BEREA: Mike Pettine’s final game as coach of the Browns might be this weekend, but he’s not acting like a dead man walking.
Pettine addressed the media Thursday for the last time before the Browns (3-12) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6) in Sunday’s season finale and confidently tackled several questions about his two seasons in Cleveland, his uncertain future with the organization and his plans for the team should he stay put, which would likely include changes to his coaching staff.
“I love it here. I do. I love what I do,” Pettine said. “I know it’s easy to kind of get wrapped up and let the negativity pull you down. But I’m the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and I will be the head coach until I’m told not to. That’s how it is. It’s the advice I give to players that you can’t get wrapped up in it, and it’s something I’ve got to follow myself.”
Owner Jimmy Haslam vowed Aug. 1 not to blow the organization up, but it shouldn’t be the least bit surprising if he were to do just that. Pettine could be fired. General Manager Ray Farmer could be fired. Heads typically roll when a team is tied for the worst record in the NFL like the Browns are. Haslam is expected to make his intentions known either Sunday night or Monday.
Asked if he’d like to work with Farmer moving forward, Pettine said: “Yeah. I mean, I think we all crave continuity. I think if you want to talk about being successful, if you ask the players, you feel like if you’re headed the right direction that time is something that you need. But for Ray and I, that’s out of our hands. So we’ll see how it plays out.”
Pettine had his regularly scheduled meeting with Haslam on Monday and received no assurances he’ll be retained. He has two years and a team option for a third left on his contract.
“It was our standard meeting,” Pettine said. “We looked back at the [17-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs]. We looked forward to the next one. I know it’s close to the end of the year. We talk about the future, we talk about the offseason and the staff, but [in terms of] an assurance, we haven’t discussed that. I didn’t ask. My focus each week, just like as the players’ should be, is my job, which is getting a team prepared.”
Pettine began his tenure 7-4 but has lost 17 of the past 20 games to fall to 10-21 in two seasons.
As Pettine has learned, reversing the fortunes of the Browns is a Herculean task. They haven’t made the playoffs in 13 years and haven’t posted a winning season in eight years. Pettine is the seventh full-time coach since 1999 and the fifth since 2008.
“I know the record. It’s a bottom-line business, and if I just pull myself back from it and put myself elsewhere and look in, the record is not good,” Pettine said. “But given the circumstances that we were in when we got here and given the history of when you look back at what had occurred here before we got here and kind of the state of things, I don’t think anybody thought that it was going to be a quick turnaround.
“... I absolutely want to be able to finish out [my contract] and then some. But that’s out of my control. I feel like we’ve planted seeds of growth for the future, that a foundation is here.”
Pettine pointed to this year’s draft class as an example of the “seeds of growth” because he thinks nose tackle Danny Shelton, offensive lineman Cameron Erving, outside linebacker Nate Orchard, running back Duke Johnson and cornerback Charles Gaines have improved enough as of late.
Pettine also takes pride in the players’ effort despite the team’s record (“our guys haven’t quit,” he said), improved quarterback play and the running game awakening in the last few games.
On the other hand, Pettine conceded there almost certainly wouldn’t be continuity for the entire coaching staff if Haslam chose to keep him.
Pettine was asked whether he would make a coordinator change to save his job.
“I’m not going to get into that,” he replied. “Those discussions will remain between Jimmy and I. Will there likely be some changes? If I was to stay here, it would be hard to justify keeping the staff completely together, and there likely would have to be some changes made. But I won’t get into specifics.”
Defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil and offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said they’ve received no guarantees from Pettine they would be retained if he remained with the Browns.
Although Pettine wouldn’t say it, he seemed to suggest O’Neil would be in trouble because he praised the offense and lamented the defense’s struggles.
“We feel the offensive is in good hands,” Pettine said.
Still, O’Neil called for Haslam to keep Pettine.
“I think he’s done an unbelievable job, and I’ve worked for some great coaches in my years in this profession,” O’Neil said. “If you ask me and my two cents, stability is the answer. It’s not cleaning the slate every couple years. Cleveland has been down that path. In my opinion, that’s not the right way to go. Whether I’m here or not, whether the offensive coordinator is here or not or the whatever coach is here or not, Mike Pettine is the right guy for this organization, and Mike Pettine is the right guy for this city.”
The defense, though, might not be right.
The scheme has been heavily criticized for being too complicated and failing to put players in the best positions to succeed. Outside linebacker Paul Kruger, whose sack total dropped from 11 last season to 2½ this season, hammered the complaint home Thursday when he admitted, “I don’t think I was utilized in the best way.”
Pettine conceded he has talked to Haslam about possibly changing the scheme.
“From a system standpoint, I don’t know if a complete overhaul is what’s necessary,” he said. “I think some tweaks to it, some studies of it [would occur in the offseason].”
The Browns are ranked 26th in fewest yards allowed (379.2 per game) and 29th in fewest points allowed (26.9 per game) after finishing last season 23rd in fewest yards allowed (366.1 per game) and ninth in fewest points allowed (21.1). Injuries have hindered the defense, but it’s still the highest-paid unit in the NFL.
“It’s been a disappointment,” said Pettine, who was a defensive coordinator for five seasons before the Browns hired him. “It’s been a source of frustration. It’s tough for me, too, when that’s my area of expertise and that’s an area where we’ve fallen short, especially this year where I’ve felt like we’ve overachieved offensively. If you look at the roster and the investment, we’ve underachieved. We’re not going to make excuses.”
And Pettine’s not going to worry about his fate, either, or at least he’s not going to admit he’s worrying about it.
“Do you think about it? Of course you do,” Pettine said. “It’s not how I’m wired to be stressed about it.”
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.