While many had disagreed with the way he handled some pitchers and the lineup, most people believed he had done a fair job as manager until the collapse. Fans were disappointed that the seemingly inferior Cardinals had defeated the Mets in 2006, but fans were absolutely livid about blowing the division. There was a large outcry for him to be fired, but Minaya chose to give him another year.
The Mets struggled around the .500 mark again for the beginning of the 2008 season, and his seat was hotter than ever. Every day, sportswriters and fans clamored for Willie to be fired.
While Randolph thinks it might be racial (and listening to New York sports talk radio, some of it is, but more towards Minaya and the high amount of Hispanics on the team), but it's really for the lack of performance late in the last two seasons with a seemingly talented team. Many people considered the Mets the most talented team in the National League the last two seasons, and they are certainly the team with the highest payroll.
Ending the previous two seasons the way he had was unacceptable for a team like that.
If there has been an issue out of Randolph's control that he has had to deal with, it's not that he is black. It's that he was a New York Yankee, and many Mets fans have an inferiority complex, not wanting a Yankee to be their manager. That, not race, is the non-baseball fact that Randolph has to deal with, and his performance with the highest payroll in the National League has not lived up to the high expectations placed on him the last few seasons.
Besides, no manager could survive such a collapse. When the California Angels collapsed in 1995, Marcel Lachemann resigned next August. When the Yankees collapsed in 2004, Joe Torre never fully recovered, and he had won four World Series titles. Randolph will be no different.
Herman Edwards
After Bill Parcells, Bill Bellichick, and Al Groh all resigned as HC of the NYJ, the New York Jets were looking for a breath of fresh air. Edwards was perfect for that role. He was the polar opposite of the previous coaches, with a new player-friendly, media-friendly demeanor that was a 180-degree turn. The media treated him wonderfully because he was always available and always quotable.
And for a few years, the results followed.
He took over in 2001, leading the Jets to a 10-6 record, with John Hall drilling a 53-yard field goal in the last week of the season against the Oakland Raiders to send the team to the playoffs. The Raiders returned the favor by beating the Jets in the first round of the playoffs, so the season wasn't a great success, but it was viewed as a step forward.
The Jets went into 2002 hoping to take another step forward, but a 1-4 start and a minor injury spelled the end of the Vinny Testaverde era, and the beginning of the Chad Pennington era. Pennington proceeded to throw 22 touchdowns to just six interceptions, and they recovered from a 2-5 start to miraculously win the AFC East at 9-7 on the final day of the regular season.
A 41-0 blowout of the Indianapolis Colts followed, but once again the Raiders foiled the Jets plans, figuring out how to exploit Pennington's average arm strength, beating the Jets 30-10.
In 2003, Pennington suffered an injury, and the Jets got off to yet another slow start. This time, they could not recover, finishing 6-10.
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