Rulers Rant: Before you fire the Mangini, remember the Chad!

It wasn't so long ago that Jet fans were elated with the news that Eric Mangini would be coming to take over after Herm left. He was young, smart and from the right side of the coaching tree. He could finally beat the Patriots and get us into the playoffs and beyond. The newest in the long line of saviors.

Here we are three years later and the talk of the town is to ditch Mangini for his performance this year. The team has played erratic from week to week, been totally crap against poor West Coast Teams and is on the verge of missing the playoffs after once holding the top spot. The media and fans are calling for heads to roll from top to bottom in anguish but before we head out to find yet another coach, let us take a second to reflect a little.

Remember The Chad

At the end of last season Chad Pennington was vilified for not being enough of what we wanted in a quarterback. Not good enough to take a team anywhere and yet there he is down in Miami lifting a 1-15 team to a playoff contender. Before the fans and media run Mangini out of town, remember the quarterback who you want to get rid of and is now a pot of gold.

Good coaches just don't grow on trees, they are taught through years of ups and downs, mistakes and missteps. Mangini over thinks the game too much, plays it too tight and conservative but he excels at game planning and football knowledge. For the fans who want Bill Cowher, remember it took him over 10 years to win a Super Bowl. Remember that Bill Belichick didn't do squat his first three years with the Browns. Give Eric the time that good clubs do to build over years not with instant hits and success.

So before we get rid of one more problem, before we search for the next greatest thing, we as fans should look back history and realize that out dog in the dog house, might actually be worth hanging on to.