Cleveland Browns: Kevin Stefanski, Case Keenum face former mentor Pat Shurmur

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and quarterback Case Keenum will compete against Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who was their boss in Minnesota in 2017.

Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and starting quarterback Case Keenum will be matching wits with their former boss, Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, who was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings in 2017 when Keenum went 11-3 as the starting quarterback there.

That season, Teddy Bridgewater was a backup quarterback, recovering from a severe knee injury with Kevin Stefanski as their quarterback coach.

For the most part, Stefanski and Shurmur will not compete directly against each other since they are all primarily focused on the offensive side of the ball, but it is fair to say that they will be able to provide detailed intelligence reports to the defensive strategists on their respective teams.  They know a lot about each other, put it that way.

Shurmur was also the head coach of Cleveland in the depressing, dismal season of 2012. That was the same year where Brandon Weeden, the 28-year-old quarterback, was drafted in the first round (you youngsters, I swear to you I am not lying, this absolutely happened). Trent Richardson was there as well as the star running back, after the Browns traded three additional draft picks to move up one spot.

There was Shurmur, stuck with Weeden and Richardson — and the front office expected him to build a team around those two. You have to admit, given the hysterically bad drafting the Browns carried out on his behalf, he did remarkably well to guide them to five wins.

A couple of things stand out about that draft. One was that Jim Brown called Trent Richardson an “ordinary” running back. He ought to know a thing or two about running backs. Nevertheless, Bleacher Report called Mr. Brown “clueless” for this assessment. Brown was also one of the few persons who praised Cleveland for dumping him for “just” one first-round draft pick.

Who are we to question an American institution like Bleacher Report, but perhaps Mr. Brown might have been afforded a little more respect for his football knowledge in this instance?  Just a suggestion.

The second thing was that it was insane to draft a 28-year-old quarterback. It’s impossible to take off five years from playing quarterback in order to try to play baseball. Those missing years of a quarterback’s brain development cannot be replaced.

Anyway, Pat Shurmur had no chance for the Browns. He’s a good coach that led the Minnesota Vikings offense in 2017. Sam Bradford was the starting quarterback that year and went 2-0. Bradford was the unluckiest quarterback in NFL history, it seems. Or at least the most injury-prone.

A knee injury ended his season and Case Keenum went in as the backup. Also on that team was Teddy Bridgewater, who was rehabbing a severe knee injury of his own. The Vikings scored 382 points (23.9 points per game) that year, good for 10th out of 32 NFL teams. That’s outstanding for a team with a backup quarterback. They also pulled off a playoff win, as Keenum completed a 61-yard touchdown pass as time expired, which has come to be known as the Minneapolis Miracle.

Miracle or not, the team decided to go with Kirk Cousins the next year as Shurmur went off to coach the Giants, and Keenum wound up quarterbacking…the Denver Broncos. You cannot make this stuff up.

Now the Broncos come to town and Shurmur is their offensive coordinator, Keenum is the quarterback for Shurmur’s former team, and Shurmur’s former disciple Kevin Stefanski is coaching the Browns. Former Vikings teammate Teddy Bridgewater, who rehabbed patiently under Stefanski and Shurmur, has made it all the way back and is now the starter for Denver, health permitting. At press time, he was still listed as questionable.

There are so many intersecting storylines that it is beyond belief.