Mike Holmgren Talks About Cleveland Browns New GM Tom Heckert

(Opening statement)- “We have the thing going tomorrow where Eric (Mangini) will be there as well as Bryan (Wiedmeier) and Tom (Heckert). What we wanted to do was if you had any questions before tomorrow we can kind of get that out of the way a little bit.”

(On if Heckert will have control of the 53-man roster)- “Yes, he’s going to set up the 53-man roster, but I would temper that just a little bit. He and I are going to be in close communication on that. That will be his responsibility.”

(On what he believes are Heckert’s strengths)- “If you look at his resume first of all, he has got tremendous experience in the league. I think he has a tremendous work ethic. He is very, very bright. He’s been successful. He’s done a great job in both Miami and Philadelphia. Lastly, his personality is one [where] he’s a great team player and very impressive guy. I think when you get a chance to talk to him and meet with him you’ll see that as well.”

(On how Will Lewis’ interview went and if there could be a position for him down the road)- “Will did a great job coming in here. As you know Will and I are friends. We’ve been together a long time. I brought him to Seattle from Green Bay. He came in. He had a great interview. He had a chance to meet with Randy (Lerner) who was here that particular day. Given what’s going on in Seattle right now, I’m so hopeful that there might be a couple guys there that I might still talk to and maybe I’ll get another chance to talk to Will as well.”

(On if the assistant coaches will be back in their current roles next season)- “That’ll be Eric’s call. Of course we’ve talked about it. He’s going through that right now. My feeling is, in our initially conversations, is that he was pleased with how the guys did this year. That’s not to say that if someone became available that a change might take place. All in all, I think that we’re still a little bit away from that. As of right now things are pretty much as they were last there. There could be a couple changes though down the road, but not yet.”

(On what front office roles he still has to fill)- “I think there there are a couple of positions. I mentioned the other day that if possible, in looking at how the organization was set up, if I could streamline it a little bit I would try and do that. There are a couple positions, I guess, we could categorize in operations. There are a couple of things on the business side that I’m still looking at. Bryan just got in here today. We’re going to sit down in the next couple days and really go over that with a fine tooth comb and see how he wants to set it up as well. I think I said this the other day too, I want to make sure that I do the right thing, if changes are made, as best I can. We’re going to take our time here now. I think it was very, very important to get these two men in place because in the organizational chart they’re two of the three or four that will report directly to me and then have a lot of responsibility throughout the organization.”

(On how much Heckert had to deal with draft in Philadelphia and if that is a big part of what he’ll be doing here)- “Terry (Pluto), Andy Reid and I are really good friends. Andy thought the world of Tom. I think they worked hand in hand, but clearly Tom set up the board, ran the personnel side of that. As you approach the draft you, of course, you funnel down those meetings from assistant coaches, scouts and everybody down to the decision makers and I think that’s what happened in Philadelphia and that’s what will happen here. Tom had a lot to do with the success they had in Philadelphia in personnel. If you asked Andy Reid he would tell you the same thing.”

(On his decision to keep Eric Mangini and how his meetings went with him)- “The meetings went very well. The decision I had to make it would have been easy for me, given the responsibility that I have, to come in and just kind of, without thinking a great deal, just kind of say, ‘Okay, I’m going to change everything,’ particularly on the coaching level. I know a lot of coaches in this business and there are a lot of good coaches, so that was on one side of the coin. The other side of the coin was I wanted to make sure that I didn’t make a mistake. Getting to know Eric allowed me to at least feel as though we had the guy in place already, and so that was my decision. As we continued to talk there were two or three things that were important. One, initially being a coach myself, I think having a coach in place for a year and then telling him he no longer has a job, I think that’s basically unfair, that’s one thing. Two, I think the team got better as the season went along, by anyone’s standards. It was rough in the beginning. It was kind of tough in the middle, but they finished strong and that says something about how he kept the guys together and how his coaches continued to work and those things, so that was a plus. Three, I liked him. I liked our talks. I think he was very candid, very honest. He also listened. I thought he was a pretty good listener with me. Lastly, he’s a defensive coach. In this particular division I think you need to play really good defense when the weather gets bad. I should culminate with saying that he showed a willingness to work as a team player. I think he was thrust into a position where he had to accept a lot more responsibly than was fair, through no fault of his own. I thought I could act as a little bit of a mentor in some ways. [You] put all that stuff together, I thought I had the right guy.”

