By Tom Rock
So, this is it, the final day of training camp. Not that things will change dramatically in the next few days and weeks. Basically the practices will be a bit shorter, the meetings a little less dense and the players will be allowed to leave their dorm rooms here at Hofstra.
Still, everyone is very excited about the changes. Even Eric Mangini, who was in a giddy mood at his late-morning press conference. He cracked a few jokes and even poked some fun at himself. When asked if he thought he would be the starting head coach, he delivered the company line “I’m just trying to compete with the guys who are here and help the team however I can.” Straight-faced humor with good timing. He should show that side of himself more often, it’s very charming.
On a serious note, Mangini addressed the Kevan Barlow mess. Barlow had some parting shots on his way out of San Fran, quotes that won’t help his image as a rabble-rouser in this new un-rabbled Jets environment.
“(49ers coach Mike) Nolan just doesn't know what he's doing. He's a first-time head coach with too much power," Barlow told the Contra Costa Times. "He has too much power as a first-time head coach. He walks around with a chip on his shoulder, like he's a dictator, like he's Hitler. People are scared of him. If it ain’t Nolan's way, it's the highway.”
Barlow later pulled back on his dictator theme (though, interestingly, not on the first-time coach business). Mangini, a first-time coach, said he spoke with Barlow this morning about his words. Mangini also said Barlow phoned Nolan to talk about the report.
“I was speaking on emotion. ... My world's been [turned upside down] in the past [48] hours,” Barlow told the paper shortly after his initial outburst.
It’s a good thing the Jets let Barlow sleep in yesterday. Who knows what he would have said under the stress of further sleep deprivation.