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

Just an aside comment to those criticizing the Browns regarding how some guys removed their name from consideration.

According to Rotoworld.com, the Miami Dolphins in their search for a new GM have had 4 people turn down interview offers and 2 interview and remove their name from consideration.

Gee I have never heard a word about that.. and yet we are plastered all over the TV with swipes and inuendos from the talking heads....

Thanks, that was a decent interview.

I know he says he's not comfortable with the media but he sure appears to be doing a fine job. I don't sense the nerves...

Let's not go overboard in our praise or bashing of Mike. How about we give him 2 or 3 years to see how this all plays out.

The more and more I think about the Pettine hire, the more I like it. I have been optimistic about coaches before, so I'll temper my excitement somewhat, but I can't remember being this optimistic this quickly.

-I really liked the Crennel hire at first because of what he was able to accomplish in NE and hiring a coach fresh from a Super Bowl seemingly knowing what it takes to go to the highest level. But as time went on, I found him soft and indecisive, he had poor coordinators and a reactive 3-4D, etc.

-I really liked the Mangini hire at first because of his time with the Jets and finally getting a coach with NFL HC experience . That waned even before the season started. Ego maniac that wanted to be the next Belichek and ran the draft (which was horrible), executed trades of talent because he didn't like their attitudes, and had ludicrous demands of players.

It's funny as I think about this....the HC hires I liked were because of their previous accomplishments..whether Superbowl wins, playoff appearances, talent on rosters, stats, etc. Here with Pettine, the resume doesn't jump out like the others did yet I like his chances more. I understand he was a DC under Rex Ryan but that was Rex's D, not Pettine's. Even with the Bills last year, it wasn't a dominant one even with all their talent.

His demeanor is what I think sets him apart from all the other people who have gone through the carousel. He comes across as demonstrative, prepared, focused, hungry, and still carrying a chip on his shoulder. I know it is only a press conference but I never got that vibe from anyone else.

Chud was the nice guy and but came across as a Browns' fan living his dream than a confident HC.
Shurmur looked like a deer in the headlights on every imaginative level.
Mangini simply rattled off philosophies and intentions while suffering from cotton-mouth.
Crennel was intelligent but always gave you the run-around (ala Belichek)

.....and it goes on and on.

This one just "felt" different. I am not saying it will be different but the tone was completely opposing from all the other intro press conferences I can recall. It was uplifting to hear him speak, in my opinion.

Now to be fair, I think Pettine is walking into a better situation "on paper" than the other folks did.
- Overall the team is still young
- He has six Pro Bowlers; five All-Pros (unless Mack and/or Ward leave)
- Tons of cap space and a FO that has proven to get a piece or two in the first days of the free agency period.
- Ten picks in this upcoming draft, most notably the two first rounders and five in the first three rounds.

These are just a few "amenities" available to Pettine but it is more than what any other coach walked into.

The offensive coordinator will be HUGE. Pettine has already said he will call the defensive plays so really it will come down to finding a DC that is ok with the relationship style he had with Rex Ryan. It looks the DC could be that young guy, O'Neil, if Buffalo lets him out of contract for the promotion. Pettine was also wise to say that he would prefer to have a coach with prior HC experience. Not sure if it was specific to NFL or not, but I think that is a smart endeavor on his end. I keep hearing Kubiak both locally and nationally....not sure how legit this is.

Again, welcome to Cleveland, Mike. Best of luck to you.

j/c

Now I can get back into Browns football. Similar defensive philosophy which is great cause that is what my preference always has been. Offense - if we got with Cameron then it will be the vertical stretch. Similar to last year.

Pettine is a coach that gravitates the players to the goal at hand and I suspect he will carry this over to his HC responsibilities.

They did a players response from the Pro Bowl...Haden, Ward, Cameron n Gordon all talked...oddly both Joe T n Mack were not interviewed. Maybe they were on the other team...I missed the draft thingy they did.

Still I know a lot of doubters will be - Yeah ok another coach - yada yada yada we heard it before why will this be different from any other.

