NO MAN’S LAND
Mangold heartbroken after stunning release by Gang Green
Nick Mangold wanted to remain a member of Gang Green, but the Jets had other plans. The All-Pro center talks exclusively with The Post’s Steve Serby about his surprise, how he waited to break the news to his family until after a Disney vacation and his plans for the future.
HE WAS a wide-eyed kid from small town Centerville, Ohio, who grew to love playing in New York, grew to love being a Jet and chasing the franchise’s elusive Super Bowl. He bled green-andwhite for 11 years, as classy and loyal and professional as anyone who has worn the jersey.
Even after all the Jets turbulence and turmoil — the Buttfumble and Tim Tebow and Geno Smith and Rex Ryan and John Idzik — Nick Mangold held tight to the dream of retiring a Jet.
D’Brickashaw Ferguson, his fellow 2006 first-round draft choice, had read the handwriting on the salary-cap wall and retired a Jet f ol l owing t he 2015 season. But Mangold was certain he had more to give — even at 33, even after an ankle that betrayed him and dented his relentless durability and dependability, four damn games missed over his first 10 seasons — and could not see any handwriting on the salary-cap wall. Only there was. “I was hoping there was going to be a negotiation of some sort to get something worked out,” Mangold told The Post, in his first interview since his dream was shattered, “but when you’re told, ‘Hey, we’re cutting you, and good luck,’ that really caught me off guard.”
And just like that, 11 heart-and-soul seasons wearing No. 74 with pride and honor ended with one phone call from general manager Mike Maccagnan.
Asked if it was heartbreaking for him, Mangold’s answer should tell you everything you need to know about the man, and why he was so beloved by his coaches, teammates and fans.
“Yeah,” he said. “There’s a lot of people in that organization, not just players, that have affected my life and been a part of my life. But you have your equipment staff, your training staff, coaches that have come through, front office staff, marketing, ticketing, the kitchen staff, the operations. … There’s a whole bunch of people in that building who have been around for a long time, that it’s difficult that I’m not being able to have a proper goodbye and say goodbye to those people at the office ’ cause now I’m a free agent. I’ll have to call to be able to go over to the facility.
“I don’t think my code’s going to work anymore.”
Mangold was lunching at Epcot when his world was turned upside down.
“It was a Disney extravaganza that was kind of clouded a little bit,” Mangold said. He wasn’t about to jeopardize Disney World for his 6-year- old son Matthew, however.
“He took it a lot better than I was expecting,” Mangold said. “Maybe as parents we build things up more than they need to be, but I sat him down after we got back from Disney ’ cause I didn’t want to have the cloud of Daddy not playing for the Jets anymore over Disney. So I sat him down once we got him and said, ‘Hey, Daddy’s not going to play for the Jets anymore, I’m going to see what’s out there and see if I can play for another team.’ ” “OK,” Matthew replied. “You’re good with that?” Mangold asked. “Yeah, that’s fine.” It wasn’t so fine for his wife, Jennifer. “She was hurt and she was upset … sad as well,” Mangold said.
“It’s definitely going to be different. I’ve worn the same uniform for 11 years, which is the longest I’ve ever worn a uniform, even going back to my grade-school days. I only wore the same uniform going to school for eight years. It’s going to be a difficult transition.”
They all understand the business side of it. Mangold carried a $9.075 million cap number, and became the first domino to fall, before it was known Darrelle Revis and Brandon Marshall won’t return, either. But it seems so much crueler when it happens to one of the franchise’s best and brightest gladiators.
“I’ve seen the other moves that have been pulled off recently, and it just seems to be the route that they’re taking,” Mangold said, “to get younger and cheaper.”
There was a Woody Hayes book entitled “You Win With People!” and the late Ohio State coach could have been talking about Nick Mangold, a proud Buckeye.
“I still feel that I got a couple of good years left in me,” Mangold said. “I still love the game. It’s still a great passion of mine. So hopefully the right situation comes along, and be able to find a team that I can carry that on with.
“This whole free-agent thing is a whole new territory that I’ve never really had any experience like this, so I don’t know what to expect. I don’t know how it all works. I’ve got a couple of calls to make to try to ask a couple of guys what they went through and how they approached it. Just kind of taking it slow, and seeing what’s out there.”
Mangold always took the high road, always represented his organization the right way on and off the field. He appreciated the club delaying the announcement of his release last weekend for several days.
“Mike gave me a couple of days to come to grips with it and tell people I wanted to tell ahead of time, so even though it was a horrible situation, I thought they handled it the best way that they could,” Mangold said. Mangold grew up a Bengals fan. “My time here has made me a Jet fan, and happy that my son’s a Jet fan, and my daughter [2 ¹/2-year-old Eloise]. So it’s going to be a tough transition,” Mangold said.
The Ring of Honor and possibly Hall of Fame await him. Mangold was a seven-time Pro Bowl center.
“I attempted to give everything I could to try to win a Super Bowl for the New York Jets,” he said, “and unfortunately I came up short, got close twice [2009 and 2010 AFC title games] but never succeeded in 11 years, and to that, a great disappointment.”
Asked how he would like to be remembered by Jets fans, Mangold said: “A hard-working player that did everything he could to help the team. And I think that’s the best that you could ask for.”
The Jets were lucky to have him.