CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Browns head coaching finalist Mike Pettine will be in Cleveland today for a third meeting with the Browns, a league source told cleveland.com, and the two sides could finalize a Deal Now by today for him to become their new head coach.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Browns still had two finalists, but all signs point to an imminent deal with Pettine, the Bills defensive coordinator. However, at 12:30 p.m. he had not even arrived in town.
A source told cleveland.com that Pettine, 47, had already been working on assembling his coaching staff while at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Pettine is associated with top-notch assistants such as former Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who's now at LSU, and Packers running backs coach Alex Van Pelt. It's not yet known if he'll bring them in.
ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen also reported today that Pettine is expected to be offered the job and it's just a matter or working out the details.
Bleacher Report's Will Burge reported Thursday morning that the Browns had made up their mind on Pettine by early morning. A team spokesman said they hadn't yet finalized their decision at that point and that the team was still mulling the two finalists.
As late as Wednesday, the Browns were still checking into other candidates, including what was believed to be a phone interview with Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and a face-to-face meeting with fired Bucs coach Greg Schiano in Florida. Neither were finalists.
The Browns may have also reached out again to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels this week, but McDaniels never got back into the mix, sources told cleveland.com.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Browns had not yet set up a second interview with Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
Quinn will face the Broncos in the Super Bowl Feb. 2, and can be interviewed either by Sunday or after the Super Bowl.
It appears the Browns don't plan to wait for him and that they're ready to wrap it up with Pettine, who's been a defensive coordinator for five seasons in the NFL.
Pettine spent only one season running the Bills defense, but made a big impact in his lone season there. Running a 3-4 hybrid scheme similar to what Ray Horton ran in Cleveland, Pettine's big-play unit finished 10th overall, including fourth against the pass and 28th against the run. The Bills were also second in sacks (57) and interceptions (23). Pettine coached two Bills' players to double-digits sack seasons, including defensive end Mario Williams with a team-high 13 for second-most in his career and defensive end Kyle Williams with a career-high 10.5.
The Bills finished 6-10 in 2013, including a 37-24 loss to the Browns on Oct. 3 -- but the Browns scored on a punt return and an interception return.
Pettine also served as Jets defensive coordinator from 2009-2012 under his longtime mentor Rex Ryan, who brought him with him to New York from Baltimore. At the time, Ryan said, "Mike is a rising star in this league. We're fortunate that we were able to get him on our staff."
Pettine's Jets defenses finished in the top 10 all four years, including No. 1 in 2009. That year, his first as an NFL coordinator, Pettine installed a completely new defense in New York and still managed to rank first in points allowed and pass defense.
