After the Browns introduced Mike Pettine as their new head coach on Thursday, Joe Banner told reporters that Pettine's contract would be for five years. The length was a surprise, considering former head coach Rob Chudzinski was coming off of a four-year deal and was fired after just one year.
Some confusion arose on Friday. During an interview on 92.3 The Fan, Pettine said that the reports that his contract was for five years were inaccurate, but that he didn't want to comment further on the deal. A little bit later, the Browns clarified things for everybody:
#Browns spokesman: HC Mike Pettine technically has 4-yr contract w/ team option for 5th yr. That's why CEO Joe Banner said it's a 5-yr deal
— Nate Ulrich (@NateUlrichABJ) January 24, 2014
That makes sense. If Pettine ends up being a dreamy coach, Banner sees it as he'll be under contract for four years. But, the guaranteed money is probably only for four years, and then Cleveland could make a decision on the fifth year. I think we'd be happy to see any head coach stay that long, because it likely means he's been winning.