Jimmy Haslam avoids question about Mike Pettine’s future

The Cleveland Browns may be entering familiar territory this offseason with a coaching search.

The Cleveland Browns are known as the “factory of sadness” for a reason, and their fans could be getting another sad reminder of that reason after Sunday’s Week 17 finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Rumors have been surfacing as of late that owner Jimmy Haslam may fire yet another head coach, as Mike Pettine’s job security is in the air following a disappointing 2015 season.

Pettine apparently tried to put these rumors to rest by going straight to the top and asking Haslam about his future with the franchise, and to Pettine’s dismay, the question was dodged by the Browns owner.

If Pettine is let go, this would be the fourth consecutive coach to last less than two years on the job in Cleveland. While there could be a debate about Pettine’s ability as a coach, there is no debating that such a lack of consistency makes success impossible for any franchise.

The coach knows his future is in question, but he believes that two-years may not be enough to turn things around according to his Thursday press conference.

"“I absolutely know the record. It’s a bottom line business, and if I just pull myself back from it and put myself elsewhere and look in, the record is not good, but given the circumstances that we were in when we got here and given the history of when you look back at what had occurred here before we got here and kind of the state of things, I don’t think anybody thought it was going to be a quick turnaround based on where we are”"

Many would agree that the Browns turnaround would need more than two seasons, and that consistency at the position would be a welcome change. However, given Haslam’s impatience, seeing Pettine’s name pop up on “Black Monday” wouldn’t be a shocker at all. Good luck to whoever gets the tough task of pleasing Haslam next.