The tradition of firing head coaches apparently will continue for the Cleveland Browns. However, this time the general manager is getting the boot, too.
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam already is seeking replacements for coach Mike Pettine and GM Ray Farmer, both of whom could be fired as early as Sunday night, league sources told Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot. Her sources also said Haslam wants to “blow things up.”
That means, regardless of how the Browns do in their Week 17 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it appears Pettine’s reign in Cleveland will end after two seasons.
Pettine reportedly asked Haslam on Friday about his future with the team, but he was told the decision would be made some time after Sunday’s game, sources told Cleveland.com. The same report says Pettine then had a meeting with the other coaches, who left believing he would be fired.
The Browns appeared to be trending upward after a 7-9 record in Pettine’s first season, but the team has gone back down to the AFC cellar with a 3-12 mark heading into the final weekend. Farmer also was hired as the team’s general manager in 2014, although he was with the Browns in 2013 as the assistant GM.
This means the Browns soon will have their ninth different head coach since 2000, which includes interim coach Terry Robiskie from 2004.
Thumbnail photo via Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports Images
