Holmgren to take time on Mangini decision

The Browns’ new president said he would evaluate the coach’s entire season, not just the last three games.

BEREA (AP) — New Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren has not decided if coach Eric Mangini will be back next season.

Holmgren, who signed a five-year contract to try and fix the Browns, said Monday that he will wait until he arrives in Cleveland next week before making any changes.

Holmgren plans to meet with Mangini after the Browns (4-11) complete their season. He said it would not be fair to discuss Mangini’s status with one game left.

“He’s at the end of finishing his first season, the team is doing well and responding to him,” said Holmgren, who was in Arizona and spoke to reporters on a conference call.

Holmgren did not provide any clues as to which way he’s leaning. He appreciates how tough it can be for a coach to transform a team in one season.

“I’m not a big fan of the quick hook,” he said. “I never did that with quarterbacks when they played for me and I really don’t think one year is enough to prove what you’re trying to get done. I wouldn’t be a big fan of just allowing a guy to coach just one year and out. But having said that, I haven’t made any decisions yet.”

The 61-year-old Holmgren said he will evaluate the entirety of Mangini’s first season in Cleveland, and won’t decide based solely on the team’s current three-game winning streak.

“I feel I have some time to think about this and I want to do what is right for the organization and the Cleveland Browns,” he said. “That’s my charge.

“I want to see the team’s record better. I want the organization to be functioning properly. I want the fans to be very proud of their team.

“That’s the decision I have to make and that is going to take a little time. Not a lot of time, but a little time.”

Holmgren said he has no plans to coach “in the near future,” leaving open the chance he could return to the sideline.

Holmgren did not reveal his intentions to reconfigure Cleveland’s front-office, but the former Green Bay and Seattle coach said he plans to hire a general manager.

The Browns host Jacksonville on Sunday.

Holmgren said he and Mangini already have had productive discussions and that any philosophical differences could be worked out.

“He wants the same things I do,” Holmgren said. “We want the team to be better, we want to win, we want the fans to feel good, we’re going after the same thing.

“I think when you have guys — their vision’s the same and you’re pulling in the same direction — some of the other stuff, you can get it done, you can come to an agreement and make it work.”

Holmgren said the chance to rebuild a once-pround franchise is what drew him to the Browns, who have made one playoff appearance since their expansion return in 1999.

“I took the job because there is something inside of me that enjoys the challenge of fixing something, tweaking something to get it back on track again,” he said.

Holmgren joked that he might not be ready to take on such a big project.

“I have way too much responsibility,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m really looking forward to it. It’s quite different from what I’m used to.”

When he stepped down as Seattle’s coach after last season, Holmgren went into semiretirement to spend more time with his family. He wasn’t anticipating such a quick return to the NFL, but said his desire to work in Cleveland grew as he learned more about owner Randy Lerner.

“I know a lot of owners, I call some my friends,” he said. “I’d never really met Randy or spent any time with him.

“I will tell you this, it was very, very refreshing. Clearly, he wants his football team to do well. When he presented the job to me and what it would entail and the type of access I would have to him, and his vision for the team and the fans and the city of Cleveland, as far as I was concerned he hit a home run.

“Obviously the job’s a great job. I really took this job because of the owner. I think he cares that much and I don’t want to let him down.”