SERBY'S SUNDAY Q&A WITH... ERIC MANGINI By STEVE SERBY July 22, 2007 -- The Post's Steve Serby chatted with the Jets coach as he prepares to begin his second training camp later this week: Q: Does your older son (Jake, three years, five months) understand what you do? A: He knows I work for the Jets. He knows it's football, and he knows I coach. I don't think he totally gets why I'm here (at work) all the time. You should see my youngest (Luke, one year, five months). He's a little, stocky guy, chases his brother around and tries to tackle him. Q: The most fun thing you've done with them in the last year? A: When we were at the Cape, we probably spent five or six hours on multiple days in the pool. Jake can swim without any vest. He loved diving down the low end for coins. Luke wore a vest and never wanted to get out of the pool, either. Q: How many diapers have you changed? A: Significantly less than my wife (chuckles). It's not something I shy away from. I've gotten a lot better with the second one (Luke). Early on, I was putting them on too loose. (Wife) Julie hasn't had to redo any diapers of late. Q: Will you be showing fights to your team again? A: I've got a lot in the can. I think some will apply. Q: Most satisfying 2006 moment? A: When we qualified for the playoffs. Q: Angriest 2006 moment? A: There were a few. My frustration always comes when we don't execute the way we talked about, the way we practiced. Q: Coaching in New York? A: An incredible place. The energy of the city, and to be able to coach in front of these fans. I'm lucky to be in New York. Q: Was the job more or less fun than you expected? A: What I was told coming in was, "There are always gonna be multiple things each day you don't expect and don't plan for." I took that to heart. I'd say that's true. Q: Anything you'd change? A: I've been eating less and exercising more (chuckles). Q: Did you gain weight last year? A: A lot. Q: Have you lost a lot of weight? A: Quite a bit. Q: How much? A: (Chuckles) I've made significant progress. Q: Are there foods you stay away from? A: I'm trying to stay completely out of the cafeteria. A little bit of that goldfish mentality ... regardless how much food you put in (the tank), they try to eat it. Q: Best pizza in New York? A: (Chuckles). I'm on a never-ending quest to find that. Q: How often did you sleep in your office last season? A: I have the benefit of a video phone so I'd be able to see the boys, read them a story. It's almost like out of the Jetsons , and it's real time. They can see me and I can see them. Q: Would you say you averaged once a week? A: That's probably fair. Q: Would you say you're driven? A: Yes. Q: Why? A: Those were things instilled by my parents. My father was an incredibly hard worker and always wanted us to be the same. Q: Are you tough-minded? A: Tough-minded in the sense of hard-headedness or tough-minded if adversity strikes being able to handle it? Q: B. A: Yes. Julie would say the first one is true, too (chuckles). And maybe a few players. Q: Respectful? A: Yes. Q: Human ... able to laugh at yourself? A: I love self-deprecating humor. Q: Favorite comedian? A: I've always thought Chris Rock was hilarious. I finally got to meet him (Wednesday) night. Q: Maybe he can speak to the team. A: It would be fantastic. I invited him and Kevin James and Adam Sandler to come to practice. Q: No-nonsense disciplinarian? A: I believe rules are very important. Q: Does Thomas Jones remind you of Curtis Martin? A: His maturity, his approach, his work ethic ... a lot of those things are similar. The guy in the weight room is incredible. In terms of their style, it's a little bit different. (Jones) has got a real nice balance and ability to make people miss and put his shoulder down and drive forward. Q: Have you closed the gap on the Patriots? A: We're not looking at it in those terms. We're working on the things we have to do to get better. Q: Randy Moss joining them? A: Randy's been a good player for a long time. He's going to an outstanding team. Q: Favorite restaurants? A: Il Mulino and Nobu. Q: Are you recognized? A: Not much. We were at the Cape and these two girls were giggling. One of them said, "You ask him," and the other said, "YOU ask him." One girl turns to my brother-in-law and says, "Are you Kevin James?" Q: You like flying under the radar? A: It's great! Q: Even after appearing in that "Sopranos" episode? A: (Chuckles) That was a quick appearance. Q: Coaches or executives you admire? A: (Indians GM and brother-in-law) Mark Shapiro; Omar Minaya; Gregg Popovich; Jim Calhoun. Q: Favorite motivational sayings? A: The one we have out on the scoreboard at the practice field: "The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare." Also, "Don't sacrifice what you want most for what you want now." And Teddy Atlas has a great one: "Success is like a martini, it relaxes you." Q: Did the Jets overachieve last year? A: What's Bill Parcells always saying? You are what your record says you are. Q: Biggest lesson you learned? A: That would be hard to quantify because everything was a first. I learned things every single day, and now having this time to go back through notes, I'm constantly drawing on things we did last year. Q: What would you want to say to Jet fans about your team? A: I know we'll be working as hard as we possibly can to continue to make progress. http://www.nypost.com/seven/0722200...sunday_qa_with____jets_steve_serby.htm?page=0
thats great. as i was lying in bed with my gal watching HBO tonight...seeing previews for that KC/Herm reality show type thing...I was so happy to have Mangini and told her that the Jets' current coach is 100 times better than "this guy"
what the hell kind of interview was that? Serby: So uhhh - what did you have for dinner last night? Mangini: Pizza Serby: Was it good? Mangini: (chuckles) Yes, it was. Serby: How many slices did you have? Mangini: (chuckles) Significantly more than anyone else. Serby: Did you have to poop afterwards? Mangini: (chuckles) Yes, you should see my boys float.
Q: Would you say you're driven? A: Yes. THANKS!!!! This was the highlight: Q: Are you recognized? A: Not much. We were at the Cape and these two girls were giggling. One of them said, "You ask him," and the other said, "YOU ask him." One girl turns to my brother-in-law and says, "Are you Kevin James?"
could it have been possible to crowbar some real football in there? i like magini, but i dont care what pizza he likes....i want to know how he feels the 3-4 is going to work this year, and the additions we made to the team will help and impact on the field....
Real football questions? From Serby? You must not read the Post that much. I kept waiting for Serby to ask Mangini what kind of tree he would be. I did like his answer about which coaches or executives he admires. Notice anyone conspicuously absent from his list? Yeah, so did I.
Pretty much word for word what I was thinking. Serby = dumbass questions (although Mangini did his best and gave some insight into the kind of person he is) And that is the one question that really stuck out to me. No mention of Belly, Pioli, or Kraft.
Serby interviews as if he is the class newspaper writer for his 7th grade. What a horrible bunch of questions. Still, Mangini did a good job with it.