1. We still have not had a Super Star HC maybe he will be??? who knows.
2. We still have not had a Super Star QB maybe Hoyer will be the best of the Good and a Super star will be drafted??? Who knows.

But what separates this HC from all others is the TALENT we got here. Also the anticipation of our Draft along with FA add ons. The biggest is a full season with Hoyer plus we'll see who we draft!

This is what gets me excited. I would have liked to have stayed with the continuity - but we should be close to it strategically and we got good talent here. All them rookies are better 2nd year players now becoming 3rd and better.

So I can breathe Browns football again..this old dawg is happy n ready to go

I feel like we'll know soon enough which defense we'll have....hoping we remain in the 3-4. I just don't want to have three defenses in three years. That's simply ridiculous.

Is Pettine's year in Buffalo the only year he was part of a 4-3D in the NFL?

If so, odds may be in favor of keeping the 3-4 because he may be more familiar with it and we actually ran it last year. He did say the defensive scheme will be predicated on the talent, and thus, we could actually run either scheme, IMO.

I think the FO's preference, the drafting of Mingo, and the signing of Kruger may put the 3-4 over the top.

Agree - I knew/know nothing about him except for what I've read in the last 12 hours... seems like a great guy and a hard nosed coach which is something this team needs... I absolutely worry about how we have running the offense but even more importantly what QB will be leading this team.

Right now the Browns are getting blasted all over national news for being incompetent and the laughing stock of the NFL... but if Pettine can come in and win then all that goes away....

Good luck Pettine.

I dont hate the hire, its more like bleh to me. Then again I dont think anyone out there excited me.

I will reserve judgement till we get our coordinators and we resign mack and ward. If we dont resign mack I really have zero hope for this season or the teams future because it tells me they don;t value the o-line and we are doomed to fail.

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Chud was the nice guy and but came across as a Browns' fan living his dream than a confident HC.

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When I read this... I thought of something that was said by Cameron..it's a good evaluation Memphis...What you said...Here's a bit of the read that made me think of what you posted....


With Mike Pettine in place as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, the players are eager to begin work for the 2014 season.

Talking to ClevelandBrowns.com while in Hawaii, defensive backs Joe Haden and T.J. Ward, tight end Jordan Cameron and wide receiver Josh Gordon each expressed excitement about Pettine’s hiring.

“It didn’t matter how long it took, I was ready for us to get the right guy, and I feel like we did that,” Haden said. “I’m just ready to get in and tell these guys, ‘It’s time to work. All that other stuff, man, it’s just time for everyone to join together. Don’t worry about the outside. We know what we have in-house, and we’re just ready to build this team. Everybody, just come in ready to work.’”

Cameron added, “We have a leader now. We have someone we can look to, and I heard he led the league in sacks last year. I just heard he’s a players’ coach. Those things are really positive for us. We have a good, core group of guys that can make things happen, and we’re excited to have a leader now.”

link


Seems the guys didn't look at Chud as a leader... as it has been mentioned " how we have a leader now " I guess there are 2 ways of interpreting that statement...

!.... Chud wasn't a leader to the players..

2.. It's just a way of the players saying they have a leader now..as in having a HC..

Judging by the way many of them acted when Chud got fired I'd take it as the second interpretation.

and we’re excited to have a leader now.”

I don't think that remotely was referring to Chud.

Actually I thought it was obvious a reference to the last couple of weeks where we didn't have a HEAD...to lead us.

I know its been what I have been saying for me as a fan I cannot get into the fire and change until we hire the head coach and lead us. I also had been noting that it is not good for the players to be in purgatory. Now they have a leader and soon a direction.

jmho

It sounded to me on the presser that he won't have a particular scheme, outside of having an "attacking D". He also said that he's a proponent of fitting the scheme to the personnel, not the personnel to the scheme. I expect we'll run a hybrid 3-4.

Figured I'd give my take on the hire.

You honestly believe that one coach or another would make our offense this much better? Coaching is so, so, so over rated on offense. Why do you think so many "top" coordinators from winning franchises suck when they go somewhere else? They go to crap teams with bad quarterbacks.

