No Cleveland Browns fan wants to relive the tumultuous “Johnny Football” era of the mid-2010s (unless you’re down for a great first-person documentary), but unfortunately for Mike Pettine, that’s a stain on his coaching journey that just doesn’t wash off.
Pettine was the head coach of the Browns from 2014-15, in charge of developing one of the most exciting QB prospects in NFL Draft history: Johnny Manziel.
As ESPN’s Tony Grossi put it back in 2016: “Manziel’s time in Cleveland was marked by repeated images on the Internet of him partying and celebrating his own celebrity, either oblivious of his professional responsibilities as an NFL quarterback or in open defiance of them,” and that undoubtedly led to Pettine’s dismissal after two seasons.
Pettine took a couple much-needed years off before returning to the NFL as a Seattle Seahawks consultant in 2017. He’s been in the league ever since, serving as the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers from 2018-20, before grabbing a cup of coffee in Chicago as a defensive assistant, and spending the past four years as the assistant head coach to Kevin O’Connell out in Minnesota.
According to O’Connell, Pettine won’t be coaching into his age-60 season in 2026. He announced that Pettine is retiring from the NFL during his end-of-season presser Tuesday with Vikings reporters.
Former Browns coach Mike Pettine set to retire after long NFL run
It’s been 10 years since Pettine was fired by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, and to the surprise of no one, the franchise is about to hire its fifth new head coach since. That’s been the unfortunate staple of Haslam’s ownership, as he's already fired seven coaches since purchasing the team in 2012, with the lastest being Kevin Stefanski just a week ago.
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Browns fans have mixed emotions about Pettine, who opened Year 1 strong with a 7-4 start. But the team lost five straight to finish that season, and when the coach turned to Manziel for his first NFL start in Week 15, it was painfully clear that the young Heisman Trophy winner wasn’t the answer; the Cincinnati Bengals made Manziel look like a practice squad player in that game, limiting him to 93 scrimmage yards (67 if you count sacks) and two interceptions in a 30-0 rout.
Pettine gave a brutally honest assessment of Manziel’s play after that game: "Didn't play well — looked like a rookie, played like a rookie," he said. "We didn't play well around him, but he made some obvious mistakes that typically a veteran quarterback won't make."
Manziel wound up being Pettine’s proverbial ouster in 2015. He opened the season as the starter but eventually got demoted as the internet lit up with photos and videos of him partying at nightclubs amid a 3-13 season. (Again, the Untold: Johnny Football documentary is well worth your time.)
Browns fans probably had no idea Pettine was still in the league prior to Tuesday’s retirement news. He’s been hiding out in Minnesota, similar to Marvin Lewis, who was randomly an assistant on the Las Vegas Raiders staff in 2024.
Pettine has actually been a major mentor to O’Connell, as he brought the former NFL quarterback to Cleveland for his first coaching job in 2015 — as Manziel’s QB coach.
It’s safe to say their most recent time together out in the Twin Cities has been much more football-centric and enjoyable. For what it’s worth, here’s what O’Connell had to say about Pettine during Tuesday’s presser:
“Coach Pett’s gonna be retiring this year. What a career he has had. And specifically for me, just his impact on my football journey both my time when I was around him as a player, to him giving me the first opportunity to coach in this league, and being a major, major part of our success over the four years we’ve had from really being the first person in this building when I first arrived in 2022. So I want to take the moment to just make sure that we celebrate him and the great career that it’s been, and most importantly just my relationship and the impact he’s had on me.”