National Football League

Rolling Stone likens Mangini to 'Hurricane Andrew'

Published Oct. 20, 2009 8:54 p.m. ET

foxsports

Even Rolling Stone is throwing rocks at Browns coach Eric Mangini.

In its latest issue, the iconic music magazine stepped outside its usual arena with a harsh critique of Mangini, comparing him to Augustus Gloop, the fictional overeater in Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and calling his short coaching tenure in Cleveland "a sort of Hurricane Andrew of football mismanagement."

Mangini, fired by the New York Jets in December, has become a target of abuse — much of it from outside Cleveland — for some of his decisions this season, most notably his handling of the Browns quarterbacks and excessive fines levied on players who break his rules.

The Browns are 1-5 with their only win a 6-3 decision over the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 11.

Long before Rolling Stone piled on, Mangini was being slammed for some of his coaching methods. He has fined players for not adhering to his policies — like parking in the wrong spot — and he slapped one unidentified player a $1,701 fine for failing to pay for a $3 bottle of water during a hotel stay.

Some players complained privately about the length of training camp practices and more hitting than some of them had experienced since high school. Mangini also has subjected players to pop quizzes during meetings, his way of making sure they are learning their playbook and about each other. He forced his rookies to take a 10-hour bus trip this summer to his football camp, and made his team practice outdoors in the rain.