E-Boland & Gang Green

By Tom Rock

The Mangini Sense of Humor continues to emerge. Today he segued from talking about Laveranues Coles to a bit on “Elmo’s World.” Here’s how.

The coach said that when he was at TOP (my new shorthand for “the other place”; and for future reference CJV will stand for Core Jets Values) and the Jets reacquired Coles from the Redskins, his first thought was “What a headache.”

Mangini then spoke about Coles’ toughness and his humility in a world filled with wide receivers who are often neither. Then we asked if Coles, who has been the most outspoken Jet under Mangini, still gives the coach headaches.

“He and I enjoy each other’s company,” Mangini said. “He’s given me a nice nickname, which has permeated quite extensively.”

That nickname is, of course, the Penguin, derived because of the way Mangini shuffles around the field and the sideline.

Mangini then said his son Jake was watching “Elmo’s World” a few days ago and the focus of the segment was on penguins. Jake said “Hey, Dad, watch this!” and started waddling around the living room.

“I thought that maybe he had lunch with Laveranues,” Mangini said.

As for the nickname – the Penguin – Mangini said it doesn’t bother him. He even showed the team a clip from “March of the Penguins” when the moniker was beginning to gather steam, his way of showing the Jets that he not only knew about their musings but that he also thought penguins have very strong characteristics.

“It’s not a negative thing,” he said. “I think it’s kind of funny.”