Dawg Pound Daily
FanSided

Kevin Stefanski’s situation separates him from past Browns hires

By Martin McConnell

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 24: Offensive Coordinator Kevin Stefanski watches warm ups before the game against the Washington Redskins at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 24, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 24: Offensive Coordinator Kevin Stefanski watches warm ups before the game against the Washington Redskins at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 24, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Cleveland Browns fans are tired of hearing that “this time will be different” with each passing coaching hire. But with the hiring of Kevin Stefanski, the organization is built to last. And there’s evidence to back it up.

Cleveland Browns fans have been burnt before. As soon as news broke that Cleveland would be led by former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski in 2020, those unhappy with the hire were quick to take their shots.

The cries of “the Haslams messed up another coaching hire” and “sell the team” were loud and clear. But those calling for the heads of Jimmy Haslam or  Paul DePodesta should pump the brakes.

The Cleveland Browns just may have gotten this one right. Despite the Vikings’ poor performance in their playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Stefanski’s consistent presence on Minnesota’s staff speaks volumes. The 37-year-old has worked with the Vikings’ offense for thirteen years, surviving not one, but two, complete organizational overhauls. And with the Browns, he isn’t exactly coming into a rebuild.

More from Dawg Pound Daily

Just about every part of Cleveland’s offense is an improvement over what Stefanski had while working as the play-caller in Minnesota. Nick Chubb is a consistent running back and an upgrade over Dalvin Cook.

The duo of Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. should be a serious edge over Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. David Njoku and Kyle Rudolph is a toss-up at tight end, but the fact remains that in spite of a down year (partially due to coaching), the Browns have one of the most talented offensive units in football.

And then, we come to the quarterback situation. Going into his third year at the helm, Browns fans will have seen both the best and worst of quarterback Baker Mayfield. In an attempt to find some consistency, it’s more than likely that coaching search-runner Paul DePodesta saw that what both Stefanski and Mayfield do well matches up quite nicely for the young quarterback.

While coaching with Gary Kubiak in Minnesota, Stefanski called for play-action passes on 31.4 percent of offensive plays. This mark was good for fifth-highest in the league, and it also played to the strengths of his quarterback, Kirk Cousins, and the team as a whole. Fortunately, play-action also happens to be one of Baker Mayfield’s greatest strengths.

In his down year as an NFL sophomore, Mayfield completed just 59.4 percent of his passes. However, when passing off of play-action sets, Mayfield had a completion rate of 67.1 percent.

Mayfield works best with play action, and his efficiency numbers show it. Not only was Mayfield’s completion percentage higher, but he also averaged 2.6 more yards per play when passing out of play action.

Unlike other past Browns hires, Kevin Stefanski isn’t walking into to a total disaster of a situation in Cleveland. No, far from it. Stefanski is walking into a situation with a lot of raw talent that needs to be coached up by someone who plays to their strengths.

dark. Next. Wilks could return as defensive coordinator

Cleveland’s new leading man should be able to do just that. Fitting for his well-calculated, analytics-based approach to coaching, the numbers are there back it up.

Home/Browns News