While the Cleveland Browns are just getting started putting together a new coaching staff, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is surrounding himself with some familiar faces in Atlanta. He appointed former Browns executive Bob Quinn as a senior advisor and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees in the same role.
He kept Jeff Ublrich as defensive coordinator, most likely due to Jim Schwartz's consideration for the Browns' head coaching position. But now that he's added a new special teams coordinator in Craig Aukerman, one thing has become even clearer.
Stefanski could've picked up the phone and gotten Bubba Ventrone to join him with the Atlanta Falcons. The fact that he didn't do so is just another example of how Andrew Berry's meddling and micromanagement may have set this team back again last season.
Bubba Ventrone cannot return to Cleveland next season
The Browns hired Ventrone because he was supposed to be a special teams guru. That hasn't looked like the case in Northeast Ohio, especially last season when the team ranked last in punt return yards allowed (522) and percentage of punts downed within the 20-yard line. They were also 31st in yards per kick return and 25th in yards per punt return.
Ventrone should've been let go last season. On top of Dustin Hopkins' struggles and his constant doubling down on him, punt coverage left plenty to be desired. They gave up 530 yards in punt coverage (31st) and 450 in the previous campaign (29th).
Stefanski is surrounding himself with the people he trusts, as he should. He's clearly trying to make a statement and prove that he wasn't the problem in Cleveland, as he did by also bringing back former offensive line coach Bill Callahan. If he didn't bother getting Ventrone, that's because he knew he wasn't the right guy for the job, so someone else must've vouched for him in the front office.
Berry's hands-on approach has drawn more criticism than praise since he took the reins of the team, and the numbers don't do much to back up his case. Now, with a new head coach and a different coaching staff, there's just no way to justify keeping Ventrone on the team.
This team will have to hope Stefanski and the Falcons don't do well next season. Otherwise, it might just be proof that this team moved on from the wrong guy.