The Browns are going offensive-minded again with the reported hiring of Kevin Stefanski as the 18th coach in franchise history. Stefanski, 37, replaces fired Freddie Kitchens, who went 6-10 in his lone season as Cleveland's coach after being promoted from offensive coordinator.
Stefanski is eight years younger than Kitchens, but there are other key differences. He is a Philadelphia-bred, Ivy League product (Penn) who steadily climbed the ladder with the Vikings for three head coaches over 15 years, finishing as the offensive coordinator under Mike Zimmer. He comes from the West Coast offense school, while Kitchens, a former Alabama QB, was groomed in Bruce Arians' downfield passing offense.
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Given Minnesota scored only 10 points and struggled to move the ball in Saturday's divisional playoff loss to the 49ers, Stefanski's final game with the team, the immediate reaction might lead one to believe Cleveland is headed for more disappointment and dysfunction.
But the Vikings would not have rebounded from a shaky, inefficient 2018 offensive season and made the playoffs without Stefanski, who replaced John DeFilippo late last year. Given what he gave the Vikings and what the Browns need, here is why Stefanski can help Cleveland live up to expectations after the frustration of 2019.
Kevin Stefanski will make Baker Mayfield more efficient.
In his first season with the Vikings in 2018, mostly with DeFilippo, quarterback Kirk Cousins rated a solid 99.7. But for a great deep-ball thrower, given the Vikings' offensive line and running game limitations (without a healthy Dalvin Cook) that season, Cousins had his lowest yards per attempt 7.1 since becoming a starter.
Turn to 2019, when Cousins had a full season with Stefanski in the latter's elevated role. The Vikings did more to upgrade their pass protection and run blocking, and Cook returned to dominate as a feature back. Cousins enjoyed the best season of his career, throwing a career-low 6 INTs, rating an easy career-high 107.4 while raising his yards per attempt to 8.1.
Mayfield, in two seasons with Kitchens calling the plays, rated 85.9 at 7.2 yards per attempt. He has thrown 35 interceptions in 29 starts. He was sacked 40 times this past season. He needs better tutelage to balance the short-to-intermediate with more calculated and effective shots deep downfield.
You can bet the team's new GM, working in lockstep with Stefanski, will make upgrading the line with better athletic blockers a priority. And as good as the Browns' running game was at times last season, it's now set up to complement Mayfield better in 2020.
Kevin Stefanski will make the Browns' offense more about Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt.
Cousins threw for only 3,603 yards in 2019, because between Cook, rookie Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone, the Vikings' running backs accounted for 2,488 yards from scrimmage and 17 TDs. Cook averaged 22 touches per game and caught 53 of his 63 targets, responding well to the zone blocking concepts of assistant head coach/offensive adviser Gary Kubiak.
The Browns did well to feed Chubb, getting him on average 22 touches per game, which he turned into 1,772 yards from scrimmage. Over his eight games, Kareem Hunt caught 37 of 44 targets (5.5 per game) to supplement Chubb as a receiver.
With all the attention going to the roller-coaster ride involving Mayfield's high-profile wide receivers and the disappointment at tight end tied to the wrist injury to David Njoku, when Chubb and Hunt were fed, the Browns were positioned to win games. Zimmer promoted Stefanski because he wanted more commitment to the run to take pressure off Cousins and provide his defense with true complementary football.
Stefanski excelled in sticking with the run but also maintaining the aggressiveness in the passing game when needed.
Kevin Stefanski will know what to do with the Browns' tight ends.
The Vikings did not have wide receiver Adam Thielen for six games in 2019. The natural pivot, with no consistent third option at wideout behind Thielen and Stefon Diggs, was to incorporate the tight ends — more veteran Kyle Rudolph and a little of rookie Irv Smith Jr. — into the passing game. Rudolph, still a tough, athletic receiver to defend at age 30, became massive in the red zone through the game-winning overtime TD against the Saints in the wild-card round.
Ktichens wanted more from the Browns' tight ends, namely Njoku, but the reality is the Arians passing system struggles to incorporate the position — see Arians getting limited returns from O.J. Howard in Tampa Bay. Between Rudolph and Smith, the Vikings got 75 catches for 678 yards and 8 TDs.
Njoku and Demterius Harris, Travis Kelce's former backup with the Chiefs, will be more staples than afterthoughts with Stefanski designing plays that utilize their athleticism. In turn, that will allow to Mayfield spread the ball around with more natural efficiency.
Kevin Stefanski has experience managing marquee wide receivers like Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry.
Diggs and Thielen expressed their share of frustrations while working in the offense with Stefanski and Cousins. Diggs did it with sideline antics, and Thielen wasn't afraid to call out Cousins publicly.
Now Stefanski inherits two well-established and accomplished veterans as his new 1-2 punch at the position, with Landry being the sure-handed route runner all over the field, a la Thielen, and Beckham playing the role of the sometimes-mercurial speedy deep threat, a la Diggs.
Landry and Beckham both grinded through tough injuries to be as productive as possible in 2019, but it was understandable for them to be upset when they disappeared from the game plan. Kitchens never knew how to balance the unique skill sets of both players.
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Stefanski got Diggs to respond with more big plays despite fewer targets. After catching 102 passes for 1,021 yards and 9 TDs on 149 targets last season, Diggs in 2019 "dropped" to 63 catches for 1,130 yards on 94 targets in 15 games. He had a career-high 17.9 yards per reception from his deep connection with Cousins.
When Thielen wasn't hamstrung, he was on par with his previous consistency, scoring 6 TDs for essentially 8 healthy games. He was the key red-zone and third-down target again. Stefanski pushed the right buttons in playing to his receivers' strengths, even when adjusting their volume to fit a more balanced attack as the Vikings went from passing 64.4 percent of the time to 51.7 percent.
The Browns already were headed in this direction, passing 59.6 of the time in 2019. Stefanski will make sure Beckham and Landry can play off each other with maximum results.
The Browns were dangerous on paper this past season, but Kitchens was overwhelmed in trying to make the best use of the weapons. The pass protection was at times bad for Mayfield, but he also was tentative with his decision-making, trying to force the issue with no identity or flow to the offense.
Stefanski got the job because the Browns have confidence in him to get the best out of their players. From a schematic standpoint, it's clear he is capable of doing that.
