2. Make headlines with your play on the field
Too many times under Freddie Kitchens last year, the story of the Browns was something that didn’t have to with their play. There was a variety of incidents and even Kitchens himself wasn’t sparred from making negative headlines.
There was the incident with Baker Mayfield getting into a back and forth with long-time Cleveland reporter Tony Grossi. Grossi would later be caught making demeaning comments about Mayfield and it nearly cost him his job, but Mayfield should have known better than to engage him.
Then there was the most infamous incident when Myles Garrett ripped off the helmet of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph then hit him in the head with it. Then Kitchens poured gas on the fire by wearing a shirt poking fun at the situation.
Not to mention that you couldn’t watch the NFL without seeing at least three different Progressive commercials featuring Mayfield. This wouldn’t be a problem if he and the team were playing better.
The Browns had terrible discipline in 2019 and that contributed to a lot of problems. But this offseason has been vastly different, Kevin Stefanski seems to be a much more stable coach and Mayfield has barely made any noise.
When your leaders lead in that way everyone else will follow which has happened. The focus seems to be on football and putting all the talent on this roster to good use.