He is in a position, not too dissimilar from that of a substitute teacher.

I was a sub for a bit. At some point you have to enact authority, and or respect.

It has to be 1 of the 2 ¿

They will take a mile, from the inch you give them.

Wasn't Kevin Stefanski I enough?

I watched the press conference twice, and felt even more impressed the second time.

Also been reading up on him.

He’s smart, engaging, speaks well and has a good rep in coaching circles.... imo he has a chance, as much as anyone else we could have hired, to do well for us.

In that case, I give it until only June before the honeymoon is over and the local writers start stoking the fires for his pyre.

They'll be jealous as those are all traits they lack.

I'm surprised they haven't. Figured by now there would be headlines "No One Wants To Come To Cleveland" because of the speed of the hiring.

Just a fluff piece in the Plain Dealer. But still a really good read about Stefanski.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/01...-stand-out.html

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski always stood out during his days in Philadelphia, even when he wasn’t trying to stand out
Updated 6:06 AM; Today 5:00 AM


By Dan Labbe, cleveland.com
PHILADELPHIA -- Getting to St. Joseph’s Prep High School is everything you expect while driving in Philadelphia. Navigating claustrophobic one-way streets with cars parked bumper-to-bumper on each side. Detours around construction and parked trucks. White-knuckling through intersections, cursing the Waze app for directing you to turn left.

Eventually, you end up on West Girard Avenue, riding on the streetcar tracks to 18th street, where, almost out of nowhere, the towering, red brick, white-pillared Church of the Gesu rises above row houses. You don’t immediately notice the school connected to it or even the 2019 football state championship banner adorning the fence next to the intersection.


St. Joseph’s -- or The Prep, as anyone who spends more than a few hours there calls it -- is a football powerhouse, boasting state championships, national rankings and, probably most importantly, plenty of Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) titles.

John Connors knows all about the tradition of St. Joseph’s and the PCL. Most of his family went to LaSalle, St. Joseph’s rival. He calls himself the black sheep, the one who went to The Prep.

Connors was a sophomore in 1999, starting for the first time on varsity and for the first time as a center. When it came time to take on LaSalle, Connors was amped. On the first play he barrelled into the nose guard.

Except he forgot to snap the ball.

Back in the huddle, waiting for him, was his quarterback, senior Kevin Stefanski, a first-year starter at that position. Stefanski calmed his young center down and The Prep went on to win a tight game.

Connors never considered Stefanski an inexperienced quarterback. He was the clear leader, the team’s QB1.

It’s just who Stefanski is. Calm under pressure. A leader among his peers. Prepared and humble. Tough and competitive. Connors saw all those qualities. So did everyone else. They were obvious to the people who knew Stefanski during his formative years. They’re the qualities the Browns believe they have found in their next leader.


‘Everybody saw how valuable he was’


Back when Stefanski was at St. Joseph’s, the football team practiced at a place called Belmont Plateau. It’s referenced by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince in the track, “Summertime.”

Back in Philly, we be out in the park ... A place called the plateau is where everybody go.

Connors remembers it well, an unimpressive stretch of field wedged between four baseball diamonds. After school, the players would carpool or hop on the bus for the 20-minute ride west across the Schuylkill River. There were no locker rooms or bathrooms, so they’d change out of the trunks of cars while cross country runners ran by on the courses around the field.

Prior to 1999, Stefanski’s quarterback experience was limited to the freshman team. He beat out Joe Judge for that job -- the Joe Judge who would eventually become the New York Giants’ head coach a few days prior to Stefanski joining the Browns. Judge transferred to Lansdale Catholic.

But Stefanski had to wait his turn to play quarterback once he moved up to varsity. Where he really made his mark early was as a safety.


Gil Brooks, Stefanski’s coach in high school, called him a killer. He was the nicest kid you’ll ever meet outside the lines, but he’d take your measure between them. He played the position like a linebacker. Looking back, Brooks compares him to current Vikings safety Harrison Smith.

Stefanski’s senior season was a transition year, said Brooks. The team was talented, but young. Brooks knew he would have to lean heavily on Stefanski to have any success.

Playing both ways, Stefanski won Catholic League MVP. He did it in a year when the league realigned and St. Joseph’s was in the big-school division, when Kevin Jones, on his way to Virginia Tech and a future first-round NFL pick, was in the league.

“Everybody saw and knew how valuable he was to The Prep,” Brooks said. “We wouldn’t have been near where we were without him.”

Connors remembers a game against Archbishop Ryan, where nothing was working in a contest so physical he felt like he had been in a car crash the next day. They leaned on Stefanski to run the ball and won a low-scoring affair.

Chris Rupertus, an English teacher and a coach on the freshman team, would watch the varsity games from the sidelines. He remembers watching Stefanski slammed to the ground on third down, his teammates peeling him off the cold, wet turf. Surely he would need some time to catch his breath. Instead, he walked to the bench, got a drink and, after the punt, went out to his free safety spot.


Stefanski carried St. Joseph’s as far as he could before hurting his ankle in the PCL semifinals against Roman Catholic.

“Kevin stays healthy, I think we probably win the championship that year,” Connors said.

Brooks said his coaching staff’s gameplan threw a lot at their players. Stefanski ate it up. Brooks credited Stefanski’s preparation for his ability to lay crushing hits on receivers, understand route concepts and anticipate where players were going.

Those are the skills he brought to Penn when he was thrown on the field right away at safety as a college freshman. Ray Priore, the Quakers’ current head coach, was the defensive coordinator in those days. He was impressed with how quickly Stefanski understood concepts as a freshman and how he applied that knowledge.

Coaches frantically calling in a check or an adjustment simply got an “I’ve got this” wave-off from Stefanski. He knew what they wanted done.

In the meeting rooms? He always had the answer.

“He was the smartest one,” Priore said.


‘Friend to all’

Stewart Barbera, a counselor at St. Joseph’s, still tells today’s students a Stefanski anecdote.

Barbera was a chaperone on Stefanski’s sophomore retreat. He noticed at lunchtime one day how one of the kids was shy and unsure where to go. Tables were filling up and the kid was clearly anxious.

Stefanski, unprompted, got up from his table of football players and asked the kid to come sit with them. Barbera brought it up to Stefanski later and he shrugged it off. It was, to Barbera, an example of a student committed to doing the right thing, even when he thought no one was looking.


Tony Braithwaite runs the theater program at St. Joseph’s. Stefanski, as a senior, took Braithwaite’s drama class as an elective. The school decided on a turn-of-the-century performance looking at the institution’s past, present and future. Stefanski helped write the show and was the lead. Braithwaite can still see Stefanski in his tuxedo, turning to deliver his greeting -- “Oh, hello” -- to the audience.

He’s convinced Stefanski could have been a star in the school’s Cape & Sword drama program if he had chosen that route.

James McGlynn taught Stefanski’s senior Systematic Theology course. Stefanski was quiet in McGlynn’s class, but not because he was shy or disengaged. He just never felt the need to speak up to impress. When he said something, it was thoughtful and pertinent. It was often original.

Rupertus, in his 22 years, has taught many taught many bright, ethical, charismatic kids. Stefanski managed to stand out. He was always well-prepared in the classroom, unwilling to be outworked. For Rupertus, he combined so many of those traits and showed them all the time.


Person after person who talked about Stefanski didn’t see the son of an NBA executive from the suburbs or a football star who roamed the hallways like he owned them.

“He worked hard to make sure he didn't come off as an egotistical pain in the ass,” Braithwaite said, “but, in fact, went the other way and was humble and nice and a kind of friend to all.”

It continued at Penn. When Priore first met Stefanski during the recruiting process, he was impressed with his ability to connect with anyone. He had the maturity of a 38-year-old at age 18.

During those years, Stefanski developed a relationship with a man named Dan Staffieri, a 79-year-old assistant football coach and Game-Day Coordinator. Because his last name was hard to pronounce, he simply went by Coach Lake because the last part of his name sounded like Lake Erie.

Stefanski, when he was injured and redshirting one season, took on the job of driving Coach Lake around campus in a cart shaped like a Penn football helmet on Fridays while Coach Lake yelled through his bullhorn to urge students to come to the game. Stefanski’s connection with Coach Lake was so strong, he continued as his driver, even after he was back playing and starting again.


“He does so much for us,” Stefanski said in a story about Coach Lake in the Daily Pennsylvanian, “it’s the least I could do for him.”

Staffieri died in 2010. There’s a plaque with his image on it, hand outstretched in the Penn home tunnel which players high five as they run out. Priore and Penn’s Director of Athletic Communications Mike Mahoney recalled the story as just another example of the type of person Stefanski was when he arrived on campus.

St. Joseph’s Prep science teacher Barbara Brown summed up Stefanski in an email:

“He was that kid. The one who is smart, talented, athletic and got along with his peers and with the adults in his life. But the best thing about Kevin was that he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was that kid.”

‘One of the bright lights’

The people of St. Joseph’s are proud of their school, but there are two things in particular they take great pride in.

First is being in the heart of North Philly. A fire in the 1960s presented an opportunity to move out of the city. The Jesuits decided to stay and rebuild.

Andrew T. Cavacos, the school’s principal, thinks it’s important for the boys who attend, many coming from outside the city, to deal with long commutes into the city for early-morning practices. They have to figure it out, he says, show up and seize the day.

The school also prides itself on producing leaders, and the phrase servant leadership is used often. The last two mayors of Philadelphia both went to The Prep. Parents have told Connors, Stefanski’s former teammate who now helps coach the football team, that they don’t send their boys to be average.

Stefanski was certainly not average. McGlynn believes his decision to shun his family’s long ties to basketball and focus on football was a symbol of his individuality.

Frank Raffa, a longtime Spanish and French teacher, was impressed Stefanski was as interested in school as he was football.


When Stefanski decided to go into coaching, Brooks said he was a wet blanket, asking Stefanski if he was sure he really wanted to do the menial, entry-level tasks it takes to get into coaching. He believes Stefanski could have hit the ground running on the path to becoming a CEO, making real money right away.

During Priore’s interview, a former Penn player who is now a successful businessman popped his head in Priore’s office. The two exchanged greetings. After Priore sat back down, he said, “Kevin could have been him -- going into the private world in business. Went the coaching route.”

Instead, after graduation, Stefanski stayed on at Penn as their version of a graduate assistant, doing the dirty work as a part-time staffer. He eventually joined the Eagles as an operations intern. Brad Childress brought him to the Vikings in 2006.

Priore believes there are people in this world that are interested in being good and there are people that are committed to being good. He saw the latter in Stefanski at Penn and as he climbed the ladder in Minnesota. He believes what will make Stefanski successful is the same approach, a commitment evident in the history of St. Joseph’s and in Stefanski’s time there.


“He understands that, whether it’s The Prep or he’s at Penn or the Vikings, one person doesn’t do it all,” Priore said.


When Stefanski was introduced as Browns head coach on Jan. 14, you better believe The Prep community was paying attention.

Braithwaite called it great casting. He said sometimes kids will surprise you after they leave. Not Stefanski. It has all made perfect sense. A little older, a little more gray, but it was definitely Kevin -- self-possessed, confident, poised, humble.

There are the football stories, but so many at St. Joseph’s were eager to talk about Stefanski the student, the person, the friend to all. He embodied, to them, so many qualities their school teaches.

It’s why it’s so easy for Raffa to call him “one of the bright lights” during his many years teaching at the school.

Many of the qualities the Browns found in Stefanski were already apparent to The Prep. It’s where he learned, as Rupertus put it, that the collective effort is what’s important. Everybody contributes and real success can only occur when you stop worrying about personal glory.

“The Kevin you’re seeing now," Braithwaite said, "is exactly who we knew and loved.”

Wow,
he went to a Catholic HS.
I will now amend my prediction to 6-10

Perhaps MKC can't wait that long? Might be an optimistic timeframe for The Land's sportswriters. I still wish him the best.

What was the original prediction? I am not sure which way you shifted.

Ah, Catholic HS. What memories.

What is the difference between Sister Mary Godzilla and a catfish? One has whiskers and smells really bad.

The other lives in a lake.

He's got connections to the Big Guy! LOL

Honestly I like these types of articles.

It is interesting to have a frame of reference of a guy. Where he came from. His personal background.

Is going to tell what kind of coach he is?

No. But it does give some insight into his character.

I get the apathy. I really do. It stems from last year. When your dying of thirst any kind of water tastes good.

After being as bad as bad can be. Dorsey/Freddie/Baker/Odell/Jarvis/Myles/Chubb looked pretty good.

I was dying to just have a winning season. And I thought for sure 2019 was going to be it.

When that fell apart it made it worse. Then it was clear Freddie was going. I did not expect Dorsey. But understood him not accepting a lessor role.

So I get that Stefanski, Berry, Depo, Haslam is not going to have many jumping for joy.

At the same time I am not going to bury these guys because of what has happened before.

Don't think it is fair to write off Stefanski or Berry.

Depo has been here. Some want to attach a conspiracy to his role. Frankly, I doubt he has the power some believe. But I don't know for sure.

