Baker Mayfield is ultimate victim in Cleveland Browns constant uncertainty

Baker Mayfield was highly confident he could turn the Cleveland Browns franchise around but so far has been unable to save them from themselves

We are all guilty of buying in. When the Cleveland Browns fired Hue Jackson halfway through the 2018 season, it was the right thing to do for rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield. Then when Freddie Kitchens took over as play-caller and Mayfield went on a roll, we were all vindicated.

That led to Kitchens being named head coach once the season was over, despite there being more experienced options available. Again, we all bought in. Kitchens was the ultimate ‘gets us’ coach who taught us that only people wearing orange and brown mattered.

His mantra only intensified the belief that the moves made by general manager John Dorsey were right. Who cared what was being said by outsiders — after all, they weren’t wearing orange and brown. They couldn’t possibly know what’s right for this team.

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It didn’t take long for the Kitchens-hype to die out either. He showed rather quickly that he was in over his head and wasn’t adapting as the season went on.

For the fans, it was pure frustration but the front office that worked with him every day should have known better. They should have gone for the right hire, rather than the hot hire.

So with all that in rearview, the Browns have circled back to Kevin Stefanski, who was a finalist the prior season before Kitchens-mania swept the nation. And as is often the case, the fans are buying in.

This guy, this is the one. He’s the coach that will finally right the ship and get things rolling. And for the sake of Baker Mayfield, he better be.

No player on the Cleveland roster has suffered more due to the instability of this franchise. The third-year quarterback is about to be on his fourth head coach after sitting through Hue Jackson, Gregg Williams, and Freddie Kitchens.

He’s also on his fourth offensive coordinator after working under Todd Haley, Kitchens, and Todd Monken in his first two seasons and now he will be with Alex Van Pelt in year three.

That kind of instability is bad for any organization but it’s absolutely detrimental to the signal-caller. This was evident in 2019 when Mayfield struggled mightily and regressed to the point that some are now questioning him going forward.

None of this is being said to reprimand the Browns current hire. And in all honesty, they were probably right in their other firings, but that doesn’t absolve them from any blame. In fact, it actually makes them more culpable.

For example, when John Dorsey took over the team in Dec. 2017, he was told he had to keep Hue Jackson, even though he wasn’t Dorsey’s choice. Team owner Jimmy Haslam tried to arrange a shotgun marriage, which led to an ugly divorce midseason. That divorce led to Dorsey falling in love with his rebound crush, Freddie Kitchens. Then once he had those orange and brown colored glasses on, no one mattered outside of Kitchens.

All of this proves that the Browns continue to be their own worst enemy and the Haslams are the main culprits in causing confusion and uncertainty. However, it’s Baker Mayfield, who so confidently said he could turn this franchise around, that keeps suffering.

Cleveland has a talented roster and Stefanski is a well-respected coach. But if they ever want to maximize the promise they currently have, they better be right about this hire. And they better give him the time to get the job done.

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There’s more than just their pride that’s on the line this time. It’s also their latest shot at a good quarterback that’s up in the air.

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