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Marla Ridenour: Paul DePodesta deserves credit for hiring Browns coach Kevin Stefanski

It’s time to give Paul DePodesta his due.

It’s time to remember that Browns co-owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam put chief strategy officer DePodesta in charge of leading the search that brought coach Kevin Stefanski to Cleveland.

Years from now, that might be the aha moment that turned the franchise around.

This isn’t a case of the fifth time is a charm for the Haslams, who fired Stefanski's four predecessors they chose since taking over in 2012.

Belatedly or not, the Haslams finally recognized their failings in finding a leader and turned to someone who wouldn’t succumb to emotion, who wouldn’t be schmoozed, who would see through the best-foot-forward part of the interview and dig for the person underneath.

That was DePodesta.

DePodesta chose Stefanski in 2019, but the Haslams allowed then-General Manager John Dorsey to pick Freddie Kitchens, a captivating character but an incapable head coach. By New Year's Day, both Dorsey and Kitchens were gone.

DePodesta chose Sean McDermott in 2016, but the Haslams went with Hue Jackson, whose 3-36-1 record marks the darkest days in franchise history.

McDermott, meanwhile, took the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs in two of his first three seasons, has them atop the AFC East at 10-3 and in August received a six-year contract extension that runs through 2025.

Even after Monday night’s 47-42 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium, Stefanski had led the Browns (9-4) to the threshold of their first playoff appearance since 2002. That makes DePodesta two-for-two — or three-for-three depending on how you see it — on his most recent recommendations.

Considering that the Bills and Browns could meet in the postseason, the road to the Super Bowl might include winning the DePo Bowl.

Before McDermott’s Bills reached an AFC wild-card game in 2017, they hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1999, a drought of 17 years. That’s the same length of futility the Browns face.

There seems no doubt now that In his last three coaching searches, DePodesta has found the right man to lead a franchise out of the wilderness. Over that span, perhaps DePodesta became a little better at selling his choice, or at selling himself.

A former baseball executive with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Oakland A’s who began his MLB career as a player development intern with the Indians in 1996, DePodesta admitted in January that he had much to learn about the NFL when the Browns hired him nearly five years ago.

Frustrated fans would credit the Browns Rally Possum if it meant the Haslams weren’t firing someone every year or two. No matter how or why they came to realize they’d made a mistake in bypassing Stefanski and righted that wrong, Stefanski has been a smashing success. He deserves NFL coach of the year just for the dysfunction he and General Manager Andrew Berry have buried.

Stefanski has been an unflappable, strong leader in the most trying of circumstances. The 14 years he spent with the Minnesota Vikings, climbing the ladder from gofer as assistant to coach Brad Childress, could not have prepared him for the challenges of a global pandemic and racial unrest following the Memorial Day death of George Floyd.

Stefanski has handled it all with empathy. He has developed a family atmosphere despite the increase in virtual meetings as COVID-19 surges. He has proven not only his football knowledge but his commitment to putting his players in their best positions to succeed. He has taught them discipline, toughness and the sacrifice required to win. He has shown them he cares about them.

As last year’s promising season fell apart, there was no sense that the players were still committed to Kitchens. Not surprisingly, as the Browns try to reach new heights for the expansion era, praise for Stefanski continues to build.

“From his first press conference and still his mantra today is, ‘We have to put the work in.’ He’s a man of his words,” receiver Jarvis Landry said Friday.

“It’s hard to explain, but he’s just the same guy,” left guard Joel Bitonio said Friday. “The expectations never change, and that is to always work, to always improve and to always put the team first. The standard never changes.”

Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi said Stefanski excels at challenging his players with goals of winning the meeting, winning the practice, winning the day and winning the week. It sounds so simple, but they’re buying in, showing the same focus and dedication on Friday that’s required on Sunday.

“He just gets it. He does a great job of keeping the main thing the main thing,” Ogunjobi said Saturday. “Nobody is going to lay down for you. Nobody is going to give you what you want. You have to go out each and every week and you have to take it. You have to earn it. I feel like that’s a special characteristic he has.”