(On specifically saying 2010 in his statement on Mangini returning as head coach, and it may be appearing as if he is on a one year trial)- “I’m sure you’re right and I’m sure I said that, but that’s not that I meant by that. I think I was just referencing that date. I was in front of you guys for the first time. I was very nervous.”

(On if Mangini is on a one year trial)- “No, he’s not on a one year [trial]. I will say this, I talked to the staff and I talked to Eric and my expectations for the football team next year are at a certain level. They know that. This business can be harsh at times, so I expect us to improve and I expect to see improvement, as do they. Please don’t infer that I was saying this is a one year shot. Now, everyone is accountable for the job they do and we’ll see what happens.”

(On where things stand with Joshua Cribbs’ contract)- “I said it the other day, I believe I said this, that we would like Josh here, certainly. He’s a part of the Browns and a wonderful player for us. He has got three years left on his current contract. It’s almost unprecedented to change that dramatically in this business. Having said that, what we’ve tried to do is absolutely reward him for what he’s done and what potentially he could do in the future and we have a difference of opinion. You guys that have covered sports for a long time realize that that happens. Everybody, I think, wants this to work out and I’m no different. We will continue to have dialogue, if possible. We’re looking at ways now maybe to change what’s going on with Josh and the offer and we’ll see. We’re getting new people in here and trying to get people in place. I’m new. I’m still hopeful that [to] everyone’s satisfaction we can work this out.”

(On if was not a ‘take it or leave it’ offer made to Cribbs)- “That take it or leave it stuff, I think that went out a long time ago. I’m not sure you ever say that. The one thing that I think you have to try and avoid is negotiating against yourself. Any sort of negation is, in my opinion, a two way street. My hope is that we can get this to a win-win situation. Yes, I think there’s a chance. There’s light at the end of the tunnel hopefully.”

(On the speculation that bringing back Mangini makes it possible for him to return to coaching or hire a coach he knows next season)- “No, that’s not why I made that decision. When I made the decision to keep Eric and the coaches, the idea of it being a one year trial or one year shot never entered my mind. If I had even thought about that, you’re probably better off just kind of clearing the decks and starting all over again. We’re going to be better next year. There is a tremendous resolve. He’s a good football coach. I might be a little too old to get back out there and run around.”

(O if he connected well with Mangini)- “I felt we did, yes.”

(On if he surprised that he was able to find as much common ground with Mangini as he did)- “Not really. I mean, didn’t know Eric very well. We bumped into each other at the owner’s meetings on occasion. I know a lot of the people that he’s worked with. With me, whether I’m talking to players or coaches or even you guys, if we don’t know each other very well, always with me it’s kind of a clean slate and we build our own relationship and our own communication system, if you will and that’s how I went into my discussion with Eric. I can’t say I was pleasantly surprised. I just liked how he did it. It helped me in making the decision.”

(On if the idea of mentoring someone weighed into his decision)- “I think we’re all wired a certain way. In any job I ever took in coaching, it maybe just worked out that way, there were tremendous challenges in rebuilding something that appeared to be somewhat broken. I’m wired that way. Now this situation, I think it goes back to my old days when I was a high school history teacher and coach and all of that kind of stuff for 11 years. I really enjoyed it and you really get a chance to teach. When I became a pro coach, I looked at it the same way. Now I am in a different role certainly, but I’m still a teacher at heart. The thing is, on anything like that, the person has to want to also accept maybe some of your experience. That’s also a two-way street. Yes, I like the thought and I hope I can do that. To make it really work, both sides have to want that to work and that’s the feeling I got.”

