If Browns head coach Mike Pettine lasts the year, then the reason may be more – much more – than the fact there appears to be no suitable replacement on the current coaching staff, even though the job would be on only an interim basis, of course.
It may be simply that team owner Jimmy Haslam does not want to add to the perception that he is impatient and has an overly itchy trigger finger when it comes to firing head coaches. That started, of course, when he axed Rob Chudzinski in 2013 after just one season – really, after only 11 months. He didn’t last even a full calendar year. So when Haslam went looking for a replacement, a lot of qualified candidates got scared off and said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” They didn’t want their necks on the chopping block as soon as they got hired.
That’s how the Browns ended up with Pettine, who wasn’t even on the radar screen when the process started, but then moved up the pecking order meteorically when first one candidate and then another bailed out.
And we’ve seen how all that has gone, haven’t we?
Haslam has to give Pettine a full two seasons on the job. As little time as that may seem – and that’s understandable, for it isn’t long – it still looks a lot better perceptually than firing Chudzinski’s successor now, after just 1½ seasons. We’re at the exact halfway point of the year as the Browns get ready on a short week to play the unbeaten Bengals (7-0) in Cincinnati on Thursday Night Football.
Pettine will be long gone by the time the 2016 NFL Draft is held, and so will a lot of his current players. So whatever he does for the rest of the season means nothing. It will be quickly forgotten after he and the members of his coaching staff are fired when the gun sounds in Pittsburgh on Jan. 3, and the new head coach comes in and wipes the slate clean.
So Haslam can let Pettine stick around for these final eight games without hindering the team’s future.
But Haslam doesn’t have that problem with Ray Farmer. Farmer joined the Browns as assistant general manager on March 5, 2013 and was promoted to GM 11 months later, on Feb. 11, 2014. He has had plenty of time – two drafts, with a pair of first-round draft choices each year – to show what he can, and, as it turns out, can’t do.
As soon as the draft and free-agent signing period ends, a GM begins laying the groundwork for the next year. So since last spring, Farmer has been working on their evaluations. As such, he and his miscalculations are already holding back the progress on making the 2016 Browns better – much better – than this year’s version.
It will take some time for the new regime to undo that process and get started on its own evaluations. Based on history, no incoming GM in his right mind would give any credence whatsoever to Farmer’s opinions.
So if Haslam jettisoned Farmer right now, it would certainly not be too soon. In fact, it can’t be soon enough. Really, the sooner, the better, for each day that Farmer stays, the Browns get just that much further off track.
Haslam would simply instruct the personnel people to keep accumulating information to give to the next group, for whatever it’s worth. At the same time, they can continue to get paid while they freshen up their resumes. It’s a win-win.
Keep in mind that the Browns have already proven they can survive – actually, more than survive – with Farmer out of the building. They did so for the first month of the season when he was suspended for his involvement in Textgate.
With the trading deadline looming late Tuesday afternoon, rumors began surfacing Sunday morning that the Browns may be making available left tackle Joe Thomas, center Alex Mack, outside linebacker Paul Kruger and possibly even another outside linebacker in Barkevious Mingo. With Farmer’s status in limbo, Haslam should suspend all deals until the new GM comes in and has a chance to assess the roster.
And while you’re chewing on all that, which has probably already gotten your blood boiling, chew on this and see if it doesn’t cause you to get even more steamed: In the Browns 2015 media guide, Farmer is described as being “cerebral.”
It also states in the guide in Farmer’s bio, “Promoted just three months prior to taking the reins of the Browns’ 2014 draft, and one month before free agency, Farmer immediately set out to establish an organizational philosophy and process for drafting, developing and retaining on-field talent. Central in that process, as Farmer’s mentors taught him in humble fashion, is ensuring the success of his head coach. As a result, Farmer has cultivated a lockstep partnership with Mike Pettine.”
Wow.
