ESPN Employee Denies ESPN Report That Said ESPN Employee Was Offered A Consulting Job With The Eagles

Sal Paolantonio reported one of those stories this morning that forced Philly's football media to ask the kind of question Eagles coach Andy Reid might actually have to answer. According to Sal Pal, the Eagles had tried to bring in former Browns coach (and current ESPN analyst) Eric Mangini to jog along and hold first-year defensive coordinator Juan Castillo's bicycle seat, but that Mangini said no thanks.

Reid, when questioned later, denied Sal Pal's report, dismissing it and other similar stories as "all fabricated." And then, a little while ago, Geoff Mosher of the News-Journal in Wilmington, Del., tweeted that Mangini, through an ESPN spokesman, "denies any contact from Eagles, not just Reid." Which means somebody—Reid/Mangini or Sal Pal's sources—is lying. Which is odd since Mangini and Sal Pal work for the same employer.

It certainly wouldn't be the first time Reid has fed the Philly writers a steaming pile of bullshit at one of his press conferences, which he often approaches with the enthusiasm of a man being given a prostate exam. It's entirely possible Reid offered Mangini the position, but that the two agreed to deny having had any such contact once Mangini shot him down. However, Mangini's experience is limited to coaching a 3-4 defense, and the Eagles play a 4-3, so hiring him wouldn't have made much sense. And Sal Pal delivered his report without noting whether he had bothered to get Mangini to confirm, which he could have done by simply looking up his name in the company directory. It's all so confusing.