(On why Philadelphia didn’t want to keep Heckert)- “It happens in organizations where young guys come in and work there and they’re there for a long time. In some respects and again I’ll equate it to my coaching experience, with guys like Andy (Reid) or Jon Gruden or Steve (Mariucci), whoever it was when they were coaching for me. At some point you know they’re good enough to go do this on their own and so you kind of prepare yourself and prepare them to do it. It’s part of the fun of being a ‘mentor’ if you will. I think Tom had been there, had done it and now he had a chance to go someplace with even more responsibility. Really, it was time, maybe, for a different place. I think also Philadelphia I just saw today where they hired a new general manager, so clearly Philadelphia felt okay with allowing Tom to leave because they had someone else that they thought could come in and do the job. I think you put those two things together and we were the fortunate recipient of the whole thing.”

(On if new scouts will be hired)- “He’s going to handle that part of it, yes. He is responsible for that group of men. Whether he hires new ones or looks at the guys we have, typically in this business, you guys know this, very little is done before the draft. Then after the draft those kinds of decisions are made because of the dates on the contracts and so on and so forth. He has that responsibility, whether he exercises it or not remains to be seen.”

(On who reports to who)- “I’m the big boss. I told you that the other day. I get the say in everything (joking). We’re looking at it as a partnership. I’m there to break the ties. If we do this right, and we’re going to do everything in our power to do it correctly, while we might disagree at the end of the day when we pick a player or we make a decision on a cut, it’s for the Cleveland Browns. We will all do it as a group and together. They will have absolute responsibilities. They’re bright guys. I’d be making a huge mistake if I didn’t use all the people I have. I’d rather not say who boss is who. Let’s just say, I get to be the boss.”

(On who would make player personnel and scouting decisions)- “After we get things in place, that will be the general manager’s responsibility with input from me. With Eric as an example, he will have responsibility for his coaches and his coaching staff. I reserve the right to, not make that decision, but certainly discuss thing with both Eric and Tom about those positions. They will be responsible for their departments.”

(On the relationship between Heckert and Mangini and why Heckert withdrew himself from consideration last year)- “They’ve been together all day today, I’ll tell you that. They seem to be doing fine. I didn’t hear any yelling down there. I went in there a couple times. I think that’s a good question to ask Tom tomorrow to be honest. I could give you my answer, what I think his reasons were. Ask him tomorrow, he’ll tell you. It had nothing to do with Eric. I had something to do with, I believe he’d tell you, about his situation in Philadelphia, what he wanted to accomplish there and so on. Absolutely ask him tomorrow.”

(On Brady Quinn’s injury)- “I met with our training staff today. I don’t believe he is going to need surgery. He needs some time, clearly. As far as the specifics of the injury, again, we can talk about that little bit tomorrow, but I don’t believe he is going to have to have surgery.”

(On if Quinn has a lisfranc injury)- “That’s the first thought, yes.”

(On if he has worked in an organization that is set up like this one)- “Let me think. No, not that I can think of. My experiences, of course in this league, were with the 49ers, the Packers and the Seahawks. No, all the Presidents in those organizations where they had a president, although Bill Walsh was the Head Coach and President of the 49ers when I was an assistant coach, it wasn’t set up quite this way. I think this might wind up being somewhat unique because I am going to be very involved in the football aspect and often times the President is more involved in the business side of it.”

(On what his days are like)- “It’s interesting. When I talked to Randy about this position a little while ago, I thought, ‘This is going to be really great.’ I was telling Kathy, ‘This is going to be really great. I am going to hire all of these people and I can just take people to lunch. I can do all sorts of stuff.’ My first couple of weeks it’s been a whirlwind. It’s energizing. It’s wonderful. I’m very, very excited about this. My challenge, honestly, is not to bug those guys too much, because I have a lot of ideas on how to do stuff after all these years of coaching. I know this, I’ve hired really good people and you’ll get a little taste of that tomorrow. They are very, very capable and now how I mold the job will be, kind of, how I support them, how I help them, how I direct traffic. That’s how I kind of see it going. Right now, I start the day and I have a little sandwich at my desk at lunch and I’m going pretty hard most of the day.”