CLEVELAND,

Ohio - Deciding not to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire their man, the Browns on Thursday afternoon reached a deal and named fiery former Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Mike Pettine their seventh full-time head coach in the new era.

Pettine, 47, replaces Rob Chudzinski, who was fired Dec. 29 after going 4-12 in his inaugural season. Casting a wide net, the Browns interviewed 10 candidates over the past 25 days.

The Browns flew Pettine to Cleveland on Thursday afternoon for a third meeting and finalized the deal shortly thereafter.

"We are thrilled to announce Mike Pettine as the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns," owner Jimmy Haslam said in a statement. "Mike is the epitome of what we want the Browns to be -- tough, aggressive and innovative -- with a blue-collar, team-first mentality.

"He knows what's necessary to beat teams in the AFC North. Most importantly, Mike has repeatedly shown the ability to lead his players to consistent improvement and success, clearly what we are striving for as he leads the Cleveland Browns moving forward."

As of Thursday morning, they were still mulling two finalists. League sources told cleveland.com that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn remained in the mix right up until the end.

Pettine picked up steam in the search during his second interview with the Browns Tuesday night at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. The session lasted for four hours, but the Browns left town without a deal. On hand for the meeting were Haslam,

CEO

Joe Banner, team president Alec Scheiner and general manager Mike Lombardi.

On Wednesday, they touched base with at least two other candidates, Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and fired Bucs coach Greg Schiano. The Koetter interview was believed to be over the phone, and the Schiano session took place in Florida.

Current NFL coaches

TEAM NAME EXP Arizona Cardinals Bruce Arians 1 Atlanta Falcons Mike Smith 6 Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh 6 Buffalo Bills Doug Marrone 1 Carolina Panthers Ron Rivera 3 Chicago Bears Marc Trestman 1 Cincinnati Bengals Marvin Lewis 11 Cleveland Browns Mike Pettine 0 Dallas Cowboys Jason Garrett 4 Denver Broncos John Fox 12 Detroit Lions Jim Caldwell 3 Green Bay Packers Mike McCarthy 8 Houston Texans Bill O'B rien 0 Indianapolis Colts Chuck Pagano 2 Jacksonville Jaguars Gus Bradley 1 Kansas City Chiefs Andy Reid 15 Miami Dolphins Joe Philbin 2 Minnesota Vikings Mike Zimmer 0 New England Patriots Bill Belichick 19 New Orleans Saints Sean Payton 8 New York Giants Tom Coughlin 18 New York Jets Rex Ryan 5 Oakland Raiders Dennis Allen 2 Philadelphia Eagles Chip Kelly 1 Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin 7 San Diego Chargers Mike McCoy 1 San Francisco 49ers Jim Harbaugh 3 Seattle Seahawks Pete Carroll 8 St. Louis Rams Jeff Fisher 19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Lovie Smith 9 Tennessee Titans Ken Whisenhunt 6 Washington Redskins Jay Gruden 0

The Browns also reached back out to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, according to

NFL

Network's Albert Breer. However, a source told cleveland.com that McDaniels opted not to jump back into the mix.

On Wednesday afternoon, Pettine told cleveland.com from the Senior Bowl that he expected "some feedback'' by the Browns by the end of the day. Meanwhile, Bills players and coaches told the Buffalo News they expected Pettine to get the Browns job.

The Browns interviewed Pettine for the first time last Thursday and immediately liked him, a source said. In fact, Pettine's teenage daughter, Megan, tweeted that night that her dad would be brought back a second time. The tweet was later deleted, and the account deactivated.

The Browns moved quickly on Pettine instead of waiting for Seahawks Quinn, who will coach against the Broncos in the Super Bowl on Feb. 2. They would've had to wait until after the Super Bowl to hire Quinn, but could have interviewed him again by Sunday.

Quinn, who has been an

NFL

coordinator for only one season, presided over the top-ranked defense in the

NFL

in 2013. The Seahawks were also first in points allowed and takeaways.

Pettine was the seventh of 10 candidates interviewed by the Browns. The others were Quinn, Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, McDaniels, former Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, former Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo, fired Titans coach Mike Munchak, Cowboys special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Koetter and Schiano.

"We wanted to be thorough from the start," Banner said in a statement, "and we interviewed as many people as we could. From that group, we hired the best individual for this job. Our players and fans are going to really enjoy Mike Pettine and his leadership style. We're excited to have him out in front of our team, and we look forward to working closely with him."

Bowles, McDaniels and Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase all took their names out of the running. McDaniels, a longtime favorite of Lombardi, pulled out when told he wasn't the frontrunner, a source told cleveland.com.

Gase withdrew when he was informed the Browns didn't want to wait until after the Super Bowl to interview him for the first time. A source close to Gase said that he wanted to remain with Peyton Manning for another year and possibly have a chance at multiple head-coaching opportunities in 2015. The ability to hire a quality staff at this point was also a factor, the source said.

Whisenhunt, another big-name offensive coordinator, interviewed with the Browns and Lions, but opted for the Titans job instead.

Another possible candidate for offensive coordinator under Pettine is Packers running backs coach Alex Van Pelt, the former quarterback for the Steelers, Chiefs and Bills. Van Pelt has also coached quarterbacks for the Bucs and Bills, and served as Bills offensive coordinator in 2009 and 2010 under Dick Jauron before the staff was fired after a 6-10 season.

Pettine spent only one season as Bills coordinator, 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: 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 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 new defense in New York and still managed to rank first in points allowed and pass defense.

That season, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis recorded what Ryan referred to as: “…the best year a corner has ever had (and) the most impact a corner has ever had in the National Football League. That's my opinion.” Revis was rewarded with first-team honors on every recognized team that year.

Pettine, long known as Ryan's right-hand man, also spent seven seasons as a defensive assistant with the Ravens, including the last four as outside linebackers coach when Ryan was defensive coordinator. Pettine's familiarity with the

AFC

North was undoubtedly a big selling point for him.

In 2008, the Ravens finished second overall in defense and third in points allowed. They led the

NFL

with 34 takeaways, 26 interceptions and a league-low 60.6 opponent passer rating. Baltimore also yielded a league-low four rushing touchdowns.

Prior to joining the NFL ranks, Pettine was the head coach at North Penn High in Towamencin, Pa., from 1997-2001.

He also served as head coach for two years at William Tennent High in Warminster, Pa.

Before that, Pettine spent two seasons (1993-94) on the college level, serving as a defensive graduate assistant at Pittsburgh.

His father, Mike, Sr., was the head coach for 33 years at Central Bucks West High in Doylestown, Pa., where Pettine played under his father and earned all-state honors as a quarterback and a defensive back.

He later served as an assistant coach on his father's staff for five seasons (1988-92). Mike Sr., retired as head coach after the 1999 campaign as the winningest coach in the history of Pennsylvania high school football with a career record of 326-32-4.

Pettine was a two-year letterman as a free safety at Virginia. He led the team in interceptions in 1986, including tying a school record with three in a game against North Carolina State. He graduated with a degree in economics.

Born Sept. 25, 1966, Pettine has two daughters, Megan and Katie, and one son, Ryan.

Pettine takes over a Browns team that has two picks in the first round of the May draft, No. 4 and No. 26 overall. The team also has plenty of cap space to sign free agents, and six players who made the Pro Bowl.

A key hire for Pettine will be the offensive coordinator, considering the Browns will most likely draft a quarterback in the first round of the draft. He's associated with experienced assistants such former Ravens coordinator Cam Cameron, who is now at

LSU,

and Van Pelt.