Haslam. I don't know the man so I won't pass judgement on his character. I will on his results as an owner.

He has mismanaged the franchise. He made poor decisions. Not intentionally but none the less his mistakes led to the results.

I dislike that he feels it necessary to insert himself into football management decisions. I wish he would hire a president of football operations and take himself out of the picture. But he owns the team and can do what he wants.

Stefanski/Berry/Depo all lack experience in their current role to lead a team.

They have experience but not as leaders to run a team.

That is a concern. I wanted McCarthy.

However, that does not mean they can not succeed.

I just came from believing Dorsey and Freddie would do great.

So I am not going to forecast this group will crash and burn.

I am just going to sit back and see how it plays out. I back the uniforms not so much the individuals.

Originally I predicted 6-10,that is how much sway this fluff piece has.

Thanks!

So let's see. In the 2 weeks since Stefanski has been head coach of the Browns...

- Odell Beckham is caught on video handing out wads of cash to LSU football players on the field which is blatant violation of NCAA rules, then in a separate video throws something at a cop, smacks his butt, and taunts the officer afterward.

- Kareem Hunt is pulled over for speeding. In his backpack, which literally has his name on it, the officer finds weed and an open bottle of vodka. Kareem tells the officer that he'd fail a drug test right now.

- We hired the #2 front office architect of the 1-31 nightmare to be our G.M.

- The more recently-arrived football guys Wolf and Highsmith left the organization.

Am I missing anything?

Good luck Kevin, you're going to need it.

Is this still a teaching thread?i thought it was for a second,

Paul Brown initiated headphones in a quarterbacks ear from tank warfare. BB took much from those teachings.

Delete, recycle, repeat. I just wanted to pretend there was football genius, in Ohio

The Cleveland Browns will always be stronger than billions from Tennessee, and a think tank form Cali.

My resolve will not differ

I saw the article as more than fluff.

I see it as a roadmap on where the man has been and how it got him here. Always a good read IMO.

Honestly as it stands today with what is in place KS, AB, PD, Woods, Van Pelt, Callahan, Priefer not bad.

The staff seems competent. Of course time will tell.

Woods has stated he will keep the 4-3. Good.

I think from KS and Van Pelt the offense will feature play action as the baseline. Which I have always felt was a good thing. I expect they will invest in the OL in order to make that effective.

So, although there is nothing to see on a field I do like what I see as far as team direction on offensive and defensive philosophy.

It does look like a nice blend of talent. Good "Football" guys and a solid support staff digging in to the things they don't have the time or capability to do.


Looks good to me. We still have a few hires to go, but we have the main players in place. That is all that really matters. Those guys coach the other coaches as much as players. Maybe more.

"Here is what I want you to coach, but I want you to add to it, be the best coach you can be, I demand that."

And then the chain remains unbroken. George Halas, Paul Brown, Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, Tom Landry, Bill Belicheck, the chain remains strong.

In coaching you follow your teachers, find your own wrinkle, you are a part of the chain.

We've all got a connection with Big Guy, some just don't acknowledge it.

Like the Catholic reporting- Catholic leagues known to be brutal within the lines and then shake your hand- after trying to knock your teeth out.

I lost my good feelings about Freedie Kitchen's when Baltimore training camp fiasco happened - coach can't be one of the guys, I'm pretty sure KS won't be- And hope trying to make millionaires accountable works, because FK wasn't in touch as much as he thought. Dorsey badmouthing everyone except himself rubbed me wrong way. M looked good his rookie year, but hope he grows up. Dorsey owns giving away the top 2nd round pick, almost ANY football elevator should have, could have gotten more. And I hope we're done with Gordon types- CHARACTER does count and hope we don't push talent over character tooooo mmuucchh....remember Johnny- how'd that work out.

Hope the new coach gets a functional staff together and we get to .500 percent in wins....wouldn't that be a joy. PS. I lost a hundred to Vegas on over and under last year....won't make that mistake again.....won't count the hatches before they actually exist.....GO Browns!!!!

Stefanski, sounds like a nice polish boy.

He’s a good looking guy. Maybe he can unlock Odell at a runway show in NY. Not in Cleveland.

Authority and or respect. It sounds cliche, but every ego needs to checked at the door.

This includes Jimmy Haslam.

Kevin Stefanski said he wants to let OC Alex Van Pelt call some plays in practices and preseason and see how it goes before deciding who’ll be the play caller when the regular season begins

https://twitter.com/ByNateUlrich/status/1232366134818635776

If true (taking it into August), I'm a bit uncomfortable with the indecision going into the offense a month before the season.

Who knows - could just be a sense of diplomacy from our new coach?

Or - he's just "shaking things out" before real game day stuff.

Again, a little uncomfortable.

The optimistic view is that Stefanski really doesn't know who will call plays and wants more information before making a decision. That's wisdom.

The new plan is to develop a plan.

I wouldn't say Dorsey didn't have a plan, just that it was unclear.

Like trying to figure out who will be doing the play calling this coming season is?

The plan seems pretty clear. See if Alex Van Pelt can call plays, if not Stefanski calls plays.

It seems you feel not having a clue who will be calling the plays this year as a plan.

Not having a clue = knowing it's one of two people?

That seems like a lot of clues.

....would be you have no idea which persons responsibility a very important game day job will be.

No idea? We literally have an idea. If it's not one, it's the other.

No idea would be this:

"Who is going to call plays?"

"Not me. I don't know who."

If you haven't made a decision on who is going to call the plays, you have no idea which person will be doing that job.

You're trying to base an entire debate on semantics.

Not having made a decision and not knowing are not the same thing.

What? How can you know if you haven't made that decision yet?



Like I said before. You're trying to base a debate on semantics.

Either or is a decision to me. I guess it depends on your perspective. No big deal.

We know exactly who will be calling plays.

If Stefanski doesn't feel comfortable with Van Pelt during preseason, it will be Stefanski calling them. Otherwise, it will be Van Pelt.

It's really pretty clear with zero ambiguity.

And Stefanski has not deviated from what he said in his introductory press conference when he was asked about play calling duties and he responded, "If there is someone I am comfortable with calling the plays, they will call the plays, if not, I will call the plays."

Don't you mean Jimmy's going to be relaying plays in from a homeless guy on game day?

Maybe Stefanski will shoot the call to Callie to then voice in to Baker. There's something soothing about a female voice after all.

If Freddie hadn't screwed this part of the game up so badly it wouldn't get near this much attention in FEBROOO...Febiar….the month before March.

I’m curious how much stock u put into someone calling plays in the pre-season ... its an animal like the regular season but the pre-season is not in the same species of animals as the regular season ... ...

I guess depo has a process in place to figure it out ....

No, Depo's going to be running the playbook through his Madden 1.0 simulator.

I don't know, either.... that's not for me to figure out. In the end, just as he said in his intro conference: If he is comfortable with the new OC doing it, then the OC will do it. Otherwise, Stefanski will.


So, either Van Pelt does well enough to make Stefanski comfortable, or he doesn't. It's really pretty simple.

Do u know whose job it is to figure out cause I’d like to know ... *L* ..

Depo!

Well, let's review the facts:

Stefanski said that if HE isn't comfortable with the OC, then HE will call the plays. If HE is comfortable, then the OC will get to call them.

So, clearly there is no real information at all on this. It's a complete mystery. Lord Help Us All.

Sweet ... if your gonna be sarcastic .. u oughta get better at it ...

Oh, believe me, I'm quite skilled at it.

So that last attempt wasn’t even close to your best work ... *L* ..

lol! Touche'

Sarcasm may get you nowhere, but it did get me to the 2019 Sarcasm National Championship.

Jimmy still has him locked up in the stadium, right? We are counting on the homeless guy and the Rally Critter to turn it all around.

SShhh! Top Secret!

j/c:

This could work out fine, but a negative aspect of this "plan" is that how will Van Pelt feel/react if Stefanski is unhappy enough w/his preseason play-calling to take away those responsibilities?

For some reason, I just thought of that Geico commercial that has Pinocchio as a motivational speaker and telling the one dude towards the front that he has great potential or something like that. The dude looks happy and then Pinocchio's nose starts to grow and the poor guy looks defeated. LOL

Well the 'What if' game has lots of mileage in lots of different areas of this team. I'm sticking with wait and see instead of speculating. Based on Van Pelt knowing there was at least a 50-50 possibility of him not calling plays, you'd think it rationale that this can work out without friction or egos being bent. Stefanski appears to be a genuine manager of people and expectations.

I didn't have Stefanski in my top 3 of preferred HC candidates but so far he's done nothing but impress me .... but that's "easy" in the off season. We'll see what happens come September. What's worrying is that at this stage the only other coach I remember liking as much was Hue.

it could all be coach speak, since at this point they still are putting together a playbook. And most likely it is more Stephanski's than Van Pelts, so he would want to ensure Van Pelt knows it well enough before giving him the full reign.

Kevin was better off just saying we're still figuring that out, and ultimately want to do whats best for the team.

Yes, that is what I would have said as a HC. Give the press nothing.

Exactly what went through my head.

Hopefully it all works out and Van Pelt does a good job

<sarcasm>Because that has worked well so far....lol </sarcasm>

I really don't think it matter what he said... the media and fans are going to ask the question until it has been settled.

As far as who makes the decision of who calls...I can't see how anyone can think it to be anyone other than Stefanski at this point. Frankly, I am liking his approach to let AVP call in the preseason. It fits to Stefanski who is methodical. This is more information that he can bring in at a time where he is afforded the luxury of doing it. It isn't like he needs practice at calling "his" offense. In some ways I think he hopes AVP takes off and runs with it so he is free to concentrate on other things...but at the same time he will be prepared if that doesn't happen.

Although I am not sure what they will learn from it (the preseason) aside from...how AVP sets up future plays with earlier ones...Is there a rhythm to the offense?? There is no real gameplanning, everything is base. So I think it difficult to determine.

All will be a part of game planning in the regular season. So I am not worried about that...but since there is no real game planning(in the preseason), and lots of experimentation, It is hard or even impossible to determine how well a game plan is implemented.

I get the feeling it will be a comfort call for Stefanski(as opposed to a derivative decision based on specific results). Basing it on the feelings from practices and the preseason. Mostly because there will probably not be a lot of situational play calling done in preseason games.

Actually the clue is Stefanski or Van Pelt.

Ski obviously would prefer to more involved with the entire team and give his time to it. It is something that needs to be honed (play calling) Stefanski wants to know if VP can get that natural feel of the game situations to that of the available playbook. Does he call plays just to call them or are they all connected to each other in thought and execution. Its ok its one of the negatives of starting over again...we of all people should know this. We have to go through this - Year two there usually have all the answers derived from the first year experience.

If VP had a history of play calling it wouldn't be in question.

It shouldn't be perceived as us being inept more so just the nature of the beast. First year with new guys.

Personally, and this is just my take, I have no evidence, but I think Ski wants and will call plays. He is simply placating a lot of the media and fans by letting VP "see" how it goes. He is a smart guy, he knows having a 1st time HC call plays is a hot topic around here that has left a sour taste in a lot of mouths.

That is an interesting take...I don't necessarily get that vibe from him myself. I don't see him as a placater(is that a word???)...but more of someone who shoots it pretty straight. He seems like someone where people might look too much into what he says looking for something that really isn't there when it was right up front to begin with...

But absolutely he has to know the trepidation we might have with a rookie coach calling plays...I am just not so sure it is a factor in to what he has said to this point about AVP possibly calling.I think the decision truly has not been made. Now whether he is leaning one way or another, I don't know...But I certainly don't think he has already made the decision to call plays and string AVP along (even if AVP would be in on that)

Is coach Kevin Stefanski being set up to succeed? Let’s talk Cleveland Browns
https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2020/04...and-browns.html

By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
IS THERE ALIGNMENT?

I was thinking about some recent Browns history, the connection and communication between the front office and coaching staffs.

That’s especially true because I’ve been impressed with how new GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have worked together during free agency.

The Browns have been talking “alignment” for a while, and free agency was the first chance for the Berry/Stefanski combination to show it.

“AB (Berry) set out a plan and followed through on it,” Stefanski said. “We identified people who were really important to what we wanted to do and who we wanted to be.”

That was a response to a question I asked on the coach’s recent conference call about the key free agent signings.

“It was so important to get the right players... and the right people,” he said. “They fit the mentality of what we want to be.”

I asked a vague question to learn what Stefanski thought of the first-day, free-agent signings of right tackle Jack Conklin, tight end Austin Hooper and QB Case Keenum.

I was told those players were wanted by Stefanski, and they also fit into the analytics approach to signing free agents who wer in their middle 20s and coming off rookie contracts to long-term deals.

The 32-year-old Keenum is an exception. He is a QB, and they tend to have long careers. He also is a backup to Baker Mayfield, and highly valued because he played for Stefanski (QB coach) in 2017 in Minnesota.

Stefanski said he and the front office asked, “Where do you think we can add some good players who fit our scheme and fit the personality of the locker room?"

