It’s not yet known if Mike Pettine is going to remain the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. However, if he does stay on board Pettine seems determined to upgrade his coaching staff after the season comes to an end.
As the campaign winds down, Pettine and owner Jimmy Haslam have been having conversations about the franchise. Of course, the coach hasn’t revealed any information about his potential job security to this point, saying they haven’t discussed it yet. He did make comments, though, that foreshadow a widespread exodus within his coaching staff.
“Will there likely be some changes? If I were 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,” he said, via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. “We’re not going to make excuses. It is a source of frustration, disappointment and something that myself and the defensive staff show up here every day to work and get corrected. Some areas we’ve gotten better and others we haven’t.”
Speaking of his defense, the Browns enter Week 17 with the NFL’s No. 26-ranked total defense (379.2 yards per game) and its fourth-worst scoring defense (26.9 points per game).
The offense hasn’t been much better and is the fourth-worst at scoring points in the league (17.7 points per game).
A recent report by Jason Cole of Bleacher Report alleged Pettine’s job is safe for the upcoming season. Cole said general manager Ray Farmer is expected to be fired, as the team reportedly blaming him for poor personnel moves that have contributed to the downfall of the organization.
Even his own players seem to be on board with Pettine keeping his job. Offensive tackle Joe Thomas recently said that making a coaching change would be “a step back” for the team. Quarterback Johnny Manziel also voiced his support, saying he wants to see Pettine back in 2016.
Should this be the case and the Browns do retain Pettine then we should expect the coach to revamp his coaching staff to improve the poor offensive and defensive showings the team has put together this season.