Browns' former head coach retires from NFL after 24 years in pros

Billy Heyen

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Browns' former head coach retires from NFL after 24 years in pros image

The Cleveland Browns have gone through a lot of head coaches in this era of struggles and quarterback troubles.

One of them has decided to retire from the NFL.

That'd be Mike Pettine, who led the Browns in 2014 and 2015.

Pettine spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Vikings, whose head coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters on Tuesday that Pettine is retiring.

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Pettine is originally from Pennsylvania, and his father Mike Sr. Had 326 wins as a high school coach with four state titles.

From there, Pettine played safety at the University of Virginia. He was then a graduate assistant at Pitt and a high school coach in Pennsylvania himself before coming to the NFL.

He had various roles with the Ravens from 2002-2008.

From 2009-12, Pettine was the Jets' defensive coordinator. He held that same role with the Bills in 2013.

That's when he got the head job with the Browns. He went 7-9 in 2014, then just 3-13 in 2015.

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After that, Pettine had a year away from the NFL before joining the Seahawks as a consultant.

He was the Packers' defensive coordinator from 2018-20. In 2021, Pettine joined the Bears as a senior defensive assistant.

For the past four seasons, Pettine has been the assistant head coach in Minnesota, along with two years as outside linebackers coach.

Pettine has decided to step away from the NFL at age 59.

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Editorial Team