This came from a question I asked about Hooper, the former Atlanta Falcons tight end.

“Austin right away checked all those boxes,” said Stefanski. “Credit Andrew and his group for identifying him and getting the deal done... In this system we are running, we want to use multiple tight ends.”

The Browns also want to run the ball.

Conklin is a good overall right tackle, but his strength is run-blocking.

Stefanski almost sounds poetic extolling the virtues of Keenum as a backup QB who also can play when needed.

The trade for fullback Andy Janovich also was something Stefanski wanted. Just as he loves tight ends, he swoons over a hard-blocking, physical fullback.

It’s very early. They have been together for only three months. They haven’t lost a game.

And maybe I’m just being hopeful...

But I have a good vibe about what the Browns have done so far – and it seems different than the recent past.

A HISTORY LESSON

1. Shotgun marriage (2014-15): That was the pairing of GM Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine. The two men were rookies in their jobs. They barely knew each other. Throw in a troubled QB Johnny Manziel. There was no direction, just two guys trying to survive and not having much confidence in each other. It was doomed for failure from the start.

2. The analytics (2016-17): The Browns went from an old-line football GM (Farmer) to the new-age style of front office with Paul DePodesta and Sashi Brown. The problem was the pairing of coach Hue Jackson with analytics. Jackson was old school. The losing was killing him. The front office and coaching staff spoke a different language. No chance to succeed.

3. The real players (2018-19): Veteran GM John Dorsey went back to the more traditional style of drafting and acquiring players. He called them “real players.” He upgraded the talent. He had some success with interim coach Gregg Williams (5-3, 2018). But the hiring of overwhelmed rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens in 2019 was yet another example of a poor pairing.

If you want to read more background on this and other recent Browns struggles, my Browns Blues book gives lots of gory details.

CAN WE BE FOOLED AGAIN?

Confession time: I had an uneasy feeling when Dorsey was bringing in some character/personality risks. I hated the idea of trading guard Kevin Zeitler and worried Odell Beckham Jr. could turn into a major distraction. But I was blinded by the Browns success in 2018 when they finished 5-3 (7-8-1 overall). I failed to raise some of the tough questions after those moves after the 2018 season required.

OK, now back to the story...

While the Browns will never say it, Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta emerged from the Dorsey firing with a stronger voice. He put together the searches, and it began with finding a coach.

But looming in the background was the idea of having Andrew Berry return to Cleveland in a more prominent role. He was part of the Sashi Brown front office (2016-17) and worked for a year under Dorsey. Berry spent the 2019 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Interesting sidelight: Sashi Brown was preparing Berry to take over as GM in a few years with Brown assuming a big-picture role in the football operations. But Brown was fired after 23 months.

That didn’t diminish the affinity ownership and DePodesta have for Berry.

DePodesta and some others in the front office favored hiring Stefanski as coach in 2019. Ownership went with Kitchens, the choice of Dorsey.

When Kitchens fell apart and DePodesta rose in prominence, Stefanski immediately appeared to be the leading candidate for the job. Rumors soon popped up about Berry coming back.

Others were interviewed for coach and GM, but it ended up being almost where it started... with Stefanski and Berry.

And yes, we heard a lot about “alignment” from ownership, then from Berry and Stefanski.

The GM and coach then developed their own mantra of wanting players who are “smart, tough and accountable.”

The Browns also signed a lot of players (primarily on defense), most to modest one-year contracts.

I asked Stefanski about that: “They may not be the biggest names, but when you are putting together a system, you are looking for systematic fits. I think that’s what we’ve done on offense and defense.”

The draft is coming. More player decisions need to made. The biggest hole to fill is at left tackle.

But so far, the “alignment" seems to be lining up in Stefanski’s favor.

Stefanski has eight more games than Hue as an OC. That's it in totality. That doesn't mean he will fail. But trying to bolster him as the best thing since sliced bread is pure conjecture and wishful thinking with nothing to base it on.

We all hope for the best but hope is all we have until the bullets start flying.

"Interesting sidelight: Sashi Brown was preparing Berry to take over as GM in a few years with Brown assuming a big-picture role in the football operations. But Brown was fired after 23 months."

I wonder if Pluto has any real insider info on that or if he is postulating there.

Who knows? You would think we would have heard about it before now.

J/C

Watching Bulding the Browns ... I like Stefanski’s demeanor and intelligence. He comes off as genuine and thoughtful.

Whether or not that means anything IDK

I had a different take away from the article. I don't think anyone was saying we have a sure fire thing at all. I like that the GM and HC seem to genuinely be on the same page and know what and how they want to build the team ... I think that's new. Stefanski as a HC to date is different than Freddie - but none of that has been what he does on game day/week and getting the team prepared.

Stefanski is a first time HC - so we can only judge him on how he looks/sounds/off season decisions. . . . it doesn't mean he's going to be good at the other stuff but so far he's impressed me.

I think you mean Freddie .. Hue was an offensive coordinator in college, and in the pros. He was the coordinator in Washington, under Spurrier, in Atlanta, under Petrino, in Oakland under Tom Cable, and in Cincy, where he replaced Jay Gruden.

The last time I heard/read about chemistry w/the FO and coaching staff was when Shanny asked his way out and almost everyone talked about him as a "me" person and how we would be so much better off because everyone was now on the same page.

I think it comes down to evaluating talent. We've had a ton of idiots in that capacity. We had one guy who was very good at evaluating talent. That was John Dorsey and he was forced out.

Owner, coach, QB. That's what it boils down to.

We all know the owner is awful. The coach is an unknown. Baker has to show improvement.

We also need to start beating the Rats and Steelers. Like the occasional season sweep. Does anyone think they'll even win one of those four games with this defense?

And even if Stefanski and Baker have the ability to be good, the Browns could likely have another double digit loss season, including all four to the Rats and Steelers.

That will only cause more unhappiness and more calling for heads. You could have a situation where Stefanski could be great and Baker could be great but extenuating circumstances have the Browns looking for another coach and QB next off season.

I think the future is very bleak, even if Stefanski and Baker perform admirably next year.

Yep, I did mean Freddie. My bad. And as much as it pains me to say it, we have heard about continuity, things like a consensus and working together with every new FO and HC that's been hired here since what seems like forever now.

And that's an easy thing to do when a team is winning. But as the losses start to add up, everyone gets concerned about their jobs and divisions begin to arise. I hope that's not a situation we face with this new regime. It would be wonderful if they come out of the gate swinging. But at the same time one has to remember this a familiar story we've been told many times before.

The new worry I'm starting to have is related to expectations. That was a part (if a small part) of the downfall of last season, but this FO is clearly not in "tank mode". They've been pretty aggressive in FA, especially regarding the offense. Further, if a couple of rumors are to be believed, they might not be done bringing in splashy FAs.

I worry this sets us up for outsized expectations all over again. Though I don't know the inner workings of either coaching staffs, at least on the surface it appears Stefanski is better able to handle the pressure than Freddie. Still, we've seen ridiculous (in hindsight) expectations help to unravel a season.

The expectations weren’t a part of the problem last year .... and they should rightfully so be higher this year ...

I agree. I do not know a single Browns fan (personally) who had anywhere near the "expectations" that the national media kept laying out there.

You might wish to review the 2019 season prediction thread.

He said personally. I thought some of the expectations were ridiculous (media experts included) - AFC title contenders, SB contenders. What crap.

From 7-8-1 the previous year with a new HC, OC, and DC. Yeah - SB contenders, please. 9-7, maybe 10-6 should have been the highest expectation with a possible playoff spot, perhaps. Nobody expected the Ratbirds to be that good last year.

This was a poll in the K-9 Consensus forum:

Number of Brown's Victories

Only one choice allowed (59 total votes)

0-3 - 1 (2%)
4-6 - 1 (2%)
7-8 - 4 (7%)
9-10 - 28 (47%)
11 - 12 (20%)
12 or more - 13 (22%)

I wonder who was the only guy to predict 4-6?

Here is a prediction thread from this forum. I didn't see the main one, but this one is interesting.

https://www.dawgtalkers.net/ubbthreads.ph...ots#Post1654666

U can rule me out ... *L* ...

LOL........I remember your prediction. It was 14 and 2.

It was fun seeing you so optimistic after years of not having high expectations.

Wait til this year ... ...

I said it last year .. the season stinks so I’m gonna enjoy the off season ... may as well enjoy what u can ...

I think last year I had us at 9-7 or 8-8 ... cant really remember. I know I’m pessimistic by nature, but even I didn’t see 6-10 again

I don't think expectations will be nearly as high heading in to the next season. I mean, look at what was largely fueling last years hype:

-Baker just set a rookie TD record in less than 16 games
-we all started to see just how special Chubb would be
-we made 2 major acquisitions in OBJ and Hunt.
-The Browns had finished the previous season on an upward trend

Expectations should have been high. Yeah, some got crazy high, but expecting that team to be competing for a playoff spot I think was justified. Had last years team gotten its head out of its butt for the last 5 games, we would have hit that goal. We were certainly capable of it.

Heading in to this year though? I just don't see the same circumstances that could fuel the crazy hype. Conklin is a HUGE signing, but not OBJ huge. I don't follow college ball, but is there anyone coming out of the Draft that if we got them everyone would be like "OMG! I can't believe they got him! This will change everything!" ?

j/c...

Browns to begin virtual offseason program under coach Kevin Stefanski on Monday
By Nate Ulrich
Beacon Journal
Posted at 6:47 PM

Kevin Stefanski will finally be allowed to coach the Browns.

But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, his guidance won’t be in person for the foreseeable future or as extensive as it would have been otherwise.

The Browns will begin a virtual offseason program under their new head coach Monday.

The start date was set when the NFL and NFL Players Association reached an agreement on modified rules governing offseason programs. The NFL Management Council sent the guidelines to teams Monday in a memo obtained by the Beacon Journal.

With club facilities closed due to the global health crisis, all teams are permitted to hold virtual offseason programs for three consecutive weeks during a period beginning Monday and ending May 15.

The Browns and the four other teams with new head coaches (Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and Washington) are allowed to hold a three-day virtual voluntary veteran minicamp during the Monday-May 15 window.

The Browns had previously been scheduled to begin their first offseason conditioning program under Stefanski on April 6, two weeks before teams with returning head coaches could do the same, but COVID-19 changed everything. Now the Browns and the other franchises with new head coaches won’t get the same head start.

The virtual programs are voluntary for players and may be conducted for no more than four days per week and no more than four hours per day. Teams may conduct classroom instruction, workouts and nonfootball educational using online platforms like Skype or Zoom.

Stefanski, who’s been working from home in Minnesota for weeks, vowed to be prepared for this.

“We have plans and then contingency plans and contingency plans for those contingency plans,” he said during a conference call April 2. “We’re trying to think about this thing and hit it from every angle, pending the rules and pending the structure that the NFL and the NFLPA agree upon.

“Is it virtual classrooms? We’re ready for that, but we just don’t know exactly how it’s going to go down.”

Now the Browns and their fellow NFL teams know.

According to the memo, all club facilities will remain closed until they’re all able to open in conformity with federal, state and local rules and regulations and only after consultation with the NFLPA.

Each team may elect to continue its offseason program beginning May 18, either virtually or under an on-field format, if conditions allow it. All offseason programs will end June 26.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/sports/202...anski-on-monday

What happens when one state opens but other states remain closed?

Nobody can start until all the states with NFL teams are open.

Hmm. That's not how I read that paragraph I quoted. A state or two could hold up the whole season.

Not saying that to gripe or anything. I am taking this pandemic seriously, and we got to do what we got to do... but it would be interesting to see the whole NFL waiting on the last one or two states to go back to normal to resume activities.

Then that is how it would go down. It said all facilities will remain closed until all federal, state and local regulations are met. Note the word local. It could come down to one city holding it all up.

How long do you think NYC will be a safe place?

Sorry man, no football this year, or at best maybe a shortened season where we only play division games, but I doubt that as well, at least with fans in the seats.

How long do you think it will be deemed ok to crowd 60,000 or more people together in to a confined space? IMO probably not until we find, develop, test, and administer 300 million vaccinations. That could take 2-3 years. Not to mention we may not find a vaccination or a quality treatment method.

If I'm reading that right, if one has to remain closed, they all do

So instead of Mexico paying for a wall, we're going to be paying for football stadiums in Mexico?

I've been wondering about the possibility of games being played in empty stadiums.

I read where the NBA is considering an abbreviated end to their season. Every game will played in the same empty arena. So all teams would be in the same city for the duration. No travel, no fans.

JMHO, I agree with your statements, hope the 2-3 year thing is shortened, with big names getting the virus- broncos Von Miller, Payton, New Orleans head coach.....multimillionaires have disease and no known cure....a "cured"..positive again....I don't see these multimillionaires wanting to play unless it's damn safe...I wouldn't.

Love our new coach, can't wait to see how this draft unfolds with the new regime.....GO Browns!!!!

Interview with Stefanski in link.

