BEREA, Ohio -- Coach Mike Pettine said Bernie Kosar's comments on the Cleveland Browns' front-office culture were "a little dramatic" and that "obstacles are being removed for us to be successful."
"Sometimes guys will make comments that are a little over the top," Pettine said at his Wednesday news conference heading into Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers. "I have a lot of respect for Bernie. He was one of my favorite guys growing up. Heck of a quarterback. He's entitled to his opinion.
"But being here on the inside of it, seeing what we're building and the interaction we have between [owner] Jimmy Haslam and [general manager] Ray Farmer and [president] Alec Scheiner and myself, the commitment is all there for us to be successful."
Kosar said the Browns' problem is a culture that needs to be fixed, one that focuses on the next quarterback as a "savior" and does not allow a player to grow with the team.
Pettine did not specify the obstacles being removed -- the question about Kosar was the last in the news conference -- but he said he is "very encouraged" about the future.
"I'd be the last one to tell you that the odds are stacked against us to be successful because of management; that couldn't be further from the truth," Pettine said. "We're in a society of instant gratification; everybody wants to have it now. As much as we want that to happen, it is a process. When you build a house, you have to build it from the foundation. You have to build it the right way, make sure it's rock solid. We're in the middle of that."
Kosar made a point that he was not criticizing Pettine, who does have seven wins to stand on, more than the Browns have had since 2007.
"I get that people will have their opinions," Pettine said. "A lot more of that happens when you've lost three in a row. I didn't hear a lot of that when we had just gotten our seventh win. If we want that stuff to go away, it still comes back to a bottom-line business.
"You got to win games."