MANGINI SENDS STRONG, BUT INCONSISTENT, MESSAGE

Earlier this afternoon, we posted an item about a new, and annoying, trend of writers with annual earnings in the five figures to drive the whaaambulance for coaches who’ll earn well into the six figures (and some in the seven figures) this year, even if they have to spend a few weeks not knowing the names of the persons who’ll sign their checks. We discovered the item in the Akron Beacon Journal after visiting Deadspin and then clicking through to three other stories. (It really isn’t that hard to do it -- so visit CFT.) The thing that first caught our attention was the news that new Browns coach Eric Mangini had painted over a mural featuring former Browns greats like Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Paul Brown, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Lou Groza, and Leroy Kelly. The easy reaction is outrage. The deeper reaction, given the specific dynamics of the Browns organization, is encouragement. The Browns, like many NFL teams, have a rich and storied history. But too much of that history (specifically, too many of their historical players) have a voice in the current affairs of the franchise. It’d be different if those former players had collected a case full of Lombardi trophies. But this group of former players who are regarded as deities by fans and, apparently, current ownership of the team have failed to even generate a single Super Bowl appearance. With the Cardinals qualifying for a berth in the 43rd edition of the game, the Browns are now one of only five franchises who have never made it. The others are the Texans, Jaguars, Lions, and Saints. Two of them, the Texans and the Jaguars, have partial excuses -- neither existed before 1995. For the Browns, the only solace is that the franchise was gone from 1996 through 1998, and thus has missed out on only 40 chances to win (or to lose) a Super Bowl. So to the extent that Mangini was trying to send a message to the current players that the past is the past and all that matters is the present and the future, we applaud him. But the applause isn’t rousing. It’s more along the lines of the perfunctory three claps for the kid who just butchered “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in the piano recital. If Mangini plans to make a tactical break from the past in pursuit of an even better future, he shouldn’t have pandered to the concept of tradition at his introductory press conference. “When [owner] Randy [Lerner] called me last week it was the same feeling, the same level of excitement, the same level of pride,” Mangini said. “The Dawg Pound, Jim Brown, all those special things, this is one of the most storied franchises in football history.” So the message, while strong, is inconsistent.