Scott Huff interviews Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine Jr. and Browns linebackers coach Chuck Driesbach, both CB West grads, who returned to Doylestown for the 4th Annual Jim O’Neil Football Camp.
By Scott Huff
There’s No Place Like Home for Central Bucks West graduates Michael Pettine Jr. and Chuck Driesbach who worked inside the friendly confines of War Memorial Field in Doylestown as instructors at the 4th Annual Jim O’Neil Football Camp on Sunday.
The color of the camp was far from the Black and Gold worn by the scholastic CB West Bucks – the color of the day was brown – as in the professional Cleveland Browns.
Pettine will begin his first season as head coach of the Browns this season, while Driesbach will begin his first season as the Browns linebacker coach. O’Neil – still another CB West grad – will begin his first season as the Browns defensive coordinator.
Resume of Head Coach Michael Pettine Jr.
1. Played free safety at University of Virginia graduating in 1987.
2. Two (2) years graduate assistant at University of Pittsburgh.
3. Two (2) years head coach at William Tennent High School.
4. Five (5) years head coach at North Penn High School.
5. Two (2) years assistant coach with Baltimore Ravens
6. One (1) year defensive line coach with Baltimore Ravens
7. Four (4) years outside linebacker coach with Baltimore Ravens
8. Four (4) years defensive coordinator with New York Jets
9. One (1) year defensive coordinator with Buffalo Bills
Q & A with Cleveland Brown Head Coach Michael Pettine Jr.
Suburban One Sports: What was it like for you, Jim, and Chuck to come back to Doylestown to help out with the camp?Pettine: “We all came back in a bus-limo, and we were laughing all the way. Then we had a great meal at the New Britain Inn and got a chance to talk about old times. It was great to be back in the Central Bucks West community. This is where my foundation of football was built. It was a reminder that you need to be able to give back to the community. I got a solid foundation of how to build a program by playing here under my Dad, and I know what it takes to have a successful program.”
Suburban One Sports: Is your Dad (legendary West football coach Michael Pettine Sr.) still involved in your football life?
Pettine: “My Dad has been great wherever I have been, and he is very much involved with what I do to this day. I send him tapes of games and practices, and he still breaks down the tape for us. He understands the game of football and has seen everything. I think he might be the last coach to break down 16mm film – but he has gotten better with the new technology. Although he told me the other day that he was having trouble with his E-Pad – and I told him to just send me an I-mail.”
Suburban One Sports: What do you think it will be like to coach Johnny Manziel this year?
Pettine: “Everyone knows what he was like as a college player, but right now he is just one of 90 players on our football team. My biggest decision concerning him will all be about him as a football player. I will tell you that he is all about playing football – and all about team. I also know that he will help us win football games when his time comes.”
Suburban One Sports: The ESPN documentary ‘Hard Knocks’ made a pitch for featuring the Cleveland Browns this year. You turned them down – why?
Pettine: “They came to us before the draft – before we drafted Johnny Manziel – and we said no. As a first year coach, we were able to say no and I know that it was the right decision. I went through the ‘Hard Knocks’ experience when I coached with the Jets, and it was something that I wasn’t interested in doing my first year as an NFL head coach. There are a lot of positives and negatives to the experience, but it was something that I didn’t feel we needed to deal with at this time.”
Suburban One Sports: You have been known at the NFL level as a respected defensive coach with the Ravens, Jets, and Bills. Now that you are the head coach – will you get more involved in the offensive side of the ball?
Pettine: “In order to be a good defensive coach, you have to be able to understand an offense. We have a great offensive coordinator in Kyle Shanahan and he will run the offense. We have a great defensive coordinator in Jim O’Neil and he will run the defense. But there is no question that I will have my input on both sides of the football.”
Suburban One Sports: You selected (CB West ’70) Chuck Driesbach as your linebacker coach – why?
Pettine: “I met Chuck back when I was a graduate assistant at the University of Pittsburgh and he was the defensive coordinator under Johnny Majors. I was impressed with the way that he taught the game to the players. He would step back and explain why things had to be done in a certain way, and he had a real gift of communication. He did that last year when we both coached with the Bills. When I interviewed for the job, Chuck was one of the first calls that I made to come on board. It was a slam dunk.”
Resume of Linebacker Coach Chuck Driesbach
1. Played wide receiver at Villanova University, graduating in 1974.
2. Four (4) years defensive backs coach at Kansas State.
3. Two (2) years defensive line coach at Wake Forest.
4. One (1) year tight ends coach at Wake Forest.
5. Two (2) years running backs coach at Eastern Carolina University
6. One (1) year secondary coach at University of Mississippi
7. Two (2) years defensive coordinator at Cornell University
8. Four (4) years defensive coordinator at University of Pittsburgh
9. Four (4) years defensive coordinator at Western Michigan
10. One (1) year defensive coordinator at TCU.
11. Three (3) years defensive coordinator at University of Mississippi.
12. Two (2) years defensive backs coach at Michigan State University
13. Five (5) years assistant head coach at Rice University
14. One (1) year linebackers coach with Buffalo Bills.
Q & A with Cleveland Brown Linebackers Coach Chuck Driesbach
Suburban One Sports: Now that you are back inside War Memorial Field – what are your thoughts?
Driesbach: This place looks awesome to me with the new turf. I can still remember walking off this field after some long practices. I remember all the things that Coach Pettine Sr. taught us about playing this game with passion. It is much more than just X’s and O’s.
Suburban One Sports: How was it that Michael Junior came about getting you to join his coaching staff?
Driesbach: Mike hired me to coach the linebackers at Buffalo last year. In January, the Bills fired me – and we still really don’t know why – and I was unemployed. Mike was the defensive coordinator and we improved Buffalo from 30th in overall defense to 10th. But they made the change to fire me, and I really didn’t know where I was going next. Mike told me that he was interviewing for a job with the Browns and would I be interested in coaching with him. My wife and I went on a trip to Cancun, Mexico, and the next thing I know the Browns e-mailed me a contract. I never talked to Mike about the job right after he was hired – but I signed the contract. It turned out that I was unemployed for about a week and a half.”
Suburban One Sports: You now live in Cleveland – what’s that like?
Driesbach: “I live really close to the football stadium out there, and I have also been going to a lot of Cleveland Indians baseball games. I’ll tell you – though – that the biggest selling item outside the baseball stadium is the Manziel jersey. His #2 is all over the city, and he has brought a huge amount of excitement to this town. We are working hard to change the culture of the football team, and with the passion that Mike brings to the game, that is going to happen. And we all learned that from his Dad – right here in Doylestown.”
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