Darrelle Revis doesn't seem to think Eric Mangini compares to Rex Ryan.
"Everybody had mixed feelings about (Mangini)," Revis said. "As a team, you can't go far (like that). ... We're men, we're not boys. Coach Mangini ran it like a high-school team where he wanted all the control."
This is pretty striking. Darrelle's a soft spoken guy. This is about as harsh as he gets.
I hear what he is saying. It's not just that Mangini was demanding. The things he was demanding about just really don't matter. I've heard stories about Mangini flipping on offensive players at meetings because they couldn't name the offensive starters on the next opponent. Who cares? They were facing the defensive players on the other team, not the offensive ones.
Rex's guys would run through a wall for him. The player's coach angle can be a bad thing if players walk over the coach. I don't get that impression with Rex. He hasn't been afraid to suspend guys for complaining about their playing time or making stupid penalties.
I think this ultimately goes back to experience. Rex paid his dues as a coach and waited a long time to get the job. He had a chance to develop his own style and think about how he would run a team. Mangini was so green, all he could do was try and imitate his mentor. What he didn't realize is Bill Belichick can get away with what he does because he has three rings. Eric doesn't have that kind of credibility. Players won't automatically listen.