http://houndsports.com/cleveland-browns-finally-head-coach/

It was a normal Thursday morning and the Cleveland media was in Berea for another daily press conference. The likes of Mary Cay Kabot, Tony Grossi, and Scott Petrak have been there many times before, reporting the same gloom and doom that is the Cleveland Browns.

However, this day was different. A new sense of optimism was spreading around the campus. Players were laughing and coaches were half-smiling. As the media is getting ready, a figure opens the door, walks up the stairs, and sits on the podium. Before he gets on the microphone, he shares a limerick or two with some of Cleveland’s veteran reporters.

Normally, he would begin his press conference with an injury update for the likes of Jordan Cameron, Barkevious Mingo, and Ben Tate. Instead, he starts off with a tribute, or as he put it, a “shout out” to one of his former players, Raven’s Defensive Lineman Ma’ake Kemoeatu, who donated his kidney to his brother, effectively ending his football career. He spends roughly five minutes talking about how great of a player and person Kemoeatu was and how he truly appreciated his time with him in Baltimore.

This is Mike Pettine.

Coach Pettine is something the Cleveland Browns haven’t had since they came back into the league in 1999. He is a straight shooter. His “coach speak” is to a minimum and he tells it like it is. He is stern, yet friendly. He has a sense of confidence when addressing any issue, and he is well received by the Cleveland media, which is something that hasn’t happened in Cleveland in a very long time.

His journey to the North Shore is a surprising one. In the 2014 offseason, The Browns not only were struggling to get a coach, but were struggling internally with their power structure. In one of the best moves of his ownership, Jimmy Haslam decided that it would be more effective to streamline the process. In the early offseason, he terminated the contracts of both GM Mike Lombardi and President Joe Banner. These moves were revered around the fan base and time has told why. Ray Farmer is much more fit for the position and has already had one of the best Cleveland Browns drafts in a decade, finding gems such as Terrance West and Joe Bitonio.

But enough about that. Let’s continue.

The Browns looked everywhere for a head coach. The rumor mill was in full focus, with names such as Jim Schwartz, Ken Whinsenhunt, and even Greg Schiano sprouting up. Local boy Josh McDaniels was even rumored to be talking to the Browns front office. He grew up a Browns fan and even so, declined a job with the team. This alone shows the state of the Browns prior to the new regime.

Things got so desperate that they were going to resort to trading for a head coach. A plan was in place to trade a first and second round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Coach Jim Harbaugh. Rumor has it that the trade never went through because Jim’s wife didn’t want to relocate to Cleveland. Honestly, who can blame her?

So now imagine being Mike Pettine. The Browns completely exhausted a list of candidates and trades and still didn’t find their guy, so they gave you a call. It’s like you are the booty call of the team. They had all of these dates they could have went out with that night but were shut down. It’s 3 AM, and your number was called, Pettine.

Call it fate. Call it Calvinism if you must. But something in the stars made this happen. Most coaches, if passed on 14…yes 14 times…would come into the building with a lack of confidence, planning, and possible resentment. To make matters worse, Coach Pettine’s daughter Megan even posted a tweet while her Dad was interviewing with the team, saying “It’s the Browns. But still, pretty cool!”

Coach didn’t waver. His opening press conference exuded confidence and someone who had a mission. He wants to build this team on toughness, and his motto “Play like a Brown” has echoed throughout the halls of Berea. No one has ever come into the building before and acted like they have been here for years. He has moxie. He pulls it off.

Mike Pettine isn’t the “sexy” or “stylish” coach that you expect when hearing these things. He isn’t the Rex Ryan or Jim Harbaugh type. He gets down to business. He doesn’t shy away from provocative questions. He has a plan, and a smart one at that. He knows how to make competent decisions.

Let’s be honest. The bar is set pretty low in Cleveland. Chris Palmer, our first coach since coming back in 1999, was a coordinator pretending to be a head coach. Butch Davis was just a college coach trying to make it work in the NFL. Romeo Crennel hid behind his Belichick-earned Super Bowl rings and had no idea how to speak to the media. Eric Mangini was the king of coach speak. When Pat Shurmer was here, I swear I could see members of the media sleeping in the background of his pressers. Rob Chudzinski…well I am still a little angry about that, but let’s move on. At least I don’t have to spell that last name for the rest of this article.

So as you can clearly see, Mike Pettine is something exhilarating. He knows what to do, and when to do it. He can properly do his job, and that is the only thing Cleveland fans want out of a head coach. We don’t need the high profile name. We don’t need the previous Super Bowl winning, experienced guy. We don’t need the college dynasty maker. We have had all of those things.

We just want a hard nosed, blue collar, football loving guy who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring a winning team to the Mistake By The Lake.