Though he didn’t do it intentionally, Browns head coach Mike Pettine has assured himself of job security through the end of this season by the way he has built his coaching staff.
 
That is, unless something way off the charts happens, Pettine will not be fired in mid-season, even if the team struggles monumentally.
 
Why? Because Pettine’s staff is so bad, and so lacking in any potential head coaching candidates, at least with where his staffers are at this point of their careers, that there would be no one competent enough to take over for him. Yes, things could get worse.
 
So even if you don’t like Pettine, you had better get used to him over the next 12 games because he’s not going anywhere.
 
With that said, here’s hoping Pettine, despite what he said yesterday, will make some changes – maybe even a few drastic ones – today as he and his staffers prepare the game plan for Sunday’s road game against the Baltimore Ravens. The status-quo can’t continue. He has to shake things up and try some new wrinkles. Perhaps they won’t end up working, but perhaps they will. What he’s doing now certainly isn’t getting it done, so it’s definitely worth a shot.
 
Here’s a part of the Browns’ disappointing start that you’ve not heard discussed: They are wasting a great opportunity. While the Browns are struggling, so, too, are the Ravens, who are tied with them for last place in the AFC North at 1-3, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are 2-2 and without the heart and soul of their team in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is out with a knee injury.
 
The 4-0 Bengals are the only team in the division riding high right now. But it’s still early October, and quarterback Andy Dalton, who has been the catalyst for this surge, always looks like Boomer Esiason and Ken Anderson early in the season. As the year goes on, Dalton starts coming back to the pack, bringing the Bengals with him, while Baltimore and Pittsburgh always improve.
 
If the Browns had taken advantage of the less challenging early part of their schedule and stood 2-2 or even 3-1 at this juncture, they’d have some momentum heading into this much tougher stretch and would be right there with the rest of the teams in the division. As it is now, unless something changes, they could be on the verge of getting buried.
 
Again, though, even if that happens and the Browns appear headed for a two-win season, there will be no coaching change.
 
After the season? That will likely be a different story.