"We're a well-oiled machine... we're a team...." We've heard this before. When the bullets start flying we'll see how in-sync they really are.

Very true, but this time I think it will work out well. I don't see a lot of ego in the room when they get together.

Heard that one too... not to harp on you guys, but I gotta see it to believe it.

IF Freddie didn’t STINK beyond all comprehension last year we would have went to the playoffs and who knows how far ... then KJ and Depo would be perceived as getting along well ... just like Hue and Sashi were said to be getting along great til the by week debacle ...

These guys get along great now .. if we go 5 - 12 and are a mess like they were last year ... they all of a sudden won’t be getting along to well ... *L* ...

It may have been perceived that way by some, but it wasn't so.

Dorsey tossed that all to the side maybe a week on the job when he started talking about the others not getting "wheel foobal pwayers". Sorry, that isn't getting along.

Like i said Peen ... if we would have won there’d be no signs at all of some great divide ...

And bro .. please try and talk out of one side of your mouth from now on ... IF Depo is only a process guy like u say on here what seems like daily then why would he be upset at that statement of FACT from KJ ...

Witch way is it bro ... pick a side and stick with it ....

Dorsey chose Kitchens.
DePo wanted Stefanski.

Haslem chose Jackson.
DePo (and everyone else) wanted McDermott.

And people wonder why Depo is still here????

Don't know what the process is any better, but Stephanski and Berry seem to be a lot more organized then Dorsey and Freddie.

I loved Freddie, but he proved to be very incompetent as a head coach, and the players saw it and the end result is what we saw.

Dorsey should have known what he was getting into, but none of that matters now. The roster, while good last year, is even better this year IMO. The new crew better have it together, or the fans will run them out of town very quickly.

No ... not at all menZa ... but nice try ... 0 + 0 isn’t over my head ... But hey ... do what your good at .... spin things to make yourself feel better ... good job ...

I’m out ... i have better things to do than play in the kiddie box ...

Peen I’ll be back for u my friend ... don’t u feel special ... *L* ...

cut the menZa crap.

I don't know that Depo was upset. He never left, even though he was probably a little put off by the comment? Who wouldn't be. Berry left. And now he is back. Plus, that comment was made before that group had ever played a game, so your idea that they would have gotten along if they had won is a non-starter.


Oh....John said those guys and that system, so it was a direct knock to a person still under John supervision.

Sorry man, the guy was a galumba. That means a big, goofy oaf. Oaf means a big, stupid, slow witted person.


I really do wish John had hired somebody other than Freddie. John was a likeable guy. I liked him. Just not very smart to make Freddie your head coach, and then defend the hire. How you go in to Haslams office defending that? I mean, come on.

It's one thing to make a bad decision. It's another to sit there and defend it.


My attitude in life has always been it doesn't matter how it starts, the ending is what counts. I will admit you can read that a few ways. The first being we are going to make it work, the other is I am going to outlast you.

Just depends.

Why? ...

Why would he be upset with a statement that had nothing to do with him? ... i don’t get it ...

I never really liked or disliked KJ other than he did a GREAT JOB with the roster ... I was “meh” on him personalty wise ... loved Freddie ... still do ... he was worse than Hue as a HC and that bar wasn’t very high ...

U can talk til your blue in the face ... of Freddie stunk there would not have been a rift and no signs of one ...

Hopefully we win and we won’t have to find out whose right as far as these guys and all the Kumbya feelings they have now ... heck ... after the first two draft you’d of thought Hue and Sashi were best buds ... *L* ...

We are good. I don't get bent up like I did 20 years ago, but John did mention the system. A direct shot at Depo.

Like I said, the beginning doesn't matter. The ending is what counts.

Your right .... The ending is all that matters ... I like what I’ve seen from Andy so far ... lets hope Kev can pull his weight ... if so this could work out good enough that the thief may lose his well deserved and definitely earned moniker of the worst owner in the history of sports SO FAR ...

There’s a reason i always add SO FAR to the end of that FACT ...

It's almost like you have the power to do that!

Interesting.

I have seen this thrown around several times. Who can claim w/any amount of certainty that McDermott would have succeeded w/in Cleveland?

I contend that Jackson was more sought after than McDermott was that year. He had more success as a coordinator. I also contend that NO ONE would have won many games w/the talent that was on our roster in the two years under Sashi and Depo's leadership. NO ONE!!!

Cut the crap!!!

You are correct. No coach would have won with the talent that was put on the field. Those 2 years were tanked and ultimately, a reset. Build with high draft picks and as many picks as possible. Keep the salary cap low and strike in free agency when team is ready. Hue was a sacrificial lamb so to speak.

I agree.............but, to be fair and open-minded.......perhaps the FO wanted McDermott because they thought he would be more compliant and they realized that Hue would balk at losing so many quality players and losing games? Not sure if that is true, but it makes sense.

The problem---as always--is that Haslam is all over the place and makes confounding decisions. Hell, I remember posting when we hired Hue and asking "Why in the hell would Hue Jackson want to come here? It's career suicide."

While it might have been necessary to reset as the Browns did it sure was not fair to Hue.

I get that, but Hue accepted the job. That's on him. I always said he was stupid for accepting this job when other teams wanted him. He probably let his ego get in the way and thought that turning the Browns around would be amazing. Then again.............Jimmy might not have been completely honest w/him.

Getting back to Stefanski. He seems smart and likeable. I question that he has never been a HC before. I did the same thing last year when folks were saying how great Freddie was. I question that he was behind Shurmur and Flip. Ouch!!! I also question his leadership. Not sure about this one, but damn.............guys like Diggs and Theilan called him out last year. I made a comment about how he sits...LOL...and Jules ripped into me, but it's a football locker room. It's not the politically correct safe space. It's a football lockeroom. I know about locker rooms. It's freaking brutal.........in a good sort of way. Just know this........your manhood is always being questioned in a football locker room. It's not a message board where a woman can say that is inappropriate. The needle is sharp and it's always pointed at someone. Don't give them an excuse to aim it in your direction.

I hope Stefanski can command the locker room. We'll see.

https://zonecoverage.com/2019/minnesota-...ffensive-coach/

I do not know if he will be able to command a locker room. I sure hope he can fix the discipline issue that surfaced so early last season. But, when I read this article I got excited about Stefanski as the Browns coach. His offense is taylor made for both Baker Mayfield and Nick Chubb. My worry is even though OBJ and Landry should get open looks as defenses will focus on stopping the run they may feel they are not getting enough opportunities.

Not sure if the discussion is about other Head coaches winning ANY more games than Hue ... or Many more games than Hue?

My 2 cents - but I think MANY head coaches would have won MORE than 1 in 32 games. Heck I think MOST head coaches would have found a way to win more than 1 game in 2 years.

I do not think ANY head coaches would have won "a lot" more games over 2 years than Hue did. As in the roster wasn't going to the play offs. 4 wins in any season would have been a MAJOR coaching achievement ...

In the year Hue was let go - we went from very limited success to much success .... INSTANTLY during a period of immense turmoil. I think that is ample proof.

I think regardless of talent on the roster - Hue was one of the very worst head coaches in NFL history. And that comes after me wanting him to get a second year and thinking he was a good choice when he was hired. Hard to believe that after Hue - Freddie was an even worse HC.

Freddie > Hue > Nobody - plain and simple.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski promises to put Odell Beckham Jr. in a scheme "in which he can make more big plays"

https://923thefan.radio.com/articles/kevin-stefanski-to-put-odell-beckham-jr-in-big-play-schemes

Being a Browns fan, I love this paragraph. Line by line

"Dorsey should have know what he was getting into,"

Everybody who's been here since 2006 should have known what they were getting into, including the current group.

" The roster while good last year is even better this year"
Yes, just like every year since 2006, 10 days after the draft.

" The new crew better have it together or the fans will run them out of town very quickly"
Well Hue Jackson proved the fans don't have a say in it. He can Stick Around for 3 years.

All due respect. I LOVE this paragraph.

Someone corrected me right when Stefanski came on board that, despite being a run-heavy offense, he was able to get plenty of balls to his 2 big receiving threats.

Last year both thielan and Diggs complained about the lack of targets ... Diggs made such a fuss he got traded this off season .... i don’t blame Kev for that but neither of his two and really only receivers were happy last year ... there ire was directed at Cousins ...

Last year his TE’s had 49 and 48 targets respectively ... I believe i read that on here ... Bake is a different about ... i don’t believe our top two te’s will get that many targets because Bake will not rely on his TE as much ... he’ll throw more downfield to his wideouts ,,,

I think that Zimmer put the Kibosh on the passing game which led to the complaints from Theilen and Diggs. Once they voiced their complaints as a result of the lack of passing in the first few games, they opened up their offense somewhat after that.

U could be right but Diggs complained almost the entire year and Thielan missed a lot of it after he whined ... and like i said i don’t blame Kev for that ...

Zimmerman fired gm’s buddy i believe for passing to much so Kev definitely had his hands tied as far as that goes ...

I thought he was more whining about the QB than the playcalling?

I think we'll see a lot of throws to the TE. In 2018, Njoku had 88 targets and 56 catches, Fells had 16 targets and 11 catches, and DeValve and Charles had a combined 12 targets and 8 catches.

Also, Baker used his TE a lot at Oklahoma. (Mark Andrews)

I agree. I think stats and analytics have shown that Baker’s at his best when TE’s are utilized, or at least on the field.

I said that in my original post on it ... its right there ... something like “there ire was directed at Cousins” ...

I also said twice i don’t blame Kev I think its who Cousins is as a qb ... make it 3 times now .... *L* ..

We’ll know hopefully this Sept ... *L* ...

I don’t agree but we’ll see ...

Lets say we throw the ball 600 times being generous .... hmmm ... maybe the TE’s will get 100 targets .... *L* ...

LOL...I do have my Tribal papers.

Woj Pod interview with Kevin and Ed Stefanski:

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=29178999

This is probably not worthy of a separate thread so I will put it here.

I applaud KS for hiring Callie Brownson. I read how she landed here.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2020/05...hing-staff.html

I found it to be a inspirational story.

Hard to break down those types of barriers. Ms. Brownson loves the game of football. She is passionate about the game. All she did was pursue a dream. Seems like everyone should be able to do that. Yet that obviously it is not the case.

I hope she does well. Good luck Callie.

j/c:


Interesting if you look at the Vikings personnel usage and how it might equate to the Browns' this season. Still, I think many assumed the double TE formation and it does align with Stefanski's comments re: TE usage.

The questions becomes, at least to me, how that equates to pass vs run? Not sure if Stefanski was demanded to call the run more by Zimmer after he fired DeFlippo for passing too much.

I have a suspicion that we will see way more passing than people think.

Too many weapons.

I feel if Stefanski is the coach most hope he is that will be true. A great coach uses his roster to its strengths. Looking at his WR group with the Vikings and their avaivability, it makes sense he would focus more on the running game and TE's.

While it's true we have very talented RB's, it's also true we have very talented WR's and a huge investment there as well. I don't believe the WR unit will be downplayed. Who you have on your roster should create an impact on how the football is distributed.

I would be tickled pink if a basic summary of our gameplan was to pound the ball mercilessly while sprinkling in long shots at OBJ. Chubb gets all his touches, and OBJ might not get a few, but those few are going for chunks and TDs.

... and then I wake up.

I agree. It's not like we are going to run the ball 60% of the time.

In the end it is probably going to balance out between 55% to 45%. Which side gets the higher percentage, I am not going to guess. It will depend on if we have the lead at half or not.

If ahead, we are going to John Riggins truck 'em. If not, we are chucking the ball.

Throw the ball to get ahead, throw the ball to stay ahead.

IMO. Each game presents match-ups that the offense will look to exploit.

KS will create game plans based upon personnel match-ups they anticipate on down and distance.

When we line up with 2 TE's, 2 WR's and single back we could still run a four route scheme.

We we use single TE, 2 WR's and two backs it could still be 4 routes.

Our TE's and RB's are all capable receivers.

KS will look each week to figure what and how he plans to attack defenses. Each defense we face will be a different challenge to crack.

Offensively we have great versatility. We can dictate to defenses and force them to honor the run and pass.

It has yet to decided who call the plays. However, game plans will be critical.

What is the monster in the room is execution. It is not the talent. It is team and unit play.

I don't agree with that. I am not talking being up by 3 points, say 10 points, 2 scores, running makes sense, as long as you can run the ball.

Killing clock is a sound strategy.

Your the new HC of the Browns. You walk in on the first day of camp and you see Mayfield, OBJ, Landry, Chubb, Hunt, Garrett, Vernon, Njoku, Hooper and Ward.

Please describe your feelings at that moment?

On paper, man we got us a team......ON PAPER

So is scoring more points.

Passing when WAY AHEAD very late in the game worked out real well for the Falcons in the SB a few years back ... even Shanny admitted it was his fault that he stood to aggressive for far to long ...

That says a lot for ...... ummmmmm, who, exactly?

