An Impressive Bird

By Tom Rock

What?s in a name? Eric Mangini spoke today about being called Penguin by the players (though not to his face). ?It?s developing a life of its own,? he said, pointing out the serendipity of recent pop-culture penguin references. He said someone sent him the tap-dancing penguin from the new movie ?Happy Feet? and he?s had several books, movies and stuffed animals sent to him and turn up in his life. There?s even a new self-help book about succeeding in business that uses the penguin as a symbol of success. ?They?re an impressive bird,? Mangini said of the ubiquitous presence of the feathered image. ?I think it?s hilarious.?

But when he was asked about another nickname ? Manginius ? he turned flush and began stammering. It?s clear he prefers to be called Penguin rather than Manginius.

As many of you posters have pointed out ? and thank you for your comments ? I wrote a story this week about the gap between Mangini and the players, the idea of which was to point out that while Belichick is a successful jerk a coach doesn?t need to be a jerk to be successful. Mangini and the players may not be a huggy-kissy bunch just yet, but they are bridging the gap over a chasm that was dangerously wide a few weeks ago. To that point, Mangini is starting to bend a little himself. He let the players practice in shells on Wednesday, the first time he did so this season. As long as the tempo and intensity remain the same as a full-contact practice, Mangini said he would start to sprinkle in those shell days as the season goes along. For a football coach, giving players a day in shells is the equivalent of sending a dozen roses to your wife. It keeps you in good graces and helps erase a lot of the recent rough patches.

Posted at: 24.11.2006
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