Mike Pettine gives interesting response about being Cleveland Browns HC

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine had an interesting response when asked how he will be able to help a first-time head coach.

In the first 11 games of Mike Pettine’s tenure as the Cleveland Browns head coach, it seemed like the Browns had made a slam-dunk hire.

Hired during the off-season in 2014, Pettine was a surprising choice to be Cleveland’s next head coach. Despite that, he led the Browns to a 7-4 record in his first 11 games. But after that stretch, he lost 18 of 21 games, including a five-game losing streak to end the 2014 season. He was fired following the 2015 season.

Now the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers, he will be coaching under Matt LaFleur, a first-time head coach. On Monday, Pettine was asked how he will be able to help LaFleur, considering Pettine was a first-time head coach when hired by the Browns.

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Pettine’s time as the Browns head coach was a crazy two years for the Dawg Pound, but especially Pettine. The Browns selected quarterback Johnny Manziel in the 2014 NFL Draft, expecting him to be the quarterback of the future. However, the Browns had Brian Hoyer on the roster, who played well as the starting quarterback.

Hoyer helped lead the Browns to their 7-4 record in 2014, but struggled in the next two games, leading to his benching for Manziel. But the rookie quarterback also struggled and the Browns finished the season on a five-game losing streak.

Despite being the head coach, there is some belief that Pettine was forced to start Manziel due to public pressure on the organization. By doing that, it stalled the momentum of the 2014 team and ended the season on a bad note.

Then, Pettine’s offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, requested to leave the team following the 2014 season with an infamous Powerpoint presentation. Now Shanahan is the head coach of the 49ers and coaches an offense that other teams hope to replicate.

Not only did the offense struggle without Shanahan the next season, but Pettine’s defense also struggled. He made Jim O’Neil his defensive coordinator, but stuck with his friend despite the defense having major issues. Since Pettine was considered a defensive mind, him having the 29th scoring defense in 2015 was a bad look.

With all of the drama that surrounded Pettine’s tenure as head coach, there is no doubt that he has a long book of what not to do as a first-time head coach. It does not appear that there were any positives that came out of Pettine’s time as head coach, and it seems like he struggled to keep the team under control – although it would have been incredibly difficult to with all of the problems the organization had at that time.

Pettine should have great advice for LaFleur to handle being a first-time head coach in his first season. With what Pettine dealt with in Cleveland, the Packers defensive coordinator should have advice for any problems that arise for LaFleur.