DePodesta said in January that in the search that ended up with Kitchens, the Browns researched over 50 candidates. DePodesta looked at the cost of constant change, of so many coaches, coordinators, philosophies, offensive and defensive schemes and how it stunts the players’ and the franchise’s progress.

“There is a real cost to that,” he said on Jan. 14. “We have to get this right. When we embarked on this ... we talked about what we are looking for — we are looking for someone for the next 10-plus years.”

But it wasn’t the impressive list of quarterbacks Stefanski had worked with or his knowledge of Gary Kubiak’s offense that convinced DePodesta that Stefanski was the right hire.

“It really is about leadership, more than anything else,” DePodesta said at Stefanski’s introduction. “What kind of communicator is somebody? How collaborative is he? How natural or authentic is he? All of those things are important, but they all really point toward leadership.”

DePodesta said all that before COVID-19 rocked the world, before Floyd’s death brought an awakening that prompted Stefanski to form a players’ social justice committee.

No one knew then how right DePodesta was — not only about Stefanski, but about the quality that should be valued most.

It's too soon to say that the Browns have found their 10-year man, with few successful coaches surviving that long with the same franchise any more. But Stefanski looks to have staying power and DePodesta deserves the credit, both for his choice and his persistence.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/spor...ski/6515811002/

I know I risk coming off as an elitist but when I’m hiring for complex, super dynamic, pressure cooker jobs it’s very important that the candidate be very intellectually and emotionally intelligent with a track record to back it up. I hated the Kitchens pick. Hated hated hated it, and it went sideways for all the reasons I thought it would. I had a sinking feeling about Jackson after watching his first interview. I’ve initially disliked or been “jury’s out” for almost all our coaching hires over the last 20 years. I feel like I can tell within a minute or two of watching an interview if the guy isn’t it. I’m sometimes wrong about if he IS it, but I’m pretty spot on when I’m sure he isn’t. Watching a Depodesta interview early last year I was curious why he wasn’t being listened to. Seemed like the smartest dude in the room. Smart people, when given a choice will hire other smart people.

The brainiacs can certainly screw up as well as anyone and relying on raw smarts can backfire badly if it’s not coupled with experience and maturity. But if everyone in the room is very bright, mature, have their egos in check and are committed to pulling in the same direction, things are just much more likely to go right.

Well said. I like Stefanski because he’s intelligent and doesn’t let emotions get in the way of his plan. I think he’s the coach Baker needs ... Baker, by trait, is a very emotional player. Having Kitchens as his coach just exacerbates his flaws IMO

So true.

I thought the exact same thing about Jackson and Kitchens hires.

I apply that to QBs as well.

As I said a long, long time ago. Depo was in charge of the hiring process. He was not in charge of making football decisions. I caught hell from a few folks around here. I know except their apologies.

Depo was in charge of the process this year, but not last year. That was all Dorsey. And I believe he was involved with Sashi Brown in 2016 when they wanted McDermott.

I agree he is not in charge of football decisions and never was. I do think he leads the department that helps provide data, trends, etc. (along with his opinion as a result of that data) to those that do make football decisions. Dorsey pushed it aside, which was idiotic. The people before Dorsey and now AB and KS, welcome it. This is a good thing.

Funny, we don't hear about Depo anymore.

It was a darn good thing we put him in charge of the coaching search.

Like you, I tried to talk sense to many who viewed Depo as some sort of cancer.


Even though Depo was speaking for the organization and not just himself, as many took it that he was making the calls , how is Carson Wentz working out?

Below, some of Wentz accomplishments in career so far.