5 more wins and he wipes out 99% of them lol

Did someone say it’s the best start since Blanton Collier? My goodness

Guys, we are 5-2!

That sentence feels so foreign coming out of my mouth.

I really love what I am seeing out of this team. He just seems better fit to handle the ridiculous pressure of a 53 man roster, practice squad, coaching staff, etc.. We have a lot to learn about him but taking this team to 5-2 is really impressive. Especially considering what this organization has gone through for 20 years.

I don't have much other than that to say, other than, how DUMB is John Dorsey for not hiring him when he could have last year. I think he let his pride get in the way, and it cost him his job. He could have been with this organization a long time.

Of all the bad moves this team has made through the years, John Dorsey hiring Freddie Kitchens has to be right up at the top. Just dumb.

And more than anything I think it cost Baker a year of his career. 2019 Was a huge waste, and we could have been in year two of the Kevin Stefanski era, and maybe Baker is just that much more comfortable.

Try not to think about that too much as it will just anger you.

Spergon , playing the “What if...?” game will only give you ulcers. It didn’t happen, no sense in rehashing it.

KS is here, now, and this team is 5-2, here, now.

Just enjoy the feeling, here, and now.

Especially when he has put this all together with a non-existent off-season. Additional challenges at practice and meetings.

I really expected us, and any other team with a new coach or large turnover, to start slow.

It's why I wasn't overly surprised by the Baltimore game. They had a huge advantage over us from the stand point of familiarity of the system.

I expect we continue to see development and consistency as the season goes on and the players react more and think less.

j/c:

I will say this yet again. I did not want Stefanski as our HC. I preferred McDaniels. The cool thing about sports is it is a venue where you can prove yourself. I don't allow preconceived notions to obscure what my eyes are seeing and I have been very impressed by the job Stefanski and most of the coaching staff is doing. We are much more disciplined this year. Fewer penalties. Fewer public outbursts. Creativity on offense. Good game management for the most part.

I also want to once again give a shout-out to Callahan. The OL has been superb this year. It didn't get talked about much, but they gave Baker all day to throw for a vast majority of the game against the Bengals last week. In fact, they are giving our qb more time to throw than any other qb in the league. Our rushing attack is near the top of the league despite losing Chubb. I credit Berry for improving the talent on the OL, but I think the biggest difference has been Callahan and also due to Stefanski's schemes and play calling.

He's a leader.. one we've needed for so very long....

Not just start slow, but we've seen Browns teams, in the past, look like they just opened the playbook for the first time each Sunday. Tons of procedural penalties (lining up wrong and stuff) to having to take a timeout on first down or right another timeout because the playcall/lineup was all messed up.

I think you could write a novel about how past regimes couldn't even get the playbook fully installed over the course of the season, but this guy did it with the offseason we had.

Yep, with the exception of Mangini who HARPED on the penalties thing, we’ve historically been so undisciplined.

Knock on wood, but as of now it looks like Stefanski’s teams are very detailed oriented and accountable to their jobs.

Even the Mangini teams left a lot to be desired... I remember one of the people that had an axe to grind re: Mangini posted the average penalties/game year-to-year, and there wasn't that big of a drop.

And the penalties I don't see out there aren't really the 'discipline' sort, but more of the organizational type, and that's what I was expecting to see with the crazy year.

The amazing thing Stefanski is doing this in a Pandemic bubble. I really wish he could get us better prepared for the Steelers and Ravens but he is doing an amazing job for sure. Can't wait for the bye week and we get healthy and Chubb and I hope Teller are back in action.

Note to Andy Berry, we need more talent on the Defense, if anyone offers us a 1st round pick for OBJ (take it) He's a great talent. Shame he just brings down a team for some reason.

jmho

I don't think we are getting anything back considering the severity of that injury. I believe OBJ will be a Cleveland Brown for a while. I am reading he is going to miss time next year too. It really sucks.

I do agree that we need so many upgrades on defense. Losing Delpit before the season even started really put us in a bad spot. I hope he recovers well because he is going to be such a good fit for that defense. We also need someone else to keep teams honest when it comes to Myles Garrett. You need another good threat on that line.

I recall reading somewhere that last season Freddie would call a play that the team had never run through in practice.

This is true.

I love that we now have a coach that is good at time management

that’s been big. Managing ends of halves is so important

j/c

While I don't believe there is a one size fits all in the demeanor a HC must have to find success, I like the demeanor of Stefanski. I've seen debates on this board in the past about how some think a HC must be animated and fiery on the sidelines. That if not, it somehow means he lacks passion or will have trouble motivating the team.

I think what we're seeing is a prime example of how keeping your composure in times of competition has its own attributes. I'm of the belief that composure is a strong character trait. I feel seeing your HC remain calm and composed leads to your players remaining calm and composed. It's hard to stay focused when your emotions are all over the place.

As I stated in the beginning, there is no one size fits all here. Some HC's have used that fiery approach to motivate their teams.

But what I do know is that in seasons past I've watched my team find a way to lose games when it was on the line and now we're finding ways to win games when they're on the line. That takes an entire change in the mind set of your players.

It's still early and the jury is still out. But there's no doubt we're seeing a different mentality on this team. We're seeing a calm and focus. We're seeing a team that is motivated to win unlike anything we've seen in years. For a team to be able to accomplish this, first they must believe they can accomplish this. Stefanski has made that a reality. And so far, so good.

The formula will never change.

You need a great owner, great coach, and great QB.

We can only hope that Haslam will leave everything untouched for awhile, Stefanski will keep impressing, and Baker has the light come on.

There are no magic formulas here. If these three things are consistently good, the Browns will be good.

Odell most likely remains.

Given his age. His injury and his injury history.

I highly doubt that he would get more than a third rounder. Maybe this year without the injury a second.

Right now nothing will happen because teams will want to know when he can play.

I have said this in the past, one of the biggest things I have noticed this year, other than the lack of procedural penalties, is the quickness that the play calls come in and the time that Baker has when he some to the line. The vast majority of the time, there is at least 10 or more seconds left on the play clock when he is under center or in shotgun. Night and Day difference from last year.

We still need Baker to vastly improve on reading the Defenses pre-snap and making adjustments accordingly.

Bottom line is we are better. Matter of fact this is the 1st year we are actually a better team than the year before with the possible exception of 2018. Now we have to keep building on what we have. The injuries are stopping us from realizing our full potential but we are not the only ones. Another good draft and FA period and we could be legit contenders.

Stefanski actually made that a big point of emphasis when he first arrived.

It is good he stuck with that. It shows promise for sure.

The thing that impresses me about Stefanski, is the way the backups are prepared and play when called upon. That is the sign of a good Head coach and staff. Coaching the whole team.

We aren’t committing many dumb penalties - by that I mean the mental ones such a illegal motion and false starts.

Someone pointed out in this or another thread about how we never seem to be forced to burn a time-out because we couldn’t get the play in.

Stefanski seems structured and organized, unlike several other HCs we’ve had. So far, this hire has shown to be a good one.

To start winning, you have to stop beating yourself. That seems to be something he hones in on, which is good.

I thought about one other thing today, when it comes to the Steelers and the Ravens. Once you learn how to stop beating yourself, you have to beat the teams that you should beat. We seem to at least be on that path. The next logical step is to go toe-to-toe with the big boys. I feel like you accomplish that by not beating yourself first of all, and making the other team play with a sense of urgency. The Steelers and the Ravens always seem content to just play sound football and let us crap all over ourselves. Almost like they are just sitting back and having fun. The next time we play both, I hope that we find a way to collectively punch them in the mouth from the start, and give them the realization that "oh crap, we need to get our ish together." We saw that the first game with the Ravens last year and they really buckled.

Fingers crossed.

Yeah, that’s one thing about last year’s team: we literally beat ourselves more often than not. Turnovers, penalties, time management, etc. It was the prototypical poorly coached team

I couldn't imagine Stefanski pulling a stunt like Kitchens did at the end of the first half of the Seattle game last year.

My own personal feeling is the mismanagement of that and the end results of that mismanagement completely sank the season.

It was the single most deflating moment of a season that had plenty of them. I know people will say the Garrett incident but by that game the book was kind of out on the Browns. The Seattle game was the last chance to turn the season around. And the team came out and played like it, and their coach let them down.

Yeah, that was an unmitigated disaster. We controlled Seattle .. about to go up two scores ... they were dormant and on the road at 1PM

Dumbest move of the year

I don't remember the last time I was angrier at a series of plays than that end of the scenario against Seattle last year. We were in control and allowed Seattle to get back in the game by horrendous mismanagement of the game circumstances, clock, and sloppy execution.

I am not a "yeller" during games. I tend to be more analytical. However, I left my Bonus Room and shouted down to my wife who was watching her Steelers' game about freaking stupid the Browns were. She was surprised because I hardly ever get emotional about the games one way or the other.

Gawd, that was stupid!!!

My reaction was the same.

In the fall we usually have our front door open (we have a screen that allows some fresh air into the house). I'm pretty sure people were about to call the cops based on my reaction.

I don't think I've ever been more deflated as a fan, even during the 1-31 stretch. I can handle losing. I don’t do well with stupidity.

Dare I ask...

...what happened at the end of the half during that game last year? I probably suppressed it from my memory.

I think the nail in the coffin for Kitchens (besides the record, obviously) was when he wore the sweatshirt that said "Pittsburgh Started It." Just a complete lack of awareness and professionalism.

We were playing Seattle. We were up (1-score) and got the ball back with a pretty decent amount of time at the end of the half. We marched down the field and ate up some time... all positives. We got into the red zone, and I don't know if we ran Chubb once or not at all, but the fact is we have the ball at the half (hawks get the ball second half) and have the lead. We are in position to guarantee to come away with at least 3 points while not allowing Russell Wilson another crack at the ball before the half.

Instead, we hurry up and start throwing. We bleed off no clock, get picked in the endzone and Wilson marches them down the field for a touchdown. Pick was bad, but the coaching was far more egregious.

Didn’t they end up scoring TWICE even? I was seeing red so I can’t even remember haha

By shooting ourselves in the foot, we killed all momentum going into the second half. They got the ball back and Russ did Russ things the rest of the game.

That is pretty close to my recollection. I will add that we were in the red zone and the half was almost over. We could have easily have used up almost all the time on the clock and scored to go up by two scores. Instead, we hurried up. I remember yelling at the screen to use the clock, instead we were snapping the ball in the play clock. Baker ends up getting picked in the end zone. Seattle zips down the field behind Wilson and they score at the end of the half.

Freddie was asked about why he was playing hurry up or something like that. He answered that he was trying to score quick, stop Seattle, get the ball back and score again.

That may have been the dumbest thing I have ever seen.

Btw....this is all from memory and I'm not positive I am have the exact details absolutely correct, but it's pretty damn close.

OMG, you're right. Not only was he hell-bent on scoring 7, he wanted another crack at the endzone before the half.

Haha it was just so idiotic. At that point I was like “yeah, this isn’t good”

That whole scenario in Seattle gets blown out of proportion because of Freddie's stupid comment "Shoot, I wanted to score again".

It all started because Romo was foaming at the mouth during the entire Seattle drive to close the half "The Browns left too much time on the clock".

We were running a no huddle (or quick huddle) the entire first half and about to score for the fourth time as a result. Yet, during our final drive (starting at about 5:00), we only ran a no huddle once (at +4:00) before the INT in the endzone.

On that play we came to the line early, Baker snapped the ball at :20... as a LB was yelling, pointing at the mismatch, and running toward Landry. Ball bounces off Landry's chest for an INT.

All that whining by Romo was because we snapped the ball with 20 seconds on the clock... Russ snapped the ball for the TD pass with :22. Math doesn't lie.

We lost the Seattle game because of three Mayfield INTs, a Chubb fumble and several egregious calls by officials (clear TD by Landry - marked short and a phantom block in the back, to name a couple).

I respectfully disagree w/some of that. Romo isn't an idiot. He is very intelligent when it comes to football. Secondly, I was screaming that we should be bleeding the clock and I didn't need Romo to tell me that. Snapping the ball w/so much time on the play clock several times was an epic fail in my opinion.

I don't usually bad-mouth our coaches for play calling and clock management like many others do, but that series of events infuriated me.

The league favors the teams that bring the highest ratings. I've maintained that position for years and it sure seems true.

Not sure where to put this thought.


Tom Brady threw two bad picks in last nights game. The team lost.

After the game he left the field. Refusing to shake hands with Goff. He did it to Nick Foles as well.

If Baker or Cam Newton does that. They would be ripped up one side and down the other.

Put this here because KS has developed a "team first" locker room.

Play hard. Play smart. Be accountable. Only wins count.
1-0. "No matter about covid embrace the suck."

He called out Jarvis and Wilson on attitude mistakes on the field. Don't hurt the team.

That carries over to what you say outside the locker room and how you act.

Baker has said all the right things. No longer inserting foot in mouth.

I was listening to Scott Pioli on GMFB. He spoke highly of Kevin and also went into detail about what Berry brings to the table.

