News broke a day after Week 18 was over that the Cleveland Browns werefiring offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey as well as offensive line coach Andy Dickerson. After being the worst-scoring offense in the league, these changes were expected. So, now the search for a new OC has begun, and sometimes the answer is found by going back to your roots.
This means bringing in Klint Kubiak to be the new offensive coordinator.
What is often overlooked in the assembling of a coaching staff is familiarity in the workplace. That's why we have the saying "coaching tree," because even if you leave a program or team to branch out, you can always make a connection with former coaches.
Well, when Kevin Stefanski started out as a playcaller for the Minnesota Vikings, Kubiak was the quarterbacks coach. Together, they helped design a wide zone scheme that saw the Vikings boast the 6th best rushing offense in the NFL and was 5th in passing yards per attempt.
Why bringing Kubiak on makes sense
If the name Kubiak sounds familiar, you are correct, as Clint's father Gary was a coach in the NFL for 23 years. He was mostly known for being the head coach in Houston for eight years and winning the Super Bowl as the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2015. As you guessed, the scheme he ran was the exact scheme his son and Stefanski ran together.
When Stefanski was hired here in Cleveland in 2020, he brought that Kubiak scheme with him and, despite starting nine different quarterbacks, the scheme was successful. The rushing attack was top five in yards the first three years and only dipped to 12th after Nick Chubb's injury last year.
Read more: Alex Van Pelt could be a perfect candidate for the Browns at OC (again)
We've seen how this opens up the passing game in play-action, as both years the Browns have made the playoffs with Stefanski, they were top 10 in the league in play-action pass yards.
As for Kubiak's resume without Stefanski, he has two years as a coordinator. One was as the Vikings OC in 2021, and he was the play-caller for New Orleans this year. In Minnesota, he led a top-10 passing attack, but couldn't find the same consistency with the Saints this year as they started three different quarterbacks.
The rushing attack saw big games as they rushed for over 120 yards, a feat the Browns only achieved thrice this season. Cleveland saw this up close, as well, as they gave up 214 rush yards to New Orleans in their Week 11 matchup, which was 85 yards more than their per-game average this season.
The good news for the Browns, though, is that Kubiak will likely be available as Saints head coach Dennis Allen was fired back in November.
The hiring of Kubiak wouldn't just make sense from a logical perspective as Stefanski is familiar with him and his scheme, but it makes sense to bring back this scheme from a player perspective.
#Browns Jack Conklin says what he thinks is the best path forward on offense pic.twitter.com/GYBYy6fLyk
— Fred Greetham (@FredGreetham9) January 5, 2025
Veterans on the offensive line like Joel Bitonio and Jack Conklin voiced in recent interviews that the wide zone worked well in the past with this team. How else can it be explained when a team that's had such a dominant run game not have a 100-yard rusher in any game this season - the first season that ever happened in Stefanski's tenure?
Looking ahead, Cleveland has a lot of large tasks this offseason other than just hiring a coordinator. They have to hire a new offensive line coach, address holes in free agency, and figure out what they will do with the number two pick in the draft. Most important of all - they have to find a quarterback of the future.
What better scheme to pair a new quarterback with than one that implements a strong run game and explosive play action?