NFL records
Most pass completions through the first 24 games of his career (540)[103]
Most consecutive games with 1+ TD pass with 1 INT or less (Current streak is 22 games surpassing Matt Ryan's 21 from December 2015– Sept. 2017)
First QB in history to have a 4,000 yard season without having a single receiver with at least 500 receiving yards[91]
First QB in history to throw for 20 or more TDs and 7 or less INT in 3 consecutive seasons [104]
link


With the help of Depo's judgement in his first season in charge, the Browns picked Cory Coleman with their first round pick...

...HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR THE BROWNS, PEEN?

Also, with the help of Depo's football knowledge of NFL QBs, Depo's draft team did select a QB...Cody Keesler..

...HOW DID THAT WORK OUT FOR THE BROWNS, PEEN?


IMO, Depo's expertise is better suited for management selections but not for judging player talent. I give credit where credit is due..so far the GM, HC 'appear' to be good choices.

Agreed. More wasted draft picks. IIRC Hue Jackson said to trust him with the pick of Cody Kessler. Maybe Hue wanted to draft him?

Please no... please no GM wars and opinions based on emotions and faulty memories and people/fans including myself not knowing who was responsible for what during those years. Mac - you attribute 100% of the responsibility for picking Coleman at #8 to Depo despite many many sources within the media, Browns organization and posters all saying Depo was not a contributor to making talent decisions on the field.

And to be honest I don't freaking care.

Seriously - only Browns fans could:

Pee and moan through a 9-4 record in a season with a new HC, Covid, No preseason and a QB who played like poo last year.

Bicker and fight about play off scenarios instead of enjoying a 9-4 record.

Pee and moan about whether Schwartz and Mack and others left because the FO let them walk or didn't up their offer when given a chance or because they weren't interested in staying ... from five years ago.

Man it's exhausting sometimes. These GM battles are as toxic as the Game Day thread on game day.

All I care about is this Sunday. This FO working together and making good choices during the upcoming offseason. I could give a rats patootie about what happened 3 or 4 or 5 organizations ago. I don't even care about Dorsey and how much credit or otherwise he gets.

Well it's a public forum I saw a few posts about past GMs and just went on my little rant. Didn't really need or mean to sound so pissy - but seriously I just want to enjoy 9-4 without stirring up some of the old scars and peeing battles. Offseason would seem a more appropriate time to do that if we want to revisit. just how I see/feel it.

We have no idea how much of Depo's advice was actually followed with the FO circus he was dealing with. We do know he wanted GS over Junior Samples as coach last year. I wonder where we'd be if we were in Stefanski's 2nd year with this group.

We'll find out next year. Without trying to start a fight here, I think it's a combination of the talent brought in by Dorsey combined with the coaching of Stefanski. I mean if we're going to ask hypothetical questions, where would Stefanski and the team be now without Mayfield, Chubb and all of the talent Dorsey brought to the roster?

I'm at the point that I feel it's a culmination of the roster Dorsey helped build along with the coaching ability that Stefanski brings that brought us to where we are now.

Along with the historic (as in, greatest amassed of all time) draft picks and cap space.

Assets are only as great as they're invested. We've seen valuable assets wasted many times before.

Very true, but you can't ignore them as the precursor to the rest of the equation. Without the assets, none of the aforementioned happens.

But it seems people are giving the GM credit for the good picks and blame Depo for the bad ones. I think the GM should get credit for both. Depo just provides data and recommendations.

With many, Depo is scapegoat simply because he is a "nerd" and not a "football guy". We'll have to win a 'chip before the masses truly tip their cap to him.

I think it has more to do with the lack of transparency behind his role in the org. What, exactly, is it that he does? I think the team's struggles during after shortly after he was brought on coupled with not really knowing what it is he does contributed to a sort of Emperor Palpatine Wannabe characterization some gave him. Working behind the scenes to enact his master plan of keeping the Browns in the basement of the AFC North.

That's what I see in my mind when I read some bag on him in here.

I don't think Depo was in charge of evaluating players in terms of who was picked. He may have a great deal of input in regards to gathering SPARQ scores and analytical data for those who were in charge. Of course I can't speak for everyone else. It's just that IMO, if someone chose to listen to Depo's information and based any draft picks on that information, that was their choice to make.