It's so dumb to think an "offensive" minded coach would come in here and make our offense good. Look at all the teams in the conference championships. They either have an elite QB or an Elite defense. Period, no exceptions. I'd argue that BOTH of the teams fans without great QB's would be glad to see their offensive coordinator gone. We don't have either, so to think you're going to come in draw up some X's and O's and make a QB good is asinine. Great QB's run their own offense, so why do you need an offensive head coach? Denver and New England both have defensive coaches.

The margin of difference between Bill Belicheck and the worst coach is marginal compared to the difference between Peyton Manning and Brandon Weeden. You can bring in all the offensive minds in the world and not make Weeden good. So why not focus on something you can affect, defense?

Just my opinion.

j/c

I cannot believe it took 15 years for the Browns to hire a guy with experience in the AFCN, or at least in the AFCN that wasn't with us.

About time we tried a Ravens/Steelers/Bengals guy. At least he understands the attitude that a team needs to be successful.

Just need a QB now.

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What? But, he's a big tough guy who wants to be here and has a cool nickname! He's so confident, and everybody loves his press conference! Super Bowl!! Lord, I have heard these exact same kinds of comments every time we get a new one of these guys.

I hope he's the guy, I hope he's the best damn coach the Browns have ever even thought about having. But, I'm not getting attached to him...I'm done with that.

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He won't succeed, he CAN'T succeed.. because he didn't grow up a Browns fan and "he ain't from around here."

Please, it wasn't Steve Young and Joe Montana that made Bill Walsh a HoFer. It's not Nick Foles and Mike Vick that made Chip Kelly's offense so explosive. Alex Smith and Kap didn't make Harbaugh a good coach. It wasn't Sean Payton who was dead in the water and Drew Breese saved his career. Having a QB doesn't mean anything if you don't have a good offensive coach around him. We just have to look at the Browns past to see how valuable a good OC is. Bruce Arians as an OC and we have a play off birth and good enough Couch seasons to make people feel like he isn't a traditional bust, he just played on a bad team. We get Chud here and DA has a probowl year. Couch and DA couldn't produce that anywhere else.

I'm not saying that a QB isn't important, because it really is. But also having a really good offensive coach is also really important.

Also Manning is an anomaly and Brady has been running the same offensive system for the past 10 years. So please don't think of them as the be all end all of QB's.

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Please, it wasn't Steve Young and Joe Montana that made Bill Walsh a HoFer. It's not Nick Foles and Mike Vick that made Chip Kelly's offense so explosive. Alex Smith and Kap didn't make Harbaugh a good coach. It wasn't Sean Payton who was dead in the water and Drew Breese saved his career. Having a QB doesn't mean anything if you don't have a good offensive coach around him. We just have to look at the Browns past to see how valuable a good OC is. Bruce Arians as an OC and we have a play off birth and good enough Couch seasons to make people feel like he isn't a traditional bust, he just played on a bad team. We get Chud here and DA has a probowl year. Couch and DA couldn't produce that anywhere else.

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It takes both coaching and QB play to succeed at the levels you are talking about. In fact, it takes more than that... but I digress... Not sure why that is so hard to understand. Bill Walsh was an offensive genius, perhaps part of his genius was knowing what he had in Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jerry Rice, etc and getting those players and using them like he did.. but the fact is that if you gave him our roster this year, he would not have succeeded like he did... it takes both and the people who keep saying that all you need is "X" to succeed crack me up.

Fill in X with:
Great Coach
Great OC
Great QB
Great WRs
Great Running game
Great Pass Protection..

Fill it in however you want, if that is the only thing you are great at, you will have minimal success.

Well part of the reason Bill Walsh was so successful, imo, was because how innovative the WCO was. No one was stopping those quick routes because they couldn't get their OLB's into the passing lanes. That really stopped with the development of the 3-4. That said, I believe Bill Walsh would still dominate the NFL with our roster in 1981.

I think that's the right way to go about it too. You can be cautiously optimistic.

But yeah, we have no clue what's going to happen, or how it will work out.