Our team record has alot to say about the job of the front office.

Brady should be ripped up and down, just like the others.

He SHOULD but he probably won't...however, if someone DOES rip him, somewhere a ref will throw a flag for 'roughing the passer'.

Hey he has a super model for a wife...he'll get all the breaks...lol

Agreed. Be a man about it win or lose. How many times have losing coaches and players shook his hand after a game. Too many to count.

Yeah, it’s part of sports. Even if I didn’t always want to, I always would. I’d think about all of the good moments I’ve had in sports and just say congrats, well done. There are two sides to the game

Brady has always been a sulky little beeyotch.

I've heard about it, maybe because I'm in the Tampa news area, but it's been out there, not daily mainmainstream though.

https://www.newsweek.com/tom-brady-walks-off-field-not-shake-hands-jared-goff-bucs-loss-1549736

https://brobible.com/sports/article/tom-brady-jared-goff-handshake/


https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/tom-b...not-nick-foles/

https://nypost.com/2020/10/23/tom-brady-explains-why-he-didnt-shake-nick-foles-hand-after-loss/

I remember a while ado when we beat Pittsburgh on a prime time game. Hines Ward went into the locker room before the game ended. When PIT won he was always out there with that stupid grin, but wasn't man enough to accept the loss.

While I hate the Steelers I am not above respecting their players when deserved. Whines Hard will forever be a turd in my eyes because of this.

It was past Tom's bed time.

Semi-seriously, I read an article that he was upset with Arians for making practices later during the week to get ready for the late game. His typical regimen has him in bed asleep at 9-something.

Your not trying to tell me that Tom Brady has been pampered and spoiled; PREPOSTEROUS!!!

Maybe he gets up real early;

There are some references regarding the Browns reduced # of "stupid penalties" such as false starts. It occurred to me during the Football Team game, that with the very reduced amount of crowd noise, would false start penalties be down league wide.

IN the past it seemed as if at least 2-3 false starts a game were due to crowd noise, especially by teams with young OL. Makes me wonder if false starts are down league wide.

Don't misunderstand this comment to mean I don't think coach Stefanski has not done a great job, I think he has been great. Just something I thought of early in the year with before some teams started pumping fan noise in loudly.

That's a fair observation. I'd bet that, when looked at league-wide, you'd be absolutely correct.

I don't think that even begins to explain the Browns improvement, though. Look how early we're getting to the line and get to move pre-snap. That's not crowd noise, that's discipline and execution. Mayfield is also able to induce some offsides with his cadence. That's also a new thing this year (I think he might've also drawn our own guy into a false start, but we'll just ignore that one for now).

I don't think you're wrong at all, but the preponderance of evidence related to the Browns points to the arrival of KS.

Not so much with False Start penalties, but definitely with Holding calls and others, there is definitely a healthy dose of "the Refs just aren't calling them like they used to" going on.

We all know the old saying that you could call Holding on every play in the NFL.... well, they just aren't calling them on us unless they're egregious, or so it seems. We haven't had the slew of super ticky tacky calls from the Refs that have plagued us for 20 years. It's amazing how much better our offense can look without all of those extra penalties.

Also curious if offsides/encroachment is up. Seems like more people are biting on the hard counts that usual. Maybe not. I know someone knows how to find the stat for it...

My “Why I love Kevin Stefanski” moment came Tuesday. I was driving home and listening to the Kevin Stefanski show on KNR, and one of the hosts asked him if he’d seen “Anchorman”, and he said yes. Then the host referenced Brick killing a guy, and without missing a beat KS, said “He used a trident!”. That’s my coach.

Is it possible that the lack of acknowledgment after the game was a combo of - The Bastard beat us and Hey I don't know where he's been I don't want to get Covid so I'm playing the odds of staying away from people.

"I love lamp"

From The Athletic:



https://theathletic.com/2276637/2020/12/21/browns-mayfield-offensive-line/

Belichick would have to go winless for the next 186 seasons.

LOL

j/c...

As he should be

They vote for coach of the year AFTER the playoffs right? If so, that will play into it a lot.

Right now it should be a 2 horse race between Stefanski and McDermott in Buffalo. Year over year the Browns have the best turnaround. But Buffalo went from 6-10, to 10-6 and a wildcard, to potentially 13-3 division champs.. and he got beat out last year by Harbaugh. I know it's not supposed to be about anything but this year.. but I could see them giving it to McDermott for what they did over the last 2 years. Then Stefanski can win it next year for the same reason.

I would think Flores should be considered as well.

Like I said, if the Dolphins make the playoffs and the Browns don't, that becomes a distinct possibility.

yeah, definitely. And maybe Rivera if they make the playoffs.

All deserving candidates.

Flores has done wonders in Miami.

Rivera recovering from cancer and coaching a team into position to win their division is admirable.

However, Kevin Stefanski IMO is the most deserving of the award. Not only is the record significant there is more to it.

Last year we won six games. We all know what went on before. Freddie clearly was not the man for the job. No hard feelings. I like Freddie. He was just not head coach material.

Kevin was faced with a unique challenge. He was not alone. Any new coaching staff faced with Covid protocols had major adjustments to handle.

We were not ready for the first game against the Ravens. After that loss we never lost two in a row. That coming from a team that could not win two in row since forever.

The way we won. The players missing. The difference in how the team prepared. The way they looked on game days. They came ready to play. Didn't make the big mental errors.
Were not a penalty team.

Kevin has brought an air of professionalism. He established how this team would play. The team improved weekly.

We are 10-4 with two remaining games in control of our destiny. We win. We are in.

The Steelers don't look so hot.

The Browns are a top four team in the AFC. I have no doubts about that.

We are capable of beating any team in the NFL.

That is astounding to me.

Haslam should commission a statue today. Coach of the Year?

Absolutely.

Thanks, coach! Liked the win, and I must admit that beating Freddie and Co. really was satisfying to me.

I am ready to watch us again, and not have the night game limits on the bar where we meet.

Let's win this one and send some flowers to Bengals. Quite a job!

What can be learned from Mike Priefer’s 2016 head coaching performance with the Vikings?

By Ellis L. Williams, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Last year special teams coordinator Mike Priefer shared a running joke about how his sons call him “0 and 1,” based on his NFL head coaching record. Sunday versus Pittsburgh, Priefer has a chance to become “Mr. .500&#8243;, by leading his hometown Cleveland Browns to victory in the organization’s first playoff game in 18 years.

Sound like a daunting task? It is.

Not only are the Browns out their head coach and play-caller but Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio and receiver KhaDarel Hodge as well. It leaves the Browns very thin at guard and down one of their top special teamers and pass catchers.

However, this isn’t a death sentence for the Browns’ chances, because Stefanski’s replacement has been in a similar situation before.

In 2016, Priefer served as the Vikings’ head coach during Week 13 when Mike Zimmer sat out due to an emergency eye procedure. Minnesota lost 17-15 on Thursday Night Football against a 10-1 Cowboys team that finished 13-3. That contest came down to a late-game challenge (which Priefer won), a failed two-point conversion where the officials missed a hands-to-the-face penalty, and an onside kick Minnesota didn’t recover.

Minnesota (6-5 at the time) fought valiantly that night for their interim head coach and it nearly was enough to upset one of the NFL’s best teams.

What can we learn from Priefer’s lone head coaching performance from four seasons ago? Let’s revisit some key moments and decisions from that game to find out.

Priefer “looked the part”

I talked with a Vikings beat writer who remembers being at that Minnesota-Dallas game. He said afterward that his biggest takeaway was that Priefer simply looked the part of an NFL head coach.

Before the game, Vikings GM Rick Spielman said Priefer was the man for the job because of his familiarity with both the offense and defense. On top of his usual special teams duties, Priefer handled all game management decisions (timeouts, challenges, going for it on fourth, etc.), while the Vikings’ offensive and defensive coordinators called plays.

Without their play-caller in Zimmer, the Vikings defense still bottled up then-dynamic rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. It’s a sign Browns fans should remain confident in Cleveland’s offense.

As one coach I talked to said, “How (the Browns offense) looks won’t change. What will change is the how and when.”

Meaning that, when the Browns run power or play-action passes, it will look the same. But the frequency and situations in which Cleveland calls certain plays becomes uncertain. Mike Tomlin will lean on the Browns’ season-long tendencies to ready his defense but he’s preparing for the unknown now because there isn’t tape on Alex Van Pelt these calling plays.

Some felt that helped the Vikings’ defense bottle the Cowboys’ explosive offense. Because the situations in which defensive coordinator George Edwards called certain blitzes or coverages differed at times from Zimmer’s tendencies.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Browns offense plays well Sunday just as the Vikings defense did four years ago without their play-caller. However, losing Bitonio is a major blow, and one they could not have prepared for.

But there were contingency plans all year for this exact situation. It was decided before Week 1 that Priefer would serve as interim head coach if COVID-19 ever made Stefanski unavailable. Remember, Stefanski and Priefer coached eight years together in Minnesota. Stefanski had a first-hand viewing experience of Priefer as a head coach. He trusts him and that trickles down throughout the locker room.

It’s no surprise someone as detail oriented as Priefer vibes with Stefanski. It’s that same focus and knowledge of the game (and all its rules) that won him a critical challenge against the Cowboys.

He handled critical late-game situations well

Minnesota featured the league’s worst offense in 2016 behind quarterback Sam Bradford. But the defense carried the Vikings to a 17-9 deficit with 2:53 to play. With Dallas near their own 30, Prescott scrambled nine yards and picked up a first down that would’ve put the game away.

However, Priefer and his staff felt the ball was spotted incorrectly because the rules state a player is down where their initial slide begins. Priefer challenged, won and the Cowboys punted a play later.

With the ball back, Minnesota drove 65 yards in eight plays and scored their first touchdown. On the two-point try, Bradford was blatantly hit in the head but it wasn’t called.

Minnesota eventually lost but without Priefer’s challenge, the game would’ve ended nearly three minutes early. Instead, he made a sharp decision and afforded the Vikings an opportunity to win late.

Players rally behind Priefer

It helps immensely that Priefer was around Berea last season to build meaningful connections with key players. He and quarterback Baker Mayfield have a friendly relationship. Given the opportunity, players rave about Priefer during interviews.

His 20 years in the NFL have taught him how to blend motivation with accountability while sprinkling just enough banter that his players either laugh or rib back. Such authenticity translates to relatable. That’s Priefer inside the locker room and on the field.

That night at USA Bank Stadium, he didn’t have to gain the respect of his 53-man roster because it was already solidified. Priefer earned that over his five years prior with the Vikings, including 2012 special teams coach of the year honors. Players rallied behind Priefer and played for both him and Zimmer that evening. His relationship with guys who made their name on special teams (like receiver Adam Thielen) helped the roster buy in.

Simply, Priefer was both highly-respected and well-liked within the Vikings’ locker room and organization.

That holds true in Cleveland as well.

What we learned

Like Stefanski, Browns fans should trust him, too. Assuming the team can practice a few days before Sunday, Priefer will have the Browns ready to play. He proved capable of that before. If it’s a close game late and swift, critical decisions must be made, he won’t hesitate, freeze or falter.

Last year, Priefer told media during a weekly press conference “Would I like to be a head coach? Absolutely. Who wouldn’t? I would love to be up in front of the team and be the leader of that team.”

On Sunday, he’ll stand up and lead the franchise into its first playoff game since 2002. Regardless of how wild card weekend ends, Priefer’s due for a new nickname.

https://www.cleveland.com/browns/2021/01...he-vikings.html

Thanks for that article. We’ll miss Stefanski and Callahan for sure. I don’t think it’s catastrophic ... but what I do think is catastrophic: Bitonio being out and watching Heyward bull rushing the crap out of our awful LG

A couple things to hope for under the circumstances.

Is Callahan back or another miss? Hate the NFL's handling of this.

Worthy in my opinion. And maybe it is Clay Matthews' year.

Callahan is 64 and is a very high risk candidate. So actually I'm glad they are being very careful with him unlike the yutes who if they catch the virus they survive. So I hope he doesn't catch it and can't wait when myself and others can get the Vaccine...I know the politicians made sure they got it and then their concern seemed to have waned.

same here .. I’m good with him staying away for the end of the year. Let him stay safe and be a virtual voice. Hoping he decides to return next year

Honest question... at this point in the year, how much of an impact does an Oline coach have being on the sidelines on gameday?

I don't know the correct answer, but my guess is "maybe only a little, maybe a ton?".

He would see the little technique things that a guy is doing wrong, or the things a DLine is doing to beat them and be able to help our guy counter it. It would be all the little Big things.

j/c

I imagine figuring out how to pick up "new" blitzes/wrinkles they hadn't seen on tape would benefit from an experienced OL coach. Figuring out how to compensate/continuously adjust for however Bitonio's replacement holds up could also come into play.

Coach of the year: Kevin Stefanski

Posted by Mike Florio on January 8, 2021, 6:35 AM EST

I would like to congratulate Coach Stefanski and thank him for busting his butt to shape a winning football team out of this bunch of guys.

