The Cleveland Browns have fired head coach Mike Pettine and general manager Ray Framer. The duo produced a 3-13 season for the Brown in the 2015-16 season. Cleveland announced the dismissals right after the 28-12 loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"We greatly appreciate Ray and Mike's dedication and hard work while with the Cleveland Browns," owner Jimmy Haslam said. "We've made this decision because we don't believe our football team is positioned well for the future. We are all disappointed with where we are and I take full responsibility."
2015-16 Disaster
Cleveland won their first game of the regular season, but then struggled the rest of the way to a 3-13 record.
The team used Josh McCown, Johnny Manziel and Austin Davis behind center throughout the season. McCown led the way with completing 186-of-292 passes for 2,109 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. Manziel threw for 1,500 yards and seven touchdowns, but had multiple issues off the field that kept him from playing in a few games.
There was poor leadership across the entire team, which all started with Farmer. He was fined $250,000 in March 2015 for sending texts to coaching staff to discuss play-calling during games, which violated the National Football League's electronic device policy. It set a weak tone for the team, which was followed by bad play.
Cleveland was very disappointing in 2015, ranking 29th across the league in defense with 26.9 points allowed per game. Pettine was hired because of his defensive mindset coming into the job with the Browns, but he defense ranked at the bottom of the league in most categories.
"It is a bottom-line business, and you guys don't have a column in the newspaper for moral victories,'' Pettine said. "Our record is that we have won three of our last 21 games. That is just not good enough.''
Draft Struggles
Since 2011, Cleveland has selected Phil Taylor (DT), Trent Richardson (RB), Brandon Weeden (QB), Barkevious Mingo (OLB), Justin Gilbert (CB), Johnny Manziel (QB), Danny Shelton (DT) and Cameron Erving (C) with first round picks in the NFL Draft. As a matter of fact, Taylor and Richardson are free agents, while Weeden is currently with the Houston Texans. Mingo, Gilbert, Manziel, Shelton and Erving are the only first round draft picks since 2011 still with he team. All those struggles in the offseason have started with the general manager, who was fired on Sunday.
A Letter From The Owners
The Browns on Sunday evening released this letter to fans from team owners Jimmy Haslam and Dee Haslam:
It was important to us that we communicate directly with you regarding our decision to part ways with General Manager Ray Farmer and Head Coach Mike Pettine. We greatly appreciate Ray's and Mike's dedication and hard work while with the Cleveland Browns. We've made this difficult decision because we don't believe our football team and football operations were positioned well for the future.
We are all disappointed with where we are and clearly understand your frustrations. We take full responsibility and understand you expect better from us. Your support and loyalty to the Browns is beyond compare, and as the stewards of this franchise, we take the task of creating success to heart. We are confident we will build a winning football organization.
Our focus as we move forward is on finding strong, smart leaders with high character who are relentlessly driven to improve our football team, willing to look at every resource possible to improve, and who embrace collaboration to ultimately make the best decisions for the Cleveland Browns.
We will approach the search for our next football coach and executives to lead our football operations with a clear vision regarding what we need to do to build a successful organization. Along with strong leaders, we need to build out a strategic plan, stay disciplined to it, and develop the right systems and processes to make better decisions for short and long-term success. We will be methodical in looking at candidates that epitomize the values we have laid out. While we understand the inherent challenges that come with changes, we've learned valuable lessons during our past four years as owners that will help us make sure we provide our team the best people, leadership and resources to succeed.
Our family is deeply committed to bringing you the winning team you deserve while continuing to try and make a difference in the community.
We are excited for the new opportunities ahead of us and embrace the hard work that needs to be done.
What Is Next In Cleveland?
The Browns are set to interview Doug Marrone, the former Buffalo Bills head coach. The team will also look at the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin will get interviews in the next few days.
McCown will be an option for the Browns next season as he is still under contract. The quarterback, however, will probably be a short term option as the team will look to wipe out and rebuild at the quarterback position.
The team has the second overall pick in the May 2016 NFL Draft.
Johnny Is Not Safe
The 23-year-old spent 73 days in an offseason rehab facility. He was benched by Pettine for two games this season for behavioral issues. According to Peter King of Sports Illustrated, The graduate of Texas A&M did not report to the Browns on Sunday morning at 9:00 AM ET, which all players with a concussion are required to do. Manziel "wants to go to Dallas" and the Browns are "so done" with the quarterback. It was reported that Manziel was seen gambling at the Planet Hollywood casino in Las Vegas on Saturday.