http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-b...stractions-has-browns-headed-in-new-direction
Mike Pettine blocks out distractions, trying to guide Browns in new direction
October, 23, 2014
BEREA, Ohio -- Mike Pettine spends practices as a quiet observer, his way of not overshadowing assistant coaches. In fact, he reminds himself to let coaches coach by writing it down in the notes section of his master practice script, next to other random thoughts and philosophies that arise during the day -- what he likes about practice, what he doesn’t like, what he will tell the team after the session’s over.
“Sometimes it’s as simple as 'Remember to get gas on the way home,'" the first-year
Cleveland Browns coach said.
For the breakout season Browns fans have craved since 2007, Pettine must be at his best when things go off script.
Pettine is a former high school coach, the product of a seemingly dysfunctional Browns coaching search, working with a first-time general manager, without a top receiver because of a 10-game suspension, with a first-round quarterback stuck to the bench and a high-profile friend (Rex Ryan) who put him on blast in June for discussing Ryan’s playbook to
Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback site.
Pettine ripped up that collage of NFL distractions and drew up a quality, relatively low-maintenance team that could affect the AFC playoff picture. He’s also won and lost games in every way imaginable – a historic road comeback at Tennessee, a blown lead to divisional rival Baltimore, a blowout of divisional rival Pittsburgh at home, and, Sunday in Jacksonville, the customary shaky road loss to a winless team.
The end result is 3-3 football, which could change thanks to looming home games against Oakland and Tampa Bay, teams with a combined one win.
As Pettine has found out, perceptions in the NFL change weekly.
“I could go from coach of the year candidate to village idiot in a span of three hours,” Pettine said. “But I think it’s a mature group staff-wise and player-wise.”
The best sign for Pettine’s upward trajectory might be that he’s won over his biggest critic -- Mike Pettine Sr., who won 300-plus games at Central Bucks (Pa.) High School, about 12 miles from where Pettine coached at North Penn High. Pettine Sr. spent a lifetime keeping his son’s skin thick as jeep tires.
"I usually don’t give him kudos, but he has a knack to block out the peripheral stuff and worry about what only helps the team," said Pettine Sr., who, according to father and son, is still critical of Pettine’s coaching and sends week-ahead scouting reports to Browns coaches.
Pettine learned the art of compartmentalizing from his dad -- don’t waste an ounce of energy on things you can’t immediately impact -- and he’s discovering that theory applies to winning teams, too.
The three-week stretch of Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay is supposed to show Pettine whether his team wants to break the Browns’ streak of six straight double-digit-loss seasons.
Pettine points to the latest distraction, the "
Brian Hoyer contract thing," as a byproduct of recent success. He is glad Hoyer’s playing well, but if the Browns don’t consider that storyline white noise, Pettine is losing before taking the field.
Since his hiring in January, Pettine has been hit with an avalanche of external noise to manage such as
Johnny Manziel’s arrival and
Josh Gordon’s suspension. These eventually made him turn to Rex Ryan, who hired Pettine as his offensive coordinator from 2009-12. Ryan and Pettine reconciled after Ryan was critical of Pettine’s comments to MMQB revealing Ryan distributed playbooks to other coaches.
“I think I texted Rex early on [saying], ‘I figured out why head coaches get paid so much,” Pettine said. “People being excited about the Browns, that’s the problem we want. At the same time, it’s still something we have to deal with.”
Though it’s premature to forecast whether the Browns’ playoff hopes are real, the team has a few things working in its favor – an above-average offensive line, a good trio of running backs, a quarterback who makes good decisions, and a defense that’s finally showing improvement after a sluggish start.
The Browns held Pittsburgh, a top-10 offense early in the season, to three points for most of the 31-10 Browns win on Oct. 12. The Steelers’ only touchdown came in garbage time. The offense has three games with multiple touchdown rushes, equaling the franchise’s total from 2011-13.
Pettine raves about his staff, led by offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil, and also general manager Ray Farmer, who has hit on several undrafted rookies contributing to the 53-man roster. The wideouts have overachieved without Gordon. Hoyer averaged nearly 14 yards per passing attempt through his first five games, successfully fending off Manziel.
All of this sounds great in Week 8. But Hoyer insists the approach from the head coach can resonate long term in a fickle business.
Pettine is known for his honest assessments. He benched rookie running back
Terrance West, who led the team in rushing after four games, because he needed to clean up parts of his game. That works, because you know where you stand as a player, Hoyer said.
One anecdote in particular convinced Hoyer that Pettine could stir a room, even though he admits Pettine’s "imposing" bald-head look would suffice.
"Going back to one of our first team meetings, he put up the names of every player that’s played here since the team left, then he put up all the coaches," Hoyer said. "It took up an entire screen. He goes, 'You know what, none of that involves us ... We’re breaking off the rearview mirror, we’re looking forward.' I thought that was a unique approach."
Being molded from the high school coaching scene doesn’t garner NFL cachet in a business of former pro-players-turned-coaches and long-time NFL assistants who paid dues. Before he was the Jets' and Bills' defensive coordinator, Pettine led North Penn for five seasons. NFL elitists who might look down on Pettine’s pro prospects "put a big chip on his shoulder," Pettine Sr. said.
Pettine has acknowledged in the past that he wasn’t the Browns’ first choice. Josh McDaniels was among the coaches to turn down the job. Former general manager Joe Banner played a large role in hiring Pettine, but desperation played a part, too.
That’s fine by Pettine, who never bothered to check the pecking order.
"I just know the pecking order now," Pettine said. "I don’t think it matters how you get it -- now that you have it, make the most of it. I looked at it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. People say, 'Why did you take that job?' This is one of 32. The way the league is set up, you can win anywhere. That to me is why it was a slam dunk."
