Report: Mangini Fines Player Over Bottle Of Water

Posted Sep 19, 2009 2:34PM By JJ Cooper (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Browns, AFC North, NFL Coaching, NFL Rumors

First there were the reports of Browns coach Eric Mangini requiring a mandatory bus trip to work for free at his football camp. There were the rumors that Mangini slapped a curfew on players attending "voluntary" offseason workouts. And there was the talk that Mangini screwed Josh Cribbs out of an agreed-to contract renegotiation.

Now Yahoo!'s Michael Silver is reporting that the Browns fined a player $1,701 for drinking a $3 bottle of water out of the hotel minibar during a road trip without paying for it at the front desk upon leaving.

If half of the reports about Mangini are true, you have to wonder why anyone would willingly choose to play for him. Coaches like Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells have managed to combine a team-first mentality with cold-blooded decision-making because they win. But Mangini has siphoned off the worst aspects of Belichick and Parcells without yet showing any signs that he has any of their coaching genius.

But all of these stories coming out will likely make Cleveland a black hole when it comes to signing free agents in the offseason. With so many other teams to choose from, why would a player want to deal with all the pettiness that comes with working for Mangini?