On Saturday the Cleveland Browns finally broke their silence about what had been talked about ad nauseum by the end of the week. Mike Pettine was the first quote in the press release, but it also features a comment from Kyle Shanahan.

Mike Pettine…

“After conversations with Kyle this week we’ve determined that it would be in the best interest of the Cleveland Browns that he pursue other opportunities and we have accepted his resignation.” Pettine said. “In Dowell’s case, it was a difficult decision but one that we felt we had to make. We wish them both well. Our focus quickly turns to finding an outstanding coach to lead our offense and I am confident we will bring in highly qualified individuals to help us develop, improve, and achieve the success we are all seeking. I look forward to working with the staff as we go through this process to bring in coaches committed to helping the Cleveland Browns lay a strong foundation to take our offense to a consistently high level in the 2015 season and beyond.”

That’s some boilerplate from Pettine, but I wouldn’t expect much more than that. After all, thanks to Shanahan, the Browns are now involved in an investigation into whether or not there was illegal texting going on during games this year.

Kyle Shanahan…

“I appreciate the opportunity Mike Pettine, Ray Farmer and Jimmy Haslam gave me to lead the Browns offense in 2014,” Shanahan said. “The Browns organization is committed to improvement and winning. I regret how the inner workings of the organization were represented publicly over the last few days. Ray and Mike both have the work ethic, experience and talent to work together to turn this organization into a winner. In light of the circumstances, I have decided to resign. I’m grateful for my time with the Browns and wish them great success going forward.”

This is pretty standard as well, but I find it funny that it says he regrets the public representation of the inner workings of the organization. Sounds like someone in Shanahan’s circle – and maybe even Kyle himself – realizes how bad this looks for him with two ugly exits in his last two jobs. And make no mistake about it, regardless of how the Browns are run, it was up to Kyle Shanahan and whoever his circle are to choose the low road instead of the high one as he went searching for other gigs.