The Cleveland Browns have had many head coaches over the years, all of them earning a place in the team’s history books, for better or worse. And even when an HC leaves Cleveland, fans still keep tabs on them and are interested to see where they go.
Now, a former Browns coach is hanging it up and leaving the league for good. According to Ian Rapoport, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that Minnesota assistant head coach Mike Pettine is retiring.
Pettine has been all over the NFL during his lengthy career, but Browns fans remember him from when he led the team in 2014 and 2015.
“Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell announced that former Browns head coach and current assistant head coach in Minnesota Mike Pettine is retiring,” Rapoport posted on X.
#Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell announced that former #Browns head coach and current assistant head coach in Minnesota Mike Pettine is retiring.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2026
Pettine’s time in Cleveland was decidedly mixed, with him racking up a 7-9 record in 2014 and then a pitiful 3-13 in 2015. Unsurprisingly, that was his last season with the Browns.
His disappointing run with the Browns may have set him back because it was a few years before he found another job. But he eventually joined the Green Bay Packers as a defensive coordinator in 2018, then the Chicago Bears as a senior defensive assistant in 2021, and finally the Vikings as an assistant head coach the following year.
Plus, before his time with the Browns, Pettine worked for the Baltimore Ravens for most of the 2000s, then spent time with the New York Jets.
Pettine has seemingly built a strong, happy relationship with the Vikings, spending the last four seasons with them. He has not only been their assistant coach but also worked as the outside linebackers coach.
Pettine might not have found much luck with the Browns, but the fact that he’s been consistently working in the league since 2002 shows he is a valued, hardworking coach who knows how to help a team. However, at 59, Pettine surely wants to spend more time with his family and focus on things outside football.
Even though his tenure with the Browns wasn’t great, he can look back on a very accomplished career with pride.
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