Eric Mangini didn’t come right out and say it yesterday, but it appears Mike Westhoff will rejoin the Jets sooner rather than later.
Rumors have strengthened in recent days, and Mangini didn’t even make an effort to deny that Westhoff would be back. He, in fact, lavished the former special-teams coach with praise.
“I respect Mike a lot; he helped me a lot and I’m not opposed to Mike coming back in some capacity,” Mangini said. “Mike, to me, was a lot more than just a special-teams coach. I know that that’s the most visible aspect of what he does, but he was a really big asset in terms of game management, penalties and some of the decisions.
“When he left, he didn’t leave because of anything in terms of him not being happy with the organization or me not being happy with Mike. Mike is a great coach, and I really like Mike a lot.”
Asked if there’s a timetable for Westhoff’s return, Mangini said, “We’re not really at that point because medically there are still things he has to take care of.”
With regard to Kevin O’Dea, who was hired to replace Westhoff, Mangini made it clear that he’s “happy with Kevin.”
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Brett Favre yesterday strongly endorsed the idea of Michael Strahan returning to the Giants to replace the injured DE Osi Umenyiora.
“If I was a Giant, I’d do whatever I could to get him out and have him back on my team,” Favre said. “The guy still looks great. [He’s a] hell of a player. I would have done whatever to try to get him back initially, but now, how could you not want him back?”
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Mangini said CB Justin Miller, who suffered a toe injury against the Giants Saturday, would not require surgery and he said his chances for playing in the season opener were “pretty good.”