Did Ken Whisenhunt really blow up on Joe Banner in the Browns interview?
I think it would be awesome if Ken Whisenhunt blew up on Joe Banner and the rest of the Browns former staff, but did it really happen?
According to SI’s Peter King, Ken Whisenhunt snapped on Joe Banner with his raspy voice when he was asked about the staff he put together.
When Whisenhunt entered the room this year for the interview, he was one of the hottest commodities on the head-coaching market, and the Browns were very interested in him.
Whisenhunt said, “Why didn’t you guys hire me last year?’’
The Browns’ CEO who was in both interviews, Joe Banner, told Whisenhunt he didn’t think the staff he was putting together at the time was “a championship coaching staff.”
Whisenhunt, one NFL source said, was peeved that a man who had never coached and who’d been involved in football mainly on the business side would sit in judgment of his potential coaches.
“Who are you to tell me what makes up a championship coaching staff?” Whisenhunt said, with an edge in his voice.
While that would be the most EPIC thing ever in an interview, it might not be all true. According to Mary Kay Cabbot of Cleveland.com, a source has told her something different.
Sources told cleveland.com it’s true Whisenhunt was told he didn’t get the job last year because of his staff, but that he never called out Banner over it during this year’s interview or had an edge in his voice. One source said there was never an awkward moment during the Whisenhunt meeting and that he was the consummate professional. The discussion was frank and open, but Whisenhunt was non-confrontational.
“Why would someone who was trying to land a job go off on one of the interviewers?” said one source.
I would love to know if Whiz really said that, because if he did, he would go down as one of my favorite NFL coaching candidates ever…..
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