I do get a kick out of fans that will say "oh yeah, but there was this one play where buffalo gave up a long TD!, he's terrible!"

I mean, come on man.

For one, he's not in Buffalo, he doesn't have Buffalo's players, and that's not me saying we're better, that's me saying the situations are completely different.

The other thing is, yeah, defenses get beat! It happens! Welcome to 2014!

A Buffalo perspective:

Raiding Bills’ staff, Browns name Pettine head coach

The year is only three weeks old, and the Buffalo Bills already have suffered a major loss.

Mike Pettine, the coordinator who oversaw a fiercely entertaining defense, is gone.

Pettine on Thursday signed a five-year contract to coach the Cleveland Browns.

At his introductory news conference, Pettine called it his “lifelong dream to be an NFL head coach.” He wore an orange tie. His lapel pin was a Browns helmet.

“Looking back on my year with the Bills, it’s a bittersweet thing for me to leave there,” Pettine said. “I had such a tremendous year there with that organization.”

Pettine said Bills coach Doug Marrone helped him prepare for the Browns interview. The Browns met with Pettine three times in eight days before making it official.

The Bills must regroup. They soon will name their fifth defensive coordinator in six seasons. Pettine also could take some of his assistants with him.

Pettine would like to hire Bills linebackers coach Jim O’Neil as his defensive coordinator. O’Neil also worked on Pettine’s staff with the New York Jets.

The Bills can deny Pettine’s wishes because O’Neil is under contract and might be a candidate to replace Pettine here. The Browns reportedly asked the Bills for permission to speak with O’Neil.

Other possible defectors could be defensive line coach Anthony Weaver and assistant secondary coach Samson Brown. They also came to the Bills with Pettine.

Bills General Manager Doug Whaley said at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., the front office has a list of coordinator candidates ready to go and would begin the search to replace Pettine immediately.

Whaley has declined to reveal the names of any candidates.

The Bills’ only assistant with previous NFL defensive coordinator experience is secondary coach Donnie Henderson. He ran the Detroit Lions’ defense in 2006 and the Jets’ in 2004 and 2005.

The most notable defensive minds looking for work are former Bills coach Wade Phillips, former 49ers coach Mike Singletary and two recently fired head coaches, Jim Schwartz of the Lions and Greg Schiano of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Former St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo is a special assistant for the Baltimore Ravens. Eric Mangini, previously head coach for the Browns and Jets, is a San Francisco 49ers consultant. Each could be interested in being a coordinator again.

Respected assistants possibly ready for promotions include 49ers defensive line coach Jim Tomsula, Seattle Seahawks passing-game coordinator Rocky Seto, Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler and Minnesota Vikings defensive line coach Brendan Daly.

Linebackers coach Pepper Johnson left the New England Patriots on Tuesday.

“We have a plan in place and we will introduce our new defensive coordinator after our final decision has been made,” Marrone said Thursday in a statement released by the Bills.

Many around the league are surprised Pettine has gotten the chance to be a head coach so quickly.

Just a year ago, Pettine struck out on his own. He was Rex Ryan’s sidekick for 11 years, breaking into the NFL with an entry-level job on the Ravens’ staff in 2002. Ryan was a Ravens assistant at the time. The two grew close.

When the Jets hired Ryan in 2009, he brought Pettine with him. Although Pettine was the Jets’ coordinator for four years, the defense was Ryan’s baby.

Browns fans certainly will view Pettine as an unproven commodity, something they’ve grown disgusted with over the years. The Browns fired Rob Chudzinski after one year. Before him, Pat Shurmur was a rookie coach who lasted two seasons.

Given the Browns’ dysfunction and the number of coaches who pulled out of their coaching derby, some observers wondered if remaining a Bills coordinator might be a more prudent long-term career move for Pettine.

“There’s only 32 of these jobs in the world,” Pettine said, “and these opportunities don’t come along often.

“People ask me, ‘Why didn’t you wait? There will be chances next year.’ I don’t know if I believe in that. Again, I looked at the situation as when you put all of the factors together this franchise is in position -- given the right leadership -- to win.”

