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Mike Pettine was hired as the coach of Cleveland today. Was this a good move by the Browns? Let’s take a closer look . . .
It’s a good hire if Pettine learned his lesson from his media dealings late in his Jets tenure.
Jets beat writer Manish Mehta broke a lot of stories in 2012, and most people in the media, and in the building, think Pettine was his source, “Deep Jet,” if you will.
Remember this diatribe from WFAN’s Mike Francesa?
“Manish Mehta has had a thousand stories this year. He’s been the Jets worst nightmare.
“He has a very good source which is worst kept secret in the world. Everyone in the world knows how close he is to the defensive coordinator (Mike Pettine). Everyone in the building tells everybody he’s the source. It’s the worst kept secret in the world. There isn’t anyone who covers that team that doesn’t know it’s a fact.
“He kind of tipped his hand – when he went with that exclusive that the defensive coordinator turned down an extension four months ago, that wouldn’t aid anybody but [Pettine]. DC. It is no secret that is one of his sources. That isn’t for the media to for the team to deal with, it’s for the head coach to deal with. You can’t have one of your coaches killing your coaches and players. That is what has gone on with Jets. It made them look bad all year. That is up to the head coach to shut that down.
“I think he has to clean out his staff. If it’s my team, I’m getting rid of guys who are leaking things. I don’t care they have to go.”
Pettine was gone after that season.
There has been speculation that Rex was forced to bounce him because of the leaking.
But you know what, it was the best thing to happen to Pettine.
It probably helped him land the Cleveland job today.
He got out from Rex’s shadow, and did a terrific job leading Buffalo’s defense. They led the NFL in sacks.
When I heard he was interviewing for the Browns’ job, I knew he had a great shot.
He’s extremely bright (UVA graduate) and an excellent communicator. I felt he would hit the interview process out of the park.
And he’s ready to be a head coach.
He grew up around coaching. His father is a Pennsylvania high school coaching legend. Pettine learned a ton from him, and then paid his dues after graduating from Virginia (where he played safety) on the high school, college and NFL level.
The leak thing is troubling, but I know exactly what Pettine was doing, and I’m not defending it. He was “playing the game,” a game that I have written about for many years.
You give sports writers, commentators and so forth inside information, scoops, and they will praise you in print and on the air.
You scratch their backs, and they will scratch your back.
I will never forget this scene, and I wrote about it in the magazine.
An SI NFL writer was at Jets practice one day, perhaps four or five years ago.
Pettine came over to chat with him.
I turned to Brian Costello and said, “Watch, in a couple of days, that writer will write that Pettine is a hot head coaching candidate.”
It happened two days later.
I’m not a visionary. I have just been around this stuff a long time.
When the Jets played on NFL Network during Pettine’s time in Florham Park, the color analyst would praise him constantly. You figure out what was going on there.
Pettine clearly saw this work for other coaches, and did it himself.
He’s the head coach of the Cleveland Browns today, so perhaps it worked.
But I will say this – I think he can do a good job.
Like I said before, this is a very smart guy, and he’s paid his dues.
Hopefully he learned his lesson from his days as “Deep Jet.”
Jimmy Haslam and Joe Banner better keep an eye on their coach, and make sure he is 100 percent focused on football, and not worried about hooking up insiders.
January 23, 2014
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