As the Cleveland Browns plow full steam ahead into the offseason, it appears we are getting closer and closer to seeing who Kevin Stefanski will bring in as the offensive coordinator. The Browns offense faced many challenges in 2023 because of injuries, but this change appears to be geared toward getting the most out of Deshaun Watson.
Once again, the sample size was limited as he missed most of the season with a shoulder injury, but he still looked a bit mechanical in this offense even though he managed to go 5-1 as a starter. The path forward appears to include more shotgun and down-the-field plays, but this entire roster may need fine-tuning to ensure this plan goes smoothly.
There's no doubt that pressure is on for both Andrew Berry and Stefanski who need to show a return on the massive trade to bring Watson here. The team making the playoffs in 2023 certainly helps, but it still feels like Jimmy Haslem expects more.
Here is a ranking of the four most likely offensive coordinators for 2024.
Browns OC Candidate No. 4: Brian Johnson
To be blunt, I’m not a fan of this interview, but it appears that the Cleveland Browns are at least willing to consider him. From what we have seen, Brian Johnson comes from an Eagles staff that was underprepared and underqualified at times which led to their second-half collapse in 2023.
Nick Sirianni is most to blame for the Eagles collapse, but it appears that Johnson became the scapegoat for him to keep his job. But just as the Eagles will be looking for a coordinator with a lot of experience, the Browns should be doing the same.
Of all the serious candidates, I don’t see a scenario where Stefasnki continues to call plays which is the right move. But if Brian Johnson was brought in, I would not feel comfortable with him calling plays. He loves to run his quarterback which could lead to injury and hasn’t figured out how to close a season.
Johnson is a past quarterback coach who could help Watson and was a part of some powerful offenses that make him desirable on paper, but I hope the Browns don’t go that direction.
Browns OC Candidate No. 3 – Ken Dorsey
The next serious candidate appears to be Ken Dorsey. Fans of the Cleveland Browns are familiar with that name as he is on the infamous list of 37 starting quarterbacks for the team since coming back in 1999.
Dorsey was on the Browns roster from 2006 to 2008 where he was 0-3 as a starter. He quickly became a coach after his NFL career and after a short stent with the Carolina Panthers, worked his way up the tree with the Buffalo Bills and finally became their offensive coordinator in 2022.
As we all know the Bills offense never looked right the first half of the 2023 season, and Dorsey was eventually fired mid-season which led to the Bills season taking off. They have since lost in the divisional round of the playoffs but did end up winning the AFC East.
Dorsey would be a decent option for the Cleveland Browns in 2024. I’m not going to compare Watson to Josh Allen, but they do have similar abilities on the field. Both have strong arms to push the ball, and both can use their feet and make plays happen even if nothing is there.
For me, I think the style of Dorsey is a little too much of a jump. The Bills abandoned the run too often during his time as OC, and when they started to flourish in 2023 was when they started to get the running back more involved.
Early in the season for the Bills whose defense took a step backwards this year, the team couldn’t overcome the turnover. The good news for the Browns if Dorsey was hired, the defense has shown they can overcome turnovers.
Browns OC Candidate No. 2 – Kellen Moore
I don’t think anyone would deny that Kellen Moore is one of the best young offensive minds in the game. I would suspect that if the Cleveland Browns did hire him, he would likely find himself as a head coach within three or four seasons.
It’s very interesting that sometimes the most average NFL quarterbacks become some of the best coaches in the league. After sitting behind Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy who were both head coaches/play callers in Dallas, Moore made his big move to the Las Angeles Chargers where a defensive-minded head coach (Brandon Staley), would finally give him free rein of the offense.
There's no doubt that the Chargers took a step back, but several injuries and Staley getting fired mid-season were much to blame for the dysfunction.
The bottom line is, that Moore knows how to run the spread offense, and his history with Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert is exactly what Watson could use. I know that Watson isn’t a rookie anymore who needs a true mentor, but someone like Moore who played in the league seems to find a way to get the most out of his players.
Moore has a style of offense that pushes the ball down the field but uses the running game as well, especially when the defense is least expecting it. In this type of offense, I think the Browns would need to upgrade at wide receiver to be successful but would love this hire from Berry.
Browns OC Candidate No. 1 – Jerrod Johnson
Perhaps the hottest coach of the offseason is Jerrod Johnson who was the previous quarterback coach for the Houston Texans. Johnson gets a ton of credit for the work CJ Stroud did in 2023 which will likely get him rookie of the year and got the Houston Texans back to the playoffs when many expected them to be at the bottom of the league.
Let me be clear, Moore and Johnson are extremely close to equal options for the Cleveland Browns, I do think that Johnson would have a longer tenure as Moore is likely to get poached as a head coach. But I must mention, that Johnson has only been a true position coach in the NFL for two years. There could be a clear overreaction to what happened with Stroud this season, but Berry and Stefanski must at least acknowledge his lack of experience.
I still see him as the perfect fit for the Browns because of the experience that Johnson lacks, Stefanski can give to him as he is truly the brains of this Browns offense. No one is poaching Johnson without giving him the ability to call plays, but still being early in his career, Stefanski will still have an opportunity to develop and mentor him into exactly what he wants.
It’s far too early to call Johson the “quarterback whisperer”, but when you look at the Texans roster and all the injuries they faced, there is no doubt that Stroud carried this offense on the back. The Cleveland Browns felt that when they wiped the Texans out in the regular season without Stroud, and then in return were smacked around by the Texans in the wildcard round of the playoffs.
Johnson will certainly have a pick of the litter as far as jobs, but being able to be under Stefanski with Watson as his quarterback should be appealing