Browns coach Eric Mangini says he isn’t worried about the team’s flirtation with Mike Holmgren.
But maybe he should be.
After two days of meetings, talks are ongoing between the Browns and Holmgren, per the Associated Press. And there’s no timetable for a decision.
“It’s not unsettling, at all,” Mangini said Wednesday. “What I’m focused on, and what I asked the players to be focused on, is the task at hand, the opponent at hand.”
It’s a smart approach, even if Mangini knows in his heart that Holmgren will run him out the door. Mangini’s long-term interests are best served by winning as many games as possible between now and the end of the season, and a winnable game is coming up on Sunday at Kansas City.
If, in the end, he exits Cleveland with a four-game string of wins, Mangini’s chances of landing his next job will increase significantly.
And if Mangini does get fired, it won’t happen because he failed to kiss the ass of the new boss.
“I’m all for anybody that can come in and help us organizationally be more successful,” Mangini said. “That’s a great thing. The more smart people, talented people you can put in the building that have the same approach in terms of being focused on winning, that’s the best thing you can have.”
Right, as long as Mangini and not any other “smart, talented people” are calling the shots.