Coach of the year: Kevin Stefanski


Posted by Mike Florio on January 8, 2021, 6:35 AM EST
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/01/08/coach-of-the-year-kevin-stefanski/

Compelling arguments can be made this year in favor of many NFL head coaches for the official coach of the year award, for two reasons. First, there were many very good NFL head coaches this year. Second, the standard for this award continues to be very loose and vague.

What does it mean to be coach of the year? From 2001 through 2018, Bill Belichick could have been coach of the year almost every year. The rough understanding seems to be that the award goes to the coach whose team most exceeds it generally accepted expectations for the year.

Under that standard, which we’ll borrow for our own coach of the year award, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski deserves to be the PFT coach of the year. Without the benefit of an offseason program or preseason games, Stefanski gradually, deliberately, and inevitably crafted a winning program from a team that grossly underachieved in 2019. The effort started simply by winning the games that they should. It culminated in winning multiple games that they should have lost, first against the Colt and most notably against Titans.

Stefanski fixed the various flaws in quarterback Baker Mayfield‘s game. When the Browns lost receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. for the season, the Browns (after initially struggling against the Raiders without OBJ) didn’t miss a beat. And they took full advantage of their bye week to address flaws, to focus on strengths, and to keep pushing toward a grossly unexpected 11-5 record in one of the toughest divisions in football — and Cleveland’s first postseason berth since 2002.

The latter days of the season have been marred by COVID-19 infections that began as community spread and became a full-blown outbreak. Stefanski won’t be available for the playoff game, which undoubtedly will prove his value to the team.

He’ll continue to prove his value in the coming years. This isn’t an aberration or a blip on the radar screen. This is the arrival of the Browns as a force to be reckoned with. They should improve, not regress, in 2021 and beyond.

Others who merit consideration for the award include, most notably, Packers coach Matt LaFleur. He walked two years ago into a jambalaya of dysfunction and he has steered the team toward consecutive 13-3 records. He won’t get the votes that he should for the official award, because we’ve already come to expect LaFluer to thrive.

Ditto for Bills coach Sean McDermott, who has turned the Bills into, currently, the best team in the NFL. A playoff berth was presumed and a division title was likely. The ascension to dominance was not. McDermott deserves credit for that.

Others who did much better than the expectations would have suggested include Washington coach Ron Rivera, who fought through cancer to take an overmatched roster to an unlikely division title, Saints coach Sean Payton, Dolphins coach Brian Flores, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid, whose team consistently faced the best that every opponent had to offer — and consistently won.

In the end, there can only be one winner, however. In a year with several impressive coaching performances, Stefanski stands out.

There is a game plan needed to be executed especially after a game against our opponent Sunday adjustment are needed as we saw some reactions by the defense to adjust to our blocking schemes. Its a lot more sophisticated then High school stuff I'm sure Callahan will be planning a lot of the adjustments and he will communicate it to our existing OL coach Scott Peters???

It's absolutely mind boggling that John Dorsey passed this guy up for Freddie Kitchens.

what’s worse for me: after year 1, Dorsey STILL was advocating for Kitchens.

I can see giving him a chance, but after that debacle last year ... how could you still want him?!

At the end of the day it probably doesn't make much of a difference, but Dorsey was advocating for Dorsey and circling the wagons to cling to the structure that gave him all/most authority.

Yeah, I don't think Dorsey wanted to hire a guy that was "Depodesta's" even though, from everything we've seen, Stefanski would have been fine working beneath Dorsey anyhow.

Indeed, but it was more than that. Dorsey didn't like Depo being around and in Jimmies ear. Dorsey wasn't going to hire anybody Depo might bring forward.

It all worked out.

That became readily apparent with his "muscle flexing" comment. I think it was clear that Dorsey maintained more of an adversarial relationship with Depo.

This is pure speculation on my part based on what I've seen, but Depo seems like he doesn't have much "alpha" in him, and I'm not saying that as a knock. Just that he's very reserved and lets the facts speak for themselves. In this case, I think he just let Dorsey get in his own way and bided his time.

I wouldn't phrase it as doesn't have much "alpha" as much as I would say he doesn't have as much ego, or need to pee on fences to mark his territory, but aside from terminology, I agree.

I concur. I struggle with expression sometimes.

I do not think the dynamic would have ever worked with Stefanski, Dorsey and DePo.

Dorsey's ego would not allow him to get out of his own way.

I'm happy things worked out the way it did even though a year was wasted.

I think Stefanski would've worked just fine with Dorsey... but Dorsey never would've stood for bringing him in. Pretty tragic, actually.

I don't think I have missed a Stefanski press conference.

He is a impressive coach. He listens. He looks people straight in the eye. He is articulate and measured in how he responds.

He never let's a question over take his response. He always responds appropriately. Never overreacts.

If ever there was a guy who fits a head coach personality. Kevin is that guy.

I can not speak to all he brings to the table in X's and O's. I am talking about him. His presence. His composure. Character and personality.

Leadership is often hard to define.

Kevin has that look of attention, focus, and intelligence.

On the Browns website Bitonio has an article. What he says about Kevin is revealing.

I am glad he is our head coach.

I truly believe we have found the right guy.

Hard to believe after 20 years we finally got it right.

You would never think it would be that hard.

I really don't mean to pile on the guy, and I wish him all the best, but the difference between Kitchens and Stefanski is so night and day...you have to wonder what was going on in Dorsey's mind. Kitchens was embarrassing right out of the box at his introductory press conference. I felt sorry for the Haslem's that day.

LOL...I'll never feel sorry for the Haslem's...

Are you kidding me?

There was also a rumor he was a bit embarrassing to the organization at the combine when some alcohol was involved.

I remember what a thing it was when Cowher made the playoffs in his first year as a coach.

I don't think they are losing sleep over this.

https://tv5.espn.com/blog/cleveland-brow...-fit-for-browns

Jc

Stefanski had an overall great first year. Playoffs and a divisional round appearance.

That being said, hopefully he learned a valuable lesson in what team identity means. Because there were too many games/moments where he outsmarted himself with the play calling. We were 3rd in the league in rushing, and yet toward the end of the season he got away from it.

Running teams run the ball even when the defense knows they’re running it. It’s up to the defense to stop what you’re good at, not the other way around. Against the jets and now the chiefs, by the time we got into a rhythm running the ball, it was already too late.

But overall, great job coach.

What Stephanski did was created a team first attitude. His teams were prepared, but he had to deal with a ton of adverse situations.

Time to draft defense and go chase a ring.

Kevin Stefanski is going to win NFL Coach of the Year.

Yep - I was texting friends a half time, I liked Van Pelt calling plays better.... we seemed to fix it in the 3rd Q (way too late in a game this important) then got away from it in the 4th.

Stefanski should give the calls to Van Pelt. A little too plaid today. Pattern of poor play or dropped pass on first put us behind the sticks. Forgot to run again. And Woods.

We have upside we shouldn't have now if we had done better in the first place.

I've thought the same thing. Steelers game was a bit of an anomaly and it's easier to call plays with a 3 or 4 score lead and it's a 1 game sample size against a team that hasn't game planned for YOU calling the plays.. but even in the first quarter when we got turnovers, we scored quickly.

He wasn't gimmicky, we didn't do any reverses or those bump passes to the guy in motion.. he kept it simple and he kept going back to what was working until they stopped it. ANDDDDDDDD.. even with a big lead he stayed kind of aggressive and let Baker throw the ball some.

I agree with Swish that I think sometimes Stefanski outsmarted himself by trying to be cute and do things contrary to what he thought, they thought, we were going to do.

We were in the spot we were in because of Stefanski. He was great all season. I trust his judgment on who should be calling plays.

I agree and so will I.. it's just sometimes it's hard to be objective about yourself. Stefanski, seems like a humble enough guy, that if anybody thought AVP was a better option, he would give it up.

Absolutely. Listening to some here, we got to the playoffs not because of him, but in spite of him.

jfan...I'm not going to go back and read to see who might be trying to lay blame on Stefanski for yesterday's game..some just don't understand Browns football.

First, this was a most unusual season with teams dealing with the covid issue and the Browns may have led the league as the team that dealt with the most cases...yet Stefanski, as a first time HC, put together a playoff team.

No doubt that Stefanski did a helluva job putting together a B+ offensive unit but now he needs to work his magic on the defensive side of the ball. The Browns need to analyze the defensive side to identify where improvements are needed...
coaching staff, the talent level and the defensive scheme in an effort to improve.

I don't know who the "some" are that you are referencing but I haven't seen it.

Wondering if AVP might be a better play caller isn't taking anything away from what Stefanski did.

I think it became obvious, Kevin Stefanski is not best at calling the plays,
evidenced every big game after the bye week,

When the stakes got highest, he went away from the run game and relied too much on the pass.

It was somewhat obvious but the announcers said last week the Browns were (way unsuccessful) when Baker had to throw more than 40?, more than too many times.

Like almost no wins.

It may be painful, but it is obvious.
The playcalling will have to be taken away from HC KS, sooner or later,

and the Steeler playoff game, with A/S VP, calling plays showed they have a capable playcaller, who can balance the run and the pass.

So Get it done,

They need, KS, to be the HC, not the playcaller,
they can cooperate, or discuss, but

Dont' want to see anymore of what makes the Browns a more beatable team.

I think the Browns are a better team going forward if VP were calling plays and KS were being the HC, and not worried about changing his thinking
every time the circumstances of the game changed for the offense.

I didn't read anything in this thread about AVP or KS and playcalling before my previous post,

So I'm not the only one who thinks so, well it is somewhat obvious.

One point I’ll make about the whole KS vs AVP calling plays:

This is just my perspective as a coach ... KS clearly made a script and/or really thought out a plan for the PIttsburgh game ... and he did it BEFORE the game started, probably with time/score/formation contingencies

And because he did it BEFORE the game, he does it from a strictly analytic and team-strength perspective ... emotion was not involved.

Compare that to the KC game when he’s actively involved and has the ability to change things ... emotion IS involved and you can kinda get away from what’s the smartest approach.

Not sure this makes sense, but I’ve been there as a coach

I didn't notice anything wrong with the play calls against KC.

The problem was with execution. Too many drops in the first half, and that one holding call was a drive killer.

People get way too worked up about playcalling. Any play can look great when you execute.

We had what...an 18 play drive in the 2nd half? That was amazing!

I can only imagine how bad everyone would be on Stefanski if he ran our half a billion $ QB (with a bad foot) on a QB sweep and he got a concussion! They would want him fired!

This.

Where Stefanski failed yesterday was lack of urgency on the final offensive drive. You speed up the tempo until a score is imminent, then you can slow it down. They played as if they had a lead while on their own side of the field. Then you have a couple of mistakes and it snowballed away from you. Even if we had stopped the Chiefs, you were going to have to go about about 90 yards with 1:10 and no timeouts. He picked the most important game to have his worst moment.

I thought once we knew Mahomes was out it should have been hurry up the rest of the way .. maximize possessions and the clock, at least until/if we had a lead.

I dunno. I was all in on a long methodical drive. I see reason to speed up however.... we were down 5 with 4 minutes to go. I know it was 4th and what, 8? I probably would go for it.

Allowing them a FG doesn't necessarily kill you. But 4th and 8, down 5, 4 minutes to go with only able to stop the clock twice? I think I gotta go for it. That's probably a spot where mahomes being out affected our decision. Mahomes in and you have to go for it. Punting probably the right call but damn, you got the ball to go ahead in a playoff game...

Bottom line we could have won but we weren't the best team on the field that day.

it was 4th and 9 - and we had one time out left because we used a timeout in that last series of downs before the 4th down.

I'm less worried about the 4th down punt - I think it's 50-50. We did enough to get the ball back with 1:40 ish left - assuming we don't let Henne scramble for 14 yards. But knowing the D has been so bad all year is why the 4th and 9 is something you seriously consider.

My issue with Stefanski's play calling - Hunt no touches in the first half I believe. Chubb 6 runs. I think we were unbalanced and *seemed* to always be out smarted or out guessed by the KC defense. Maybe Wills being out had a bigger impact that we realized, maybe it was just execution (a couple of completed passes to Chubb and maybe it's a 100% different outcome?). But then you have the no red flag on the dropped catch - burning a T.O by throwing a flag on the catch that never hit the ground. We also seemed to go back to getting the play call in very late - Baker was finally telling receivers where to line up with 6-7-8 seconds left on the clock instead of 20.

Anyway - it is what it is. KS called really good games for most of the year. He seems likely to learn a ton from this game. My comments about the game and play calling were more out of frustration at losing a winnable game than wanting wholesale change. Even with the D and Joe Woods where I have been frustrated at a lack of aggression - I know that we've had a porous below average D all year ... it's touch to judge a coach when he's given 3/4 of a full deck to play with.

Onwards and upwards. The future should be very bright. Browns and Ravens will be the favorites to win the AFC North next season. We should see minimal front office changes. We have our QB and our starting OL. We have quality depth along the OL. We have 90% of our skill positions sorted - an elite burner at WR would be nice. So an off-season to improve the D - plus getting Delphit and Greedy back should help enormously.

