SANTA CLARA — It's safe to say Kyle Shanahan and Mike Pettine have some history.

Shanahan served as Pettine's offensive coordinator for one season in Cleveland. When it was over, he reportedly gave Pettine a list of 32 reasons why he wanted to quit. On Sunday, they'll face off with Shanahan as the head coach and Pettine on the other side, as defensive coordinator for the Packers.

This week, a video clip resurfaced of an interaction on the sideline between the two during that 2014 season with the Browns that may, to the outside observer, seem to show strain among the coaching staff.

Shanahan, when asked about it Friday, remembered it differently.

"I think that shows how cool of a guy Mike was and is," Shanahan said.

It was a Week 8 game against the winless Oakland Raiders. Yet, at the start of the fourth quarter, Pettine and Shanahan's Browns had failed to score a touchdown and clung to only a three-point lead. A fumble recovery gave them the ball at midfield and a couple quick passes from Brian Hoyer got the Browns inside the 5-yard line.

"This is our chance now to go up two scores," Pettine says in the clip.

He wanted to switch it up and run the ball.

Shanahan's face says it all.

"You know what, I trust you," Pettine says after what feels like an infinite incredulous look from his offensive coordinator. "Call your best play."

So Shanahan dialed up a bootleg for Hoyer, who rolled out and hit Andrew Hawkins for the score. Cleveland went on to win that game, 23-13.

Today, Shanahan is known for the open discourse he invites from his coaching staff. If they don't think something is right, and believe so strongly enough, they should take it up with him.

"I think it's very important for a play-caller, whether you're on offense or defense, to have that relationship with a head coach," said Shanahan, who's now experienced it on both sides. "Your mind is coming from that point of view, when you just jump in something real fast, sometimes it can be the right answer. But I want to make sure I have confident enough people that when it's not, someone tells me they don't believe it is."

Shanahan, who works primarily with the offense, will sometimes jump in with the defense and coordinator Robert Saleh. Shanahan will weigh in, like Pettine in the video above, and Saleh responds.

"And then I have the decision to say 'I don't care what you're saying, do it anyways' or I listen."

It basically boils down to this: pick your battles.

"Mike could see probably by my facial expression I thought we should pass and he trusted me," Shanahan said. "If he didn't care he would have said no and I would have called a run."