Pettine not out of woods
Players’ backing helpful for coach, but record is not.
Browns coach Mike Pettine appreciates players publicly calling for him to be retained.
But Pettine knows the endorsements aren’t guaranteed to save his job, because the Browns (3-11) are tied for the NFL’s worst record heading into their road game Sunday against Kansas City (9-5), which is trying to tie a franchise record with its ninth straight victory.
“It’s good to hear, but as a coaching staff, you hope you’re running a program that the players enjoy being in and they respect the men that they work for, and when you hear comments like that, it reinforces that,” Pettine saidWednesday before practice.
“But at the same time, we all know — I’ve said it a million times — this is a bottom-line business. It’s pass or fail, and unfortunately we’ve failed more than we’ve passed, and we also feel that we’ve planted some seeds for growth here.
“But as I stress to the players all the time, control the controllables. And for us as a coaching staff, we’re going to prepare like heck to get our team ready for Kansas City and next week for Pittsburgh, and we’re going to coach our butts off and hopefullywe can get our guys (to do) the same — preparing hard, practicing hard.
“And as I said before, whatever happens, happens, but to answer your question, it’s good to hear (players supporting the coaching staff ), but (we’re) still pressing forward for two more weeks.”
Left tackle Joe Thomas, tight end Gary Barnidge, quarterback Johnny Manziel, strong safety Donte Whitner and wide receiver Travis Benjamin are among the players to call for Pettine to be kept.
For Manziel to support Pettine is noteworthy because the coach disciplined him earlier this season.
After Manziel partied during a bye-week break and later lied to the Browns about it, Pettine sent the former Heisman Trophy winner to the bench for two games. But he is expected to start for the third consecutive game Sunday.
“It just reinforces what I’ve said all along from a personal standpoint: He and I get along very well,” Pettine said.
“If you just eliminate that incident where I felt like I was doing my job and doing what was best for the team — and doing what was best for him — and hopefully he respects that.
“But I also know that from an interaction standpoint, when he’s here, I have a ton of respect for him because of A, what he’s gone through personally and B, how he has earned the respect of the guys around him.
“We all know what he did, but at the same time, when you hear the other players come out and support (him) because they see it, they see him ultra-prepared.
“They see him seamlessly calling plays in the huddle and getting guys lined up and knowing where to go with the ball and doing his job that there’s no substitute for hard work to get to that point, and he’s put it in. He’s done it.
“I’ve said it up here: He and I have a very good relationship. (Quarterbacks coach) Kevin O’Connell, (offensive coordinator) John DeFilippo, it’s all very positive with the quarterback room, and I would be surprised if that wasn’t a two-way street.”