BEREA: For years, whenever the Browns have been accused of allowing divisive forces to create dysfunction within their building, they have strongly denied it and portrayed the organization as unified.
Until coach Mike Pettine spoke Monday.
“It’s hard to be [unified] at this point,” Pettine said on the heels of Sunday’s 37-3 home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, dropping the Browns to the NFL’s worst record at 2-10. “I just think it’s human nature. When things don’t go well, I think everybody has a tendency to kind of bunker in and get into that mode. I think we all want what’s best for the Cleveland Browns. I think we all have ideas on how to get it done, and we need to be collaborative and we need to make sure that we’re picking the best ideas and pushing those agendas moving forward.
“I can’t sit here and say, ‘Absolutely, we’re all on board, 100 percent.’ That’s not reality because when things don’t go well, everybody has their opinions and their reasons why. But it’s going to come down to a brutal self-assessment and to be able to have the strength to make tough decisions and trust them and move forward.”
Call it honesty. Call it a campaign to save his job. Call it an attempt to deflect blame. Call it all of the above.
Just don’t call it a typical answer from an NFL coach because it’s not.
Perhaps the impending quarterback decision is one issue on which the Browns are not on the same page.
Pettine said he expects to name either Johnny Manziel or Austin Davis the starter for Sunday’s home game against the San Francisco 49ers (4-8) on Tuesday. ESPN reported Monday morning Manziel would start after spending the past two games on the bench for disciplinary reasons, though Pettine said in the afternoon he hadn’t made a final call.
Pettine was also given multiple chances to clarify his bold statement about the Browns’ lack of unity, but he never backed down.
He was asked if there’s tension between him, General Manager Ray Farmer, President Alec Scheiner and owner Jimmy Haslam.
“When you have the record that we have, if there’s not tension in the building, there’s a problem,” Pettine replied. “That’s what losing does to you. When you’re paid to be successful, when you’re paid to win in a bottom-line business and we’re not, of course there’s going to be tension. When you have passionate, competitive people that want to get it done right and it’s not, there’s going to be [tension].”
Pettine spoke as if he expects significant changes to be made after this season. Most observers would be surprised if he and Farmer kept their jobs because the Browns have lost 15 of their past 17 games dating to last year.
Nevertheless, Pettine called for a detailed evaluation of everything the franchise does and suggested there’s a need to look beyond the coaching staff for problems.
“I think the knee-jerk reaction when things don’t go well is that everything’s wrong,” Pettine said. “We’ve got to figure out what are the exact problems first. It’s hard to fix something when you haven’t pinpointed it exactly. ... How much of it is coaching? How much of it is scheme? How much of it is the technique part of it? How much of it is personnel? Those are all things that get factored into it.
“But we have to be very accurate in identifying, ‘Here’s what we’re doing well, here’s what we’re not doing well and we have to be brutally honest with ourselves.’ And brutally honest [means] not just looking in the mirror, but to other parts of the building as well ’cause the one thing, if you’re going to be successful, your building has to be unified.
“That’s a big part of it. That’s where the plan starts, and that, to me, hopefully will drive what changes need to be made. Sometimes you fall into the trap of, ‘Let’s just make change. Let’s change for the sake of change.’ Well, let’s make damn sure the changes we’re making are the right ones that are going to get this ship turned and headed in the right direction.”
The greatest indictment of Pettine, though, is the defense continuing to struggle. Although the Browns have the highest-paid unit in the NFL, it was ranked 29th out of 32 teams (398.8 yards allowed per game) through the weekend.
“I’m certainly culpable and defensive staff wise, too, those guys know it,” said Pettine, a former defensive coordinator. “But for people to question the passion and the want-to to get it fixed, we’re upset with it. Maybe I don’t show it outwardly. That’s not my personality. I don’t know whether people want me to start flipping out on the sideline. I did break one headset this year in St. Louis, but I guess the TV cameras didn’t catch it.
“I’m more likely to do that behind the scenes when it calls for it. But we know what it’s supposed to look like and it’s frustrating for a variety of reasons why we can’t get it there. But we have a plan to get it fixed, and that plan’s based on simple things: Passion, hard work, rolling up our sleeves. We’re going to use this time to find out who’s in with us to get that fixed and who potentially isn’t.”
Pettine showed promise as a rookie NFL head coach last season by guiding the Browns to a record of 6-3 and first place in the AFC North. They’re 3-16 since then, they’re on a seven-game losing streak and they’re coming off their most lopsided loss since falling 41-0 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 24, 2005.
“We don’t like where we are,” Pettine said. “We own that and we know we’re staring at as big a test of our mental toughness that we’ll face. We’re not going to let this define us, destroy us. We’re going to use this to get stronger. We’re going to look back on this and use the knowledge we gain.
“But it is a tough time for us. Losing is the worst feeling, especially when you know you are letting others down, people that spend their money to come see us play. That weighs heavy on us, but we’re going to do our best to be positive, stay together.”
But as Pettine pointed out, remaining unified is easier said than done.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Browns blog at www.ohio.com/browns. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NateUlrichABJ and on Facebook www.facebook.com/abj.sports.