I am staunchly in the bring back Mangini camp. Realistically, I don't know how anyone can think that any other coach would have been able to have much more success with this team.
Last years team was 4-12. We are 3-11 right now, with significantly less talent.
On offense:
Traded Winslow for draft picks.
Traded Edwards for Stuckey, Trusnick, and draft picks.
That's our two biggest threats on offense gone - replaced with Chanci Stuckey.
On defense:
Lost Shaun Rodgers to injury.
Lost D'Qwell Jackson to injury.
Lost Brodney Poole to injury.
Lost Eric Barton to injury.
Lost Sean Jones to free agency.
We've even lost our punter.
Rodgers, Jackson and Poole were our 3 best defensive players this year by a longshot. This defense was short on talent and big on heart to begin with. Losing those guys should have been a death sentence, yet they keep fighting to the point that we are actually winning some games now.
Yes, Matt Roth was a great addition. But I think Mangini deserves some credit as the guy who went out and got him.
This season I thought the Browns had the potential to win up to 7 games: Detroit, KC, Oakland, Buffalo, Denver, and Cinci x2. That was the max. So I thought 4-5 wins would be realistic. As it turned out, Denver and Cinci were better than I thought they would be (though we played Cinci tough both times, the first meeting especially).
After the Edwards trade, I thought 1-15 was looking extremely likely. Suddenly our offense featured not a single player that opposing defenses had to key on. Our offense failed to gain over 200 total yards in each of the 5 games following the trade, and it looked much of the time like they had no business being on a professional football field.
But, somehow, ever since the bye week this team has been getting better. Even though we are only 2-4 in that span, watching the Browns is no longer the brutal ritual I put myself through during the first 8 weeks of the season. Suddenly, watching the Browns is exciting again. Even in losing, we look like a pro team. We are competitive. And I have to say, even though we were 0-4 after the bye, I was happy. I still thought we would go 1-15 (maybe 2-14), but I was happy that I could watch my football team without being thoroughly embarrassed. But beating the Steelers was huge. I don't care if they have been struggling, we beat the Steelers. The same Steelers team that gained 537 yards this week, that still might make the playoffs, that we haven't beaten in years. Beating the Chiefs was just gravy, and if we can win one more game, we are right where I thought we'd be prior to the season (not knowing how much talent we were going to lost throughout the season).
Has Mangini been perfect? Of course not. I would have preferred that wasn't so coy about who was going to start the season. And I think a $2000 fine for not paying for a bottle of water is excessive. And though I agree with the way he has managed the QB's in season, I can certainly understand the arguments of those who were upset with it.
But it is undeniable that this team is light years better than it was earlier this season, despite the loss of Edward's talents and the myriad injuries they have been plagued with. Moreover, this team hasn't quit, especially the defense (and I do give Ryan a lot of credit for that). Every down, you know they are significantly less talented than the offense, yet I haven't seen a Brown's defense play with this kind of passion since 2002. The players seem to love playing for this guy and it shows in how hard they play. That's something Holmgren should not take lightly.
I have always loved the Browns, but this year is first time in a long while that I can say I love this team.
UFA. I have heard some chatter about Holmgren might want to bring him in.