I do believe that Depo had Halam's ear. There's no way you make it through that many regimes without the boss believing you weren't a part of the problem. And likewise, if Haslam overrode any draft picks on what Depo may have told him, that decision rests with Haslam.

I certainly think Depo was far more of a project than a finished product when he got here. There are far more variables with NFL players than there are with baseball players. Baseball players fill individual roles while football players must play as a unit and fill multiple roles.

ie... TE's don't just catch the ball. RB's don't just rush with the ball. OL players don't just pass block without working as a unit.

He had a transition he had to make.

What I don't understand is why he never left.

Sashi and co. were promised an extended amount of time to complete and teardown and rebuild and were given the boot. Then Haslam brought in someone that never listened to anything Depo said (even mocked it at times, allegedly). Now there's harmony, but we're on attempt #3 since he got here. Without the benefit of hindsight, it makes exactly 0 sense why he would hang on.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that it was reported that Depo was only an observer for the 2016 NFL draft.

I'm with MGH888 on his point about the way this thread went. For crying out loud, we are 9-4, only a couple seasons removed 1-31. Our QB has 23TD to just 8 ints though 11 games. He is completing 63% of his passes. Yes, I get he has talent around him. I love that our RBs are awesome and OL is playing lights out. Our D is weak but playing with an injury decimated def backfield.

Every year I just "hope" to be a contender and some years just respectable so as not to be a laughingstock.

I realize we are probably not a SB contender but I am absolutely loving this year. I could care less which GM hired which coach, which QB was not picked in previous drafts and busts we have selected.

I am having a blast worrying about the possibility of qualifying for the playoffs. I can't wait for Sunday night. Winning this year makes the entire week more fun to listen to podcasts of CBD and other Browns coverage.

Maybe its because I am old enough to remember when the Browns were respected and won a lot of games.

Sorry for the rant, just my 2 cents.

I have stated this several times.

Sashi's job was to fix the QB situation. That is his statement. When Wentz and Watson were demonstrated to be far superior to anything that the Browns had been wasting time on, (Weeden, Manziel,Kizer etc.) he was determined to be a failure and was out. If you recall, the Browns passed on both of them.

Sashi's job was to dismantle and rebuild the team - QB was one position. He acquired significant draft picks and rebuilt the o-line. Next up was QB. Given 1 more year, no doubt Sashi would have been drafting a QB - Baker, Darnold, or Allen most likely.

Donovan Peoples-Jones Retweeted

Donovan Peoples-Jones Retweeted

DPJ is a good 3/4 option right now in the pass game. He gets matched up on inferior DBs and can take advantage.

There’s a chance he could be a long lasting player IMO

I'm not one that's trying to run OBJ out of town... but the way to feel good about trading veteran talent is by developing younger guys to take their place. That could be what is happening with DPJ, and I'm all for it (big difference between trading a vet to make way for a young'in that can step in, and just running a guy out of town with nobody to take his place).

DPJ is doing some nice things, so far, but he is FAR from replacing OBJ.
Besides that, even if he does make OBJ moot, then OBJ is now the best #2 WR in the league.

That's a pretty fine problem to have.

Oh, I completely agree. What DPJ is doing now is step 1 of a long list of things he needs to do in order to be considered a #1. I wouldn't expect us to move on from OBJ, if at all, until after he's back on the field and up to speed next season.

Honest question ; You don't see any difference in Baker with OBJ on the field , or Ski's game calling ??

The one marked difference I see when we don’t have OBJ (that’s a negative for us) is that we don’t have a true WR who can just make a HUGE play (like the Dallas game)

I think the first half against Baltimore we saw a bit of a lull because they were just manning us up and daring our WRs to beat it. We only loosened them up some when the run game got going and they had a few injuries

I think any difference people feel they see is incidental and coincidental. Correlation is NOT Causation.