

      I’m always a little leery when teams fire their head coach and immediately start looking at other coaches that were fired in the same year. Maybe Mangini would be a nice fit in Cleveland, but I think at this point the Browns need a candidate with a little more experience. I still don’t think Marty Schottenheimer would be a bad hire, although they would need to groom another coach under him because he wouldn’t be a long-term solution.

      But before hiring a coach, they need to go out and get a solid GM. Then have that GM hire the head coach so that they know everyone can work together. It doesn’t make sense to hire a head coach and then a general manager if they’re going to butt heads all the time about personnel decisions.

      NFL

      Jets fire head coach Eric Mangini

      December 29, 2008 /

      The New York Jets officially canned Eric Mangini after the team failed to make the playoffs.

      Eric ManginiThe clincher was the Jets’ 24-17 loss to Miami on Sunday that gave the Dolphins the AFC East title.

      “We don’t take this decision lightly,” Jets owner Woody Johnson said at a Monday morning news conference. “We respect Eric for what he’s done but we want to build on the successful foundation he has laid.”

      Mangini, 37, was 23-26 in three seasons with the Jets, including 0-1 in the playoffs.

      “For the current New York Jets organization, we’ve made the decision to move on,” Johnson said. “It’s a judgment call.”

      The Jets acquired Brett Favre before the season started and ran off to an 8-3 start. But losses to Denver, at San Francisco, at Seattle and to Miami over the final four weeks left New York outside of the playoffs for the second straight season.

      Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said Monday the organization wants the 39-year-old Favre to return for 2009 and fulfill the final year of his contract.

      There was an interesting tidbit on the bottom line of ESPN News Sunday night that said Favre didn’t have fun playing for the Jets this year because he was often scolded in front of the team by Mangini for making poor decisions and bad throws. Don’t know if Mangini’s release will mean Favre will stay, but it probably couldn’t hurt.

      It’s amazing how just three years ago Mangini was highly regarded and was considered one of the bright young minds in football. Now he’s out of a job. I’m sure many Jet fans won’t miss his emotionless, expressionless body language on the sidelines.

      NFL

      The 11-5 Patriots were jobbed this season

      December 28, 2008 /

      Matt CasselHow the hell does a team finish 11-5 but not make the playoffs? If you thought the 2007 Cleveland Browns (who finished 10-6) got screwed last year, then what happened to the New England Patriots this season is a flat out ludicrous.

      This isn’t to take anything away from the Miami Dolphins, because they earned and deserved their AFC East crown. To go from 1-15 a year ago to 11-5 is remarkable and they won the division the hard way – on the road against an opponent in a must-win situation itself.

      But when you have a San Diego Chargers team that could win their division at 8-8 (the Chargers are currently beating the Broncos 17-6 on SNF) and a Patriots squad completely miss the playoffs at 11-5, there’s something wrong.

      All of this is a moot point because there’s not much the NFL can do about this situation. It’s not like the league pulled a fast one on the Patriots – this format has been in place since the NFL re-aligned the divisions in 2002. It’s just New England’s luck of the draw that they wound up in a great division, while the Chargers benefited from played the crap of the AFC twice a year.

      But maybe it’s time for the NFL to at least take a look at the current system and see if it’s still the best way to go about things. I know the league has toyed with the idea of giving wild card teams with better records than division winners home field advantage, but maybe the NFL should at least consider awarding the top six playoff seeds in each conference to the teams with the top six records.

      Thoughts? I realize not many people are going to feel bad for the Patriots, but what if it were your team that finished 11-5, yet didn’t make the playoffs? How would you feel? Or is it hard to look past the thought that this is just sweet justice for a team caught cheating?

      NFL

      You stay classy Chad Pennington

      December 28, 2008 /

      Chad PenningtonMiami Dolphins’ quarterback Chad Pennington has to be one of the classiest guys in the NFL.

      Here’s a guy that was dropkicked out of New York about a millisecond after the Jets acquired Brett Favre. He then goes to the Dolphins and not only helps lead one of the best turnarounds in NFL history, but also schools Favre on his home field in a must-win situation for both teams.

      Following the Fins’ 24-17 victory Sunday over the Jets, Pennington was asked (in so many words) after the game by a sideline reporter about whether or not the win was sweet revenge on a team that booted him in the offseason. Instead of taking the opportunity to take a shot at his former team, Pennington thanked the Jets for allowing him to become a free agent and start somewhere else. The comments were more than just a player taking the high road to avoid controversy – he was truly sincere.

      And granted, it’s not like Pennington lit the world on fire when he was in New York, but he always played hard for the Jets, and often played hurt. Pennington’s story is one of the season’s best.

      The Dolphins turnaround from 1-15 to AFC East Division champs is unbelievable. The job Bill Parcells and first-year head coach Tony Sparano did this season was impressive and you get the feeling that Miami isn’t done, although they certainly have a tough first-round matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.

      On a semi-related topic – is Brett Favre done? His comments in his post game press conference made it appear that he won’t be coming back next year, but this isn’t the first time he’s hinted at hanging it up at the end of the regular season game in which his team failed to reach the postseason.

      Either way, he played like absolute crap on Sunday. His receivers didn’t help him out in some cases, but his three interceptions were brutal and probably cost the Jets the game. When you look how inspired Pennington played compared to Favre, one has to wonder if this is officially the end of Brett’s legendary career.

      NFL

      Cowboys embarrassed in Philadelphia – will Wade Phillips be fired?

      December 28, 2008 /

      Wade Phillips & Andy ReidThe Philadelphia Eagles absolutely hammered the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, beating their NFC East rivals 44-6 to clinch the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC.

      Before I get to the Eagles’ remarkable run to make the postseason, I have to ask: Is Wade Phillips done in Dallas? Yeah, I know – Jerry Jones said multiple times this week that Wade’s job was not in jeopardy. But what is he supposed to say when his coach is trying to prepare his team for a must-win game? He’s not going to put any undo pressure on Phillips when everyone knows what’s at stake.

      But to be embarrassed by a division rival when a win gets you into the playoffs is inexcusable. This was essentially a playoff game and Phillips’ team didn’t even show up. My God, it was 27-3 at halftime and Tony Romo looked like he would rather wash himself with barbed wire than be out on the field Sunday.

      The problem with parting with Phillips after the season is that unless he can land Bill Cowher, Jones doesn’t have a ton of options. His golden boy Jason Garrett can’t be excused from this mess of a situation either, because his innovative offense could only muster six points. (Although it’s not Garrett’s fault Romo treated the football like a greased hog for most of the evening.)

      Entering the season, Dallas was easily the favorite to represent the NFC, especially with the amount of talent the Giants lost from their Super Bowl team. After getting shelled by Philly to finish out of the playoffs, I wouldn’t put it past Jones to clean house with a new stadium set to open in 2009. What an embarrassment.

      On a lighter note – how about those Eagles? Six weeks ago their playoff hopes looked bleak after they tied the Bengals and then were shellacked by the Ravens in Baltimore. Then they rattle off three straight wins only to put their postseason aspirations back on life support with a lousy performance in Washington last Sunday. Then today, all of the stars align just right and they’re heading to the playoffs.

      And if anyone thinks they can’t go into Minnesota next week and beat the Vikings, you’re crazy. Jim Johnson is already working on a game plan to limit Adrian Peterson and force Tarvaris Jackson to make throws to beat him.

      NFL

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