I don't know how obvious it is given that we have 17 games of Stefanski calling plays and 1 of AVP. And in that one we started with a defensive score and then had multiple turnovers resulting in short fields and quick scores.

I mean the Kevin Stefanski play calling that scored 17 points against the Chiefs is the same one that blasted the Titans.

So I think it's worth considering but nothing is obvious.. that maybe there is a way to get AVP more involved. I'm sure he is involved in the game planning..

888, we had one timeout + the two minute warning, so two stoppages. I think “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” describes playcalling for some folks. No matter what sequence of plays or ratio of run/pass or whatbalance between our running backs coach used, some on here would be critical. I guess it goes with the territory.

But when I listen to these critics facts keep getting in the way. Coach stefanski play called us to 11-5 and the playoffs. If you roll all these critics together, the ones who know so much more about play calling than the coach, their cumulative record as an nfl play caller is roughly, somewhere in the neighborhood of.... 0-0. I think I will dance with the coach that brung us.

One other thought that someone else mentioned. Many confuse good play calling with a successful outcome. And the same play in the same situation is a brilliant play or a moronic play based on how it turns out. Early in the season late in a close game we ran an end around with Odell. He almost got pulled down for a 10 yd loss. If he had our board critics would have told us coach was a terrible playcaller. But he got loose and went for a big gain. Great play call, right.

Later in the season it was 3rd and 9. Passing down for sure but we ran nick or Kareem off tackle for 11-12 yards. Same point , if it had not worked it would have terrible playcalling but it worked so it was great.
It is all about execution and as we continue to execute better and better our playcaller will just get smarter and smarter.

I agree with both you guys here. One thing I think Van Pelt showed in the game against the Steelers is that he didn't outsmart himself.

He reaized that they were on their 3rd string OLB and he was like, "yeah, we're going to pull Teller over to pancake him on running plays and we're going to do it often." And it worked.

Obviously we wanted to attack them to the outside of their defense .. numerous pitches and screens to that direction. Sadly, none of them were executed. Chiefs had our number on a lot of things.

The Chiefs had our # because they're well coached. They are Super Bowl champs for a reason.

they were able to negate our PA and boot games .. and they dared us to beat them over the top with DPJ or Higgins. A few of them hit, but not enough

The irony of it is, I won't be surprised if Reid gets Coach of the Year because of his playcalling in this game.

Yes he did and he deserves a tremendous amount of credit for that. Does that inherently mean he's the best play caller in the world? No, it doesn't. I would bet you that if you could sit down and ask him, he could point out 100 different situations this year where he wishes he had done something differently. He is still learning.


Well none of us have ever played NFL QB or CB or been a GM.. so I guess we should all just not have an opinion on anything.. this will be an awful boring place.


This is partially true. Not every play that fails is the play callers fault.... not every play that succeeds is because the play caller is a genius. It's also wrong to imply that the play caller can call whatever they want and if it fails, blame the execution. Some plays have a much higher probability of success than others and if you are going to go against the odds, be prepared to get called out if it doesn't work.

To counter your example with one of my own.. with less than 4 minutes to go in the Steelers game (the week 16 game).. we were trying to run out the clock, we had a 6 minute drive going and if we scored or just held onto the ball, the game was over.. we had 3rd and 3 on the Pittsburgh 31.. a long FG attempt if we are unsuccessful.. we called a pass and Baker got sacked for a 4 yard loss.. FG now more difficult and it's 4th and 7.. and we go for it. I've never called an NFL play in my life but if I've got 3rd and 3 and I have ANY inclination that I might go for it on 4th down, I'm using Chubb/Hunt twice to get me 3 yards.. even a poorly executed play on 3rd down leaves me with 4th and 2.. not 4th and 7.. So if Baker makes that completion for the first down, good on him.. but I would still think it was the wrong call in that situation because of the risk of a negative play.. a sack, an INT, etc.. run the ball twice, get 3 yards, game over. One instance where I believe he outsmarted himself.

I'll go about this the long way .. As head coach you are responsible for BOTH sides of the ball and that's what I would like Ski to do , Be the head ..

Because the D couldn't get off the field in the first half we only got Three processions.. As I have said before .. Wanted Ski to run more early and wear them down.

Gave it one heck of a run !

I could see that happening but I hope not. There's a lot more to coaching than playcalling, and the task of turning this less than mediocre team into a playoff contender should weigh huge when considering who to select.

All end of year award voting occurs before the playoffs.

Exactly.

JMHO, REALLY, our D lacks speed- at least the D we had to use in that game. It was OBVIOUS after couple plays...the jet sweep, they made it look easy. Did Reid call the play where Mahomes got his bell rung- dumb. We couldn't match their speed pure and simple. We need speed on both sides of ball. Go Browns!!!

KS had his rookie year, during a pandemic, we are going to play a full year of NFL football.....I'd lost lots of money on that bet. Will he be better next year. Don't know, but it won't be from lack of effort. We've got a MORE THAN solid coach and a talented team....WOW. We beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in playoffs, God gave us a great gift. We won't sneak up on anyone next year, who cares.....GO Browns!!!

The only person other than Stefanski I would consider voting for coach of the year is McDermott. I know it's supposed to be a "just this year" award but he went from 6-10 to 10-6 to 13-3 and the AFC Championship game.. and Harbaugh won it last year.. so it would be a coach of the year award for his accomplishments over a 2 year span for that kind of turnaround.

Then Stefanski can win it next year when we does the same thing.

Stefanski named coach of the year ... great job

Congratulations coach. Now that he's won it once, there is only one way they would give it to him again.... and we all know what that is.

Of all the individual accolades that could have been predicted at the beginning of the year, besides, maybe, Baker winning an MVP... this is the one that probably would have given us the most hope... and for good reason.

Under the toughest circumstances, our coach earned this honor.

Great job, Coach Stefanski, here's to a bright future with the Browns!!

We all can have opinions on play calling.

And that is part of being fans. We can dispute calls and think what we would have done.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact we may right sometimes.

However, there are many layers that go into decisions. What is anticipated from the defense? What are our best match-ups at every position? Guys playing with injuries.

If we do this on third what is the plan if we don't make it?

Lots of variables. Plus a huge playbook to chose from.

In addition during the week coaches go over all kinds of scenarios that they practice for.

The answer is they have way more information to make an educated guess.

Then there is the whole thing of play vs execution.

So IMO we can all have opinions but not necessarily answers.

I remember when Bruce Arians was our OC and called plays. He was ridiculed to the max. And this way before he got the opportunity to be a HC.

You look good when successful and bad when not.

So, second guessing comes with the job.

Kevin earned the award.

This season was uncharted waters. Think of all the planning that had to happen. New technology that everyone had to get up to speed with. Classes had to be held on just how to work remotely. How to learn remotely. How to practice from a screen.

I can't imagine how they implemented new schemes?

The big deal to me was the way we went from undisciplined to disciplined. How the team prepared. How they bought into 1-0. The chemistry that was formed under crazy circumstances. The way the coaching staff gelled.

I listened to every KS press conf. I like the way he handles himself. How he looks people in the eye and listens. What he says and how he says it. He appears to have natural leadership qualities. Never made excuses. Forged forward no matter what. Backed his players. Accepted blame. Although this is his first HC job he came across as prepared for the role. At the same time I think he is learning on the job.

To go from six wins to twelve in one season is a huge step. To not lose two games in a row all season speaks volumes about how to prepare and focus.

Slayed the dragon. We beat the Steelers two games in a row.
Beat them on the road and sent them home.

What? Yes the Browns did that.

I am thrilled we have this guy as our coach.

The big three way. General Manager, Head coach, quarterback have to work together or it will not work.

Because we have that in place the future for the Cleveland Browns is bright.

Congratulations Kevin!

Never thought I would ever see a Browns coach get Coach of the Year in my lifetime!

Cheers!

Huge Congrats! Very glad you are on our team!

Good for you Kevin we're all proud. Well deserved honor!!!

What a difference one letter makes.

Just for the record....the last Browns HC to be named coach of the year was in 1976 Forest Gregg.

This team has finally turned the corner. Congrats to Garrett and Bitonio for making the All Pro team!

Wasn’t Marty COY in 1986?

Bill Parcells in 1986

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_Coach_of_the_Year_Award

I think this depends on which version of COTY.

Thanks!

I will admit, I picked 10-6, we did 1 better, and honestly probably 2 better if we don't get robbed of the Jets game.

Stefanski well deserved. One bad ref call away from playing for the Super Bowl.

I believe I was the one which chose 4-6 victories

and explained in that thread, that I didn't feel the number was up there, in my head the team would probably be about 6-9-1, at that time, my feeling.

(I may be wrong, I'm not 100 percent sure what this quoted post above is referencing.)

Stefanski's firt year ineptness would bring about a 2-3 win result, but Bakers' and Myles' greatness would overcome this and swing the chart up to about 6-9-1, were my feelings in April-ish of last year.

Today?,
I'm wondering how much of Stefanski's success really is a result of
Van Pelt, and the Offensive Line coach, either way, a group effort.

haha...lol

When I read the question just now I said to myself "Probably Throwlong"

I couldn't be more proud. Congrats Coach Stefanski! Well deserved. Thanks for helping change the culture. Standing ovation.

Way to go coach!

Awesome stuff ... congrats coach

We finally have a coach.

I don't know - we lost our last game. I think we should start all over and get another guy here...

Well said, coach...this being his rookie season as well as a covid year, Stefanski knows his coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for the Browns success in 2020.

Passing the credit on to his assistants shows what kind of "leader" Stefanski is. Spreading the credit around including and crediting the efforts of his coaching staff will pay dividends down the road, in 2021...

Well deserved. I’m so happy we have him.

Leadership 101.....pretty basic.

Ditto, finally a guy who knows how to motivate AND is super prepared....a true blessing.....GO Browns!!!

True, but easier said than done in an environment like his.

Congrats Coach Stefanski, hope we keep everyone, coach wise for years to come. Continuity is a huge thing in the NFL. AVP, Callahan, and Priefer are must keeps.

Every time I listen to Kevin Stefanski. I come away impressed.

Yesterday's interview is a perfect example.

"We all need to improve." He goes on explaining how they are tearing apart every scheme looking for ways to improve it. How he is on his coaches to get better. How he is self critical and says he must be better.

In my heart I truly believe Kevin will become one the great football coaches. I am so glad he was hired. He will win Super Bowls in his career IMO.

I am looking forward to this season so much. Knowing what we have in this coaching staff. Knowing we will not be starting from scratch again.

Hopefully the players and staff will be vaccinated soon. And from there everything will be about football and coaching football.

We are close to being as good a team as the Browns have put on a field in a long, long time.

What he says. How he says it. What he doesn't say.

How he communicates. His mantra. We all need to improve. My coaches are fully aware of where we need to be better.

I have to be better.

We are breaking apart our schemes to improve them and be more difficult to defend.

No team is just a few players away from being the best team. That is not how the NFL works. Every year is so different. Lot of factors at work.

Kevin just has the right approach.

I've never been as concerned about the optics as some people are. Many great coaches have lacked the ability to "say all the right things". They just win. So to me winning is the most important thing.

It is of course an added bonus to have a HC that can convey that message in a way that makes it sound as good as it looks.

However, my priority is to "see it" not "hear it".

Makes you wonder what the hell Dorsey was thinking when he decided to take Freddie over Kevin?

Dorsey might be good at player evaluations, but he clearly isn't good at making executive decisions.

What Berry, Depo and Stefanski did this year kind of punks Dorsey and his style.

Yet Stefanski would never have reached this level of success without the talent Dorsey brought in. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

Well his first year he did alright.

He did great! I'm very happy he's here. Those are the results I'm talking about. Being an eloquent orator on the other hand doesn't concern me as much.

So happy we have turned the corner in all player and coaching areas.

2021 should be bright.

I haven't been this excited about our team's prospects since 1989.

I did say that Dorsey was fine at talent evaluation, so I am not following your point.

I was going to go with the more tongue in cheek..."I agree, Dorsey is a better GM than...err...Stephanski?"

and Dorsey never would have done anything here if not for the groundwork laid by Sashi.

and Sashi wouldn't have been here if Haslam didn't hire him.

And Hue wouldn't have been hired if he had listened to Sashi.

We can do this all day!

I can't hate on Dorsey.. (neither are you by the way) Dorsey brought in some good players.. He put some things in place that made it a bit easier for Berry.

But like you said, he lacked some executive decision making ability,.

That was the idea. :-p

::SpongeBob Three Hours Later interlude::

and none of it would have happened if Art Modell hadn't been able to move the team to Baltimore.

Darn you Paul Brown!

But seriously, Stefanski stepped into a dysfunctional situation plus a wiped out pre-season and produced a 12-6 season...unreal. He's the perfect blend of results, erudition, and humility. We are so blessed.

It would make for one heck of a signature on posts.