Kevin Stefanski will fix the Browns. In or out?

Kevin Stefanski has the tall task of attempting to right the ship that is the Cleveland Browns. Is he the right head coach to fix all of their problems?

The Cleveland Browns are now on head coach No. 4 of the Baker Mayfield era in Northeast Ohio. Cleveland hired former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski this week. He was a finalist for the gig last year, which ultimately went to Freddie Kitchens. Stefanski is a bright, young and sharp, but does he have what it takes to make the Browns a winner?

On this week’s episode of Stacking the Box, FanSided‘s Matt Verderame and Josh Hill, along with former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz, assess the Stefanski hire by Cleveland and figure out if he’s a good fit for the Browns in both the short and long-term (37:15).

Verderame is out on the hire, not because he doesn’t believe in Stefanski, but more about how he doesn’t believe in the Browns. The Haslams run through NFL head coaches like Larry King does wives. The Browns have no problem paying Kitchens and former general manager John Dorsey to not work for them. Heck, they’re still probably paying Hue Jackson a ton of money to do the same.

Schwartz is out as well because he doesn’t believe in the Browns’ structure. Stefanski having to meet with Jimmy Haslam on Friday to go over the gameplan seems a bit strange. He would add that Haslam has other interests besides the Browns (Pilot Flying J, Tennessee Volunteers, Columbus Crew), so he may only be in the building Friday through the game on Sunday.

If there is an opportunity for Stefanski to make his mark on the organization, he has to do it right away by taking control back from Baker Mayfield in this offense. Together, they can do something special in Cleveland. Mayfield is an accurate passer who plays with a chip on his shoulder. Stefanski might be the adult in the room Cleveland needs to be successful at some point.

Ultimately, Stefanski may be undone because he may not have the alpha dog personality to command a room full of alphas. He needs to be assertive in this organization. Otherwise, he’ll end up being a younger version of Pat Shurmur, a great offensive coordinator who doesn’t have the leadership presence to be an effective NFL coach.

Here are a few other topics discussed on this week’s episode of Stacking the Box:

• Verderame talks about his experience of the game (5:15)
• Texans’ coaching cost them the game (6:14)
• Thoughts on Vikings, Seahawks (24:17)
• Another coach will jump from NCAA to NFL in 2021. In or out? (45:11)

All this and more!

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