Cleveland Browns’ GM Ray Farmer Is Handing Out Contracts: Is His Job Safe? by Nick Dudukovich

How does Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine’s in-game decision making rank among his NFL peers? Dead last, according to a number crunchers at ESPN.

Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN decided to rank NFL coaches and their ability to make in-game decisions, and Cleveland Browns’ coach Mike Pettine is No. 32–last in the NFL.

The writer, Andrew Healy, ranked coaches by looking at their ability to win replay challenges, their fourth-down aggressiveness, and clock-management mistakes.

Here’s what the author wrote for ESPN Insider (subscription required).

“The coaches who fail the fourth-down test the most also often make the biggest mistakes on challenges and clock management. No coach shows this better than the Browns’ Pettine. This year, Pettine ranks 30th on fourth down — a big drop from last year when he was middle of the pack — and has the most total mistakes with seven. In Week 1, Pettine failed to challenge a third-down pass to Brandon Marshall that would likely have been overturned on review. That mistake cost the Browns at least four points in a game that was 14-10 in the third quarter. The ineptitude has continued through Week 13 against the Bengals, when the Browns made a mash of the clock for the second week in a row.”

Most recently, Pettine’s clock management cost the Browns during the infamous “Kick-6” loss to the Ravens on Monday Night Football.

With multiple timeouts in his pocket, Pettine refused to use any on the Browns’ final drive of, and led nearly 50 seconds tick off the clock. Rather than get closer for Travis Coons, the kicker was forced to keep a deep ball, which changed the trajectory on the kick.

And we all know what happened.

Pettine is a first-time NFL head coach, and the more opportunities he gets, the more chances he exhibits his novice experience level.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera was listed as the best decision maker, while Buffalo’s Rex Ryan finished just ahead of Pettine.