Kevin Stefanski remaining Browns play-caller right move even if unpopular

We didn't have to wait long to get an answer from Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. As soon as the franchise announced Ken Dorsey as the new offensive coordinator, everyone wanted to know if Stefanski would give up play-calling. On Thursday, the first day of training camp. Stefanski said he's going to continue to handle those duties.

Oddly enough, there will be a loud portion of the fan base opposed to this decision. Despite Stefanski winning the NFL Head Coach of the Year Award twice in four seasons, these fans think he's holding the team back. They also believe quarterbacks such as Jacoby Brissett and Joe Flacco — who have struggled elsewhere as of late — were the ones masking Stefanski's deficiencies.

In addition to overlooking his impact on the journeymen QBs, their argument also neglects to consider that a new play-caller doesn't mean a new offense. While the Browns have allowed Dorsey to put his thumbprints on the offense, game plans are made throughout the week — not during the game. As Stefanski said, this isn't a "one-man show" and he and Dorsey will work together to come up with the best plan possible.

“I’m going to call the plays next year, so I’m going to get that out of the way. I know everybody is interested,” Stefanski said via Mary Kay Cabot. “Any decision I make for our football team, I take a lot of information in. I try to listen to a lot of people and make decisions. Ultimately what I feel really, really confident in is our offensive staff. I feel really strongly about coach [Ken] Dorsey and the entire offensive staff, so we will continue to be an operation that works together. It’s never been a one-man show.”

New play-caller wouldn't change offensive tendancies

It seems the majority of the complaints against Stefanski come down to two areas. One is that he doesn't run the ball enough and the other is his aggressiveness to attempt fourth-down conversions despite being in field goal range.

Even if Stefanski were to hand the head set to Dorsey, that philosophy wouldn't change. Dorsey wouldn't be the one deciding to go for it on fourth-down. Of course, he and any other OC would be happy to do so but the head coach still ultimately makes that decision.

As for their lack of running the ball, that's a misconception. Stefanski has always been a fan of airing it out but he's relied heavily upon his ground game. Cleveland has finished in the top five in the league in rushing attempts in three of his four seasons. They were fifth in 2022 and fourth in 2020 as well as 2023. Their lowest finish was in 2021 when they were ninth.

Knowing their offensive line is full of maulers, the Browns have typically entered each weekend with a run-heavy game plan. That wouldn't change under Dorsey either, but it would be interesting to see if fans noticed how often they ran if someone other than Stefanski called the plays.

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