If Eric Mangini is trying to win friends and influence people in the greater Cleveland area, he sure has an odd way of doing it. In one of his first orders of business as the Browns new head coach, Mangini has decided to change the culture in Cleveland by ripping down a mural containing Jim Brown, Otto Graham, Lou Groza and Paul Brown. Because nothing says change in culture like removing a tribute to the most important people in franchise history and replacing it with, well, nothing. The mural was located at the team's practice facility in Berea, Ohio, and in its place is a spectacularly bland, plain white wall. Exciting. I'm guessing this is to represent what the Browns have accomplished since the players mentioned above hung up their cleats. Or, perhaps, it represents that Mangini has absolutely lost his mind and is about to get a face full of fist from Jim Brown.
What's he going to do next? Change the name of the team to the Cleveland Manginis?
In a twisted and bizarre way, it's kind of funny when you think about it, because Mangini is simply following in the footsteps of Bill Belichick, his one-time mentor, who was also rather fond of pissing off the good people of Cleveland during his time there.
As Bob Glauber points out, Belichick alienated many former Browns players -- but did he ever tear down a mural of Hall of Famers to replace it with a white wall? -- while also tossing aside fan-favorite Bernie Kosar for Vinny Testaverde.
I can't wait to see what Mangini replaces the mural with, assuming he ever does.




