If all men count with you, but none too much

[Green Jets & Ham]

"IF all men count with you, but none too much"

That is a profound verse from the classic Rudyard Kipling poem - "IF"

The poem offers a series of "IF's", and suggests you can only be a man "IF" you can achieve these simple truths.

The one I sited above carries a simple {but profound} meaning ... there is a difference between being a good friend and being a flunky, and you can never be a man if you fail to discern the difference.

A man appreciates and respects his loved ones, but he doesn't live his life vicariously through his friends and he takes his marching orders from no man.

We may soon findout an awful lot about someone we know very little about ... a lot more than what kind of coach he might be, but instead what kind of man he is ... or "IF" he is a man at all?

By now all Jet fans have heard the rumors. It appears New England Patriots defensive coordinator, Eric Mangini, is a front-runner for the Jets head-coaching job.

Ah but it comes with a catch.

Coupled with these reports a possible snag has been widely speculated ... will Bill Belichick offer his blessing, or will he steer Mangini away from the Jets?

Well I'm here to tell you that there is nothing to fret.

Oh I can't assure you that Belichick will not steer Mangini away from the NY Jets, indeed he may, but if Mangini is that easily led around by his master what I can assure you is this ... we lost absolutely nothing worth having.

I contend that any man who grants another man that much control over his own life, to the extreme that he would actually reject one of thirty-two head coaching positions in the national football league, and in the media capitol of the world, based solely on the whim of his master, is really not a man at all.

This, my friends, would be the definition of a flunky ... a coffee fetcher ... someone who would rather serve his master and share in his masters glory than risk it all to make his own bones as the top man.

So do not fret at the prospect of losing Mangini for the reasons that have been articulated in numerous reports, because Massa Bill talked him out of it.

I repeat, if that is even remotely possible ... if it is even possible that Bill Belichick controls Eric Mangini to that degree ... we would be better served if Mangini follows his masters orders because the last thing we need in New York, a town that is not for the faint of heart, is a man who can hardly call himself a man.

I know, I can hear it now ... but Mangini is a wiz kid and he's just what we need, a bright young football mind to succeed the X's and O's challenged Herman Edwards.

This is true, but it "matters not" if he has a heart the size of a mustard seed.

Here's the bottom line, my friends ... if your head coach is not a leader of men, as opposed to being an easily led servant, all of the football knowledge in this universe will not make him a successful head coach.

And here's the thing about the tough men who play this game, those you must lead into battle ... they can spot a flunky a mile away.

If you are not a born leader, those men will be the first to know it, not the last.

But wait a minute, you say ... what if Mangini just doesn't feel like coaching in the same division as his friend and prefers to wait for another opportunity to arise elsewhere?

You mean aside from the fact that there are currently numerous openings and I don't see other teams breaking down his door, and the fact that a future head-coaching position in the NFL is promised to no-one who has never been a head coach, much less a successful head coach, to place on his resume?

Well let's take Nick Saban for example ...

Nick Saban and Bill Belichick have been close friends for many years, their relationship is well documented, but did that stop Nick Saban from taking the Miami job to avoid confrontation with Bill?

No, it didn't, and here's why ... because Nick Saban is a coaching lifer, not a clinger, and he fears coaching against no man.

It's not personal, it's business.

Twice each season Nick Saban will try to beat his friend silly, then perhaps buy him a beer when the game is over. Belichick understands this because he too is a coaching lifer. He knows Nick Saban wants to beat his brains in on that football field, then shake his hand when the whuppin is complete, and I'm sure he respects Saban for welcoming the competition.

Do you think Belichick tried to talk Saban out of taking the Miami job?

I don't think so, because Belichick knows that nobody calls the shots for Nick Saban except Nick Saban, and maybe his wife.

In short, Belichick knows that Nick Saban is a mans man, so I doubt he would dare to insult Nick Saban by injecting himself into Saban's life to that extent.

As I said at the top, there is a difference between being a good and loyal friend, and being a puppet ... Saban knows the difference ... Belichick knows that Saban knows the difference ... but is the same true of Eric Mangini?

Stay tuned, my friends ... if these reports are accurate, both that Mangini is a front-runner and Belichick may lure him away, chances are that question will soon be answered.

If Mangini is offered the Jets job and takes it, all of the above is moot and we may just benifit from his football acumen. Might even discover a diamond in the rough. Perhaps even someone who can best his former boss in due time.

But if Mangini is offered the Jets job and refuses to accept it, you can bet it's because his master advised against it and he took his marching orders like a good little flunky ... then fetched his boss some coffee ... because you don't turn down an opportunity to secure one of thirty-two head coaching positions in the NFL, a job thousands of coaches would kill for, in a major media market, because you decided it was a bad idea.

Maybe if you're Bill Parcells or a coach of that ilk, someone who can pick his own job based on his hall of fame credentials, but not when you are a neophyte hotshot who is seeking his first opportunity to lead men into battle as the top man.

Make no mistake about it, there are only 32 of these Jobs in the entire world, and thousands of coaches would kill to have one ... and no neophyte is refusing to accept an HC Job in New York unless he's insane or soft.

So if Mangini is indeed offered the Jets job as has been speculated, only one of two things will happen ... Mangini will cut the cord with Bill Belichick and seek to make his own bones in New York, or he will follow his masters orders and fetch Massa Bill some coffee.

It's a win/win for the Jets.

They either get their man or lose someone who was never a man to begin with.

It's that simple

[BwanaZulia]

Good post (great poem, BTW).

I agree that if the only reason Mangini doesn't take the job, if he is offered it, is because BB talks him out of it, well, he is not for us.

But we should all keep the perspective that young, unproven Head Coaches who fail miserably in their first try at HC are a dime a dozen and we might BB's Browns.

What I like about Mangini, is it spells a new shot for the Jets. A new leadership and some new young blood to turn this team around.

Of course, if Parcells wanted to come back, I would take him as well!

BZ

[NIGHT STALKER]

Excellent post GJH...it could also mean that this franchise of ours is screwed up even more than we think it is.

[mbn007]

GJH;

Solid post, as usual. And there is a nagging issue thatI have, which you so eloquently brought out:

Is Eric M. so beholden to BB, that he would reject a shot at a HC position because BB says no?

I beleive the answer is just like you stated. If he does, we have lost nothing at all. We do not need a guy who is afraid of his own possible failure, that he needs his "mentor" to guide him.

Give me Sherman if Eric refuses to take the job. But make sure Bradway offers a 5 year deal on Sunday when he meets Eric. Then, Eric, you decide.

[Barton]

Exactly.

But I have a question for you Ham...

How the hell do you post a thread a jetnation and not show up as a user that has logged on here today on the forum index page? :?

[Maxman]

How the hell do you post a thread a jetnation and not show up as a user that has logged on here today on the forum index page? :?

Anonymous users do not show up in that list. If you check that option (hide your online status) you don't appear in Who's Online either.

[Barton]

Anonymous users do not show up in that list. If you check that option (hide your online status) you don't appear in Who's Online either.

Are you green jets & ham? Was I talkin to you eh?!