Bills fans are disappointed to see Pettine leave. He’s the first Bills assistant to become another team’s head coach since the Indianapolis Colts hired Ted Marchibroda 22 years ago.

Buffalo was a wreck before Pettine arrived. Previous defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt ran a stale, passive 4-3 scheme that got trampled on a weekly basis.

Pettine turned essentially the same personnel into a decorated unit that caused opponents trouble every week.

Four Bills -- pass-rusher Mario Williams, defensive tackles Kyle Williams and Marcell Dares, safety Jairus Byrd -- were selected for the Pro Bowl.

Inside linebacker Kiko Alonso, is a top candidate for defensive rookie of the year.

Pettine helped salvage a few careers, too. Players who’d looked like busts enjoyed remarkable seasons, namely pass-rusher Jerry Hughes, cornerback Leodis McKelvin and safety Aaron Williams.

“Congratulations to Mike Pettine for becoming Cleveland Browns new Head Coach,” Hughes tweeted. “Hate to see him leave.”

Aaron Williams tweeted a nearly identical sentiment, then followed up by noting he’s about to have his fourth defensive coordinator in four pro seasons.

“Hate to see Pettine go,” tweeted Bills captain and running back Fred Jackson, “but I’m excited for him to get an opportunity to be a head coach!”

The Bills ranked 10th in total defense, 28th in run defense and fourth in pass defense. They were gashed for long runs, allowing a league-high 19 rushes of 20-plus yards, but they hardly resembled themselves from the previous season.

The 2013 Bills were aggressive and dangerous. They set a club record and ranked second in the NFL with 57 sacks. They were second in interceptions.

“He put guys in position to make plays,” Bills safety Jairus Byrd told The

News from Honolulu, site of the Pro Bowl. “That’s what it was about on defense.”

The Bills allowed only seven defensive touchdowns against the Browns’ AFC North opponents, which included the defending Super Bowl champs, the eventual division champs and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco threw a career-worst five interceptions against the Bills. The Bills should’ve beaten the playoff-bound Cincinnati Bengals, but lost in overtime.

“To compete in the AFC North,” Pettine said, “you have to be willing to bloody your nose a little bit. That’s the mentality we’re going to take here.

“This team’s going to be built on toughness. Most people think of toughness in just the physical sense. I think as important or more important is the mental toughness, the ability to think through things when they aren’t going well, to hang tough when things go bad, that the heads don’t drop, and it’s ‘Same old Browns,’ and teams talk themselves into losing.

“That, to me, is the culture that needs to be changed here.”

email: tgraham@buffnews.com.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bills-...-coach-20140123

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“That, to me, is the culture that needs to be changed here.”

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Sadly, we've been getting told this by every new person that has come in since Opie was hired. I hope Pettine is the one to finally see it through.

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Sadly, we've been getting told this by every new person that has come in since Opie was hired.

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That may be true... but it is the past...and the past , when ugly shouldn't be brought up consistently......why relive it and keep it around.... throw it the hell away...All the past does is keep misery around...In this situation at least.

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I hope Pettine is the one to finally see it through.

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I look to the future to be a positive one... And that what makes me stay excited about Browns foot ball.. I want to be excited.

He said he fits a system to his players not squeeze them into a system. My guess is as we have a 34 gang we may stick to it or a similar style.

We need LB anyway, so who knows?

Rubin, Taylor, Sheard, Kruger, Winn, Hughes, and Kitchen can all fit the 4-3 DL.

DQ can play, and probably plays better in the 4-3. Robertson also might be better suited for the 4-3. Mingo might fit the 4-3 as well at OLB.

I see no reason why we would need to make massive personnel changes to go back to the 4-3 as a base. We would probably have to add a few backup DL in place of backup LB. I don't see that as some insurmountable obstacle.

That said, I do prefer the 3-4, and I feel it offers greater flexibility in attacking an offense. .

jc.


so, this coach has what? 12 months to the day? wonder if we go 4-12, 5-11 if the FO will fire him.

they set the standard.

I'd feel no different no matter who the hire was.

I like the guy and I love the Browns so here I go again.