But re: Mangini. I think some of the stuff he has done is strange, like loading up the rookies on a bus and driving them to New Enland for a fundraiser, or something, and fining the player $1700 for not paying for the $3 bottle of water. There's talk that he's losing his team. Do you think he'll last into next year?
It's hard to predict only because owner Randy Lerner avoids speaking to the public as much as owners Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban seek out all publicity. This is seriously how much of knee-jerk reaction the Mangini hiring was: on the day the Browns had a press conference to announce Crennel and Savage were fired, Lerner was told by an aide that Mangini had just been fired in NY. Lerner jumped out of his chair and left the press conference to begin pursuing Mangini.
So that's a long way of saying "no" Mangini will not be fired IMHO. Now, if they are 0-10 and/or finish with 1 or 2 wins, that could easily change. Much of the fanbase wants Lerner to sell the team. I would love to see Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert buy the team and run it like he runs the basketball team. He has a strong organization, whereas Lerner has nobody. The Browns have a GM, but Mangini truly has all the power within the organization. To this point, it's looking like a train wreck and that Mangini is in way over his head.
It's a catch-22 with Lerner. For years when Modell owned the team, many fans wanted an ownwer with deep pockets who did not mettle. That is EXACTLY what Lerner is: a billionaire who never intrudes. The problem is that Lerner has consistently whiffed hiring his personnel.
For me, over the past two years, I have become apathetic. I follow them to some degree, but have not watched a single Browns game. I actually have been turned off by all of the Cleveland sports teams in the past 3 years. Even the Cavs, the team with the only realistic shot of contending for a championship, wasted a terrific 2008-09 regular season by losing in the 2nd round of this past season's playoffs. All the pressure is on to win in 2009-10 in LeBron's last season, along with the acquisition of Shaq.
