DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Browns hire Mike Pettine as Head Coach

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The Browns’ long and winding coaching search reached its destination this afternoon.

The Browns hired Mike Pettine as their 15th full-time head coach. He spent 2013 as defensive coordinator of the Bills.

Pettine entered the discussion a week ago but quickly made an impression on Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner.

Pettine, 47, interviewed for the first time Jan. 16. The Browns’ brass flew to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Tuesday to interview him for the second time. A third meeting today in Berea sealed the deal.

“We are thrilled to announce Mike Pettine as the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns,” Haslam said in a statement announcing the hiring. “Mike is the epitome of what we want the Browns to be — tough, aggressive and innovative — with a blue-collar, team-first mentality. He knows what’s necessary to beat teams in the AFC North. Most importantly, Mike has repeatedly shown the ability to lead his players to consistent improvement and success, clearly what we are striving for as he leads the Cleveland Browns moving forward.”

Pettine has coached in the NFL for 12 years, including the last five as coordinator. Before taking the Bills job in 2013, he was with the Jets for four years. He’s a disciple of Jets coach Rex Ryan, having worked under him for 11 years in Baltimore and New York.

The Browns’ search took 25 days, and they were busy throughout.

The interviews started Jan. 1 with Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who was considered a strong possibility until the finish. A second candidate remained in consideration as of Thursday afternoon, according to a league source, although he didn’t specify who it was.

Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and recently fired Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano were added Wednesday to complete a list that reached 10 known interviews.

But the attention returned to Pettine on Thursday, and an agreement was reached around 3:45.

Pettine replaces Rob Chudzinski. The Browns went 4-12 in his only season, losing the final seven games and 10 of the last 11. He was fired Dec. 29, hours after a 20-7 loss at Pittsburgh in the finale.

Haslam and Banner felt the Browns failed to show the necessary progress toward the end of the season. They admitted hiring Chudzinski was a mistake and vowed to get it right this time.

Pettine is the seventh coach since the Browns returned in 1999, as Cleveland has gone 77-163 without a playoff win. The last winning season came in 2007.

Pettine’s background is mainly in the 3-4 system, which the Browns ran under former coordinator Ray Horton. The Bills ranked second with a franchise-record 57 sacks, 10th in yards allowed and 20th in points, all improvements from the previous year.

In Pettine’s four years with the Jets, they ranked first, third, fifth and eighth. His scheme has been described as attacking and he has a strong personality.

Pettine’s previous experience as a head coach came on the high school level. His last season was with North Penn High School in Towamencin Township, Pa., in 2001. His father, Mike Sr., was a famous high school coach in Pennsylvania who retired after winning his final 45 games.

Pettine made the leap to the NFL in 2002, working as a coaching and video assistant for the Ravens. He climbed the ladder and earned the trust of Ryan.

“Obviously he’s very well respected throughout the league,” Bills coach Doug Marrone told The Buffalo News this week. “I think in this league when you go out there and you’re putting together a scheme and you’re productive and successful at it, I think you’re going to get recognized.

“We’re happy for him. It’s deserving.”

Cleveland’s extensive search was filled with detours.
Patriots offensive coordinator and Canton native Josh McDaniels and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase were considered favorites from the start, as the Browns quickly requested interviews with them. The Browns seemed intent on finding a bright, young offensive mind — that was part of the allure of Chudzinski — but their targets proved elusive and they chose a defensive coach.

McDaniels met with the Browns early in the month, but withdrew from consideration after he was told he wasn’t the front-runner to land the job. According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, the Browns called him again this week but he declined for a second time.

Gase, 35, declined an initial interview to focus on the playoffs, then pulled out completely Tuesday as he prepared for the Super Bowl. The Broncos scored an NFL-record 606 points, and Peyton Manning set records with 55 touchdowns and 5,477 passing yards in Gase’s first year as a coordinator. He should be a hot candidate next year.

The Browns also interviewed Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt (hired by Titans as head coach), Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles (withdrew from consideration), Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo (hired by Giants as coordinator), fired Titans coach Mike Munchak (hired by Steelers as offensive line coach) and Cowboys special teams coach Rich Bisaccia.

They settled on Pettine, who enters a tough situation. Not only have the Browns lost at least 10 games in six straight years, he’s getting a late start assembling his staff.

Packers running backs coach Alex Van Pelt has been rumored to be a possible offensive coordinator, but the Packers don’t have to let him leave because he’s under contract. Van Pelt appeared in 31 games as a quarterback for the Bills.

His only season as a coordinator was in 2009. He entered the year as quarterbacks coach but was promoted in September. The Bills ranked 30th in total yards and 28th in scoring with 16.1 point per game.

Veteran coach Cam Cameron has also been mentioned as a possibility. He’s been a successful coordinator with San Diego and Baltimore, and went 1-15 in 2007 with Miami in his only year as an NFL head coach. He spent 2013 as coordinator/quarterbacks coach for LSU and Elyria native Les Miles.

Glad that is over. If he hires a pretty good staff, we won't really have anything to complain about till the draft. What are we going to do until May???

I know very little about him outside of what I've read but I have a good feeling about this guy. I pray this works out.

Welcome to Cleveland, Pettine. Good luck to ya.

FYI- Press conference in one hour for those interested.

How does Tabor survive yet again?

That is so bizarre. Guy is the ultimate survivor.

The people he is considering for OC suck... this is terrible.

Many of the best coaches and athletes in history were underdogs.

The keys to the Brown's ship is still special to me.

Hope Mike Pettine does all it takes to be successful and eventually become a Champion.

Media reports so far are positive.
Organized, great leader, very cutting edge, attitude.

I like those attributes!

Best of luck to him. Next up, get the guy a QB so he has a chance of being successful. Looking forward to his presser.

jc:

FWIW....Bills' fans are pretty upset for the most part.

Post deleted by Referee 3

Well he looks like the kind of guy people want on the side lines. He appears to be the type of person that shows emotion ala "The Chin".

welcome to cleveland, Coach!

Any news on a presser?
I think you'll see this guy's attitude right off the top!!!

STO in approx. 30 minutes

It's hard to get on board with anyone that accepted this job. Not too smart coming to Cleveland when you know you only have a year to prove yourself. But I'm all in once again

is there a link for it?

he has ties to Cam Cameron as well

yea, i was expecting the media to troll hard as hell about this.

i wanna see what the presser is gonna be like...its like...i want the one guy who was reading the facebook comments to be there, just so we can see somebody get put in a head lock.

A guy I'd love to see them interview for QB Coach/Assistant is Jim Ballard. Local guy, won a NT at Mount Union, Won the World Bowl. He works with High School QB's, many have moved on the Div-1 Schools and still works with many of them. Worked with the Current Mount Union QB. He knows his stuff, he was a guest Announcer for Mount Union a few times and does a very good job at breaking down a play. I think he would be an asset for our new QB who ever he may be. At least give the guy an interview.

Ray Farmer decides to stay in Cleveland...

jc

Manish Mehta ‏@MMehtaNYDN

Bills LBs coach Jim O'Neil will be Mike Pettine's defensive coordinator in Cleveland if the Bills let him out of his contract, I'm told.

Oh, and welcome to Cleveland Coach Pettine. Hope you survive the experience.

Best of luck to you, Pettine. I hope you can bring us a winner, and I hope you're given a fair chance at attempting to do so.

Technically, it is not a promotion. Running Backs coach is the same level as Offensive Coordinator as far as the hiring rules are concerned.

Nothing else matters other than I hope this is the guy.

I hope he gets a fair chance, and I hope they get him a quarterback.

Presser on...