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****************** Browns have their pick of McDaniels, Stefanski and their other five candidates**************** He also has other non-Patriots associates in the NFL that he’d be interested in working with, and is open to those the Browns have in mind.But would he be comfortable working within the existing framework of Paul DePodesta as Chief Strategy Officer and an analytics team that will play a larger role in coaching matters?
McDaniels is certainly smart enough to embrace and synthesize the data that will provided, and has been a big proponent of it in his career. But the Browns and McDaniels must be certain that they’re compatible, and McDaniels must be willing to take a job where the owner’s right-hand man and confidante is already in place. It was a setup that did work with former Browns GM John Dorsey and his hand-picked coach Freddie Kitchens. Some believe it could work and McDaniels certainly has a lot of support in the building.
, however, there is at least one candidate among the remaining seven where alignment would happen organically: Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, one of two finalists for the job last year before Dorsey settled on Kitchens.
Sources told cleveland.com that everyone on the search committee was “ blown away “by Stefanski last year, including Dorsey. But some believe that Dorsey was intent on hiring Kitchens, and refused to be swayed. (******************************** Get to know Kevin Stefanski
If the Browns like what they hear from Stefanski again during his Thursday interview, the Browns could try to pry Berry away from the Eagles and implement a trio of DePodesta, head coach Stefanski and Berry as GM. Stefanski and Berry got to know each other during the search last year, and sources say they’d be interested in working together. Berry – or whoever the Browns’ next GM is – will have final say over roster moves, and the coach will have a large voice in the hiring of the GM, so they’ll be compatible. In this “alignment,” the three would theoretically be in lockstep. They would each report directly to Haslam, but they’d be of one mind – not a common occurrence in previous regimes. (Stefanski, ************************************************************************), who was scheduled to meet with the Panthers on Thursday before they hired Baylor coach Matt Rhule on Tuesday, checked off a lot of boxes for most on the search team last year, especially DePodesta.
The son of Ed Stefanski, senior advisor of basketball operations for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and also a former front office exec for the Nets, ers, Raptors and Grizzlies, Stefanski grew up in sports and possesses a CEO mindset. He’s described by those who know him as extremely organized, detailed and well-versed in roster building.
******************************** He survived several regimes with the Vikings and has coached multiple offensive positions: running backs, tight ends and quarterbacks. When offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur left Minnesota to take the Giants’ top job in (**********************************************************, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer blocked Stefanski from going with him as coordinator.
But much to Zimmer’s chagrin, Vikings GM Rick Spielman hired former Browns offensive coordinator and Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to install the offense, and it was doomed from the start. DeFilippo, now the Jaguars ’OC, was fired with three games left in the season and replaced by Stefanski, who had never called plays. He had a tremendous debut against the Dolphins’ th-ranked defense , rolling up (yards of offense, including
********************************** yards rushing in a – (blowout.) In his second game, a 41 – 9 victory over the Lions, the Vikings. began with four straight three-and-outs, but racked up 345 yards. In a season-ending – the loss to the bears , Minnesota began with four straight three-and-outs again, and Kirk Cousins passed for only 345 yards. Still, Stefanski showed Zimmer enough to earn the full-time coordinator job forThis season, Stefanski helped guide the Vikings to a 13 – 6 record and a wild-card berth, where they upset the Saints 30 – 21 in overtime. Stefanski’s offense finished sixth in rushing, which would bode well for Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, and eighth in points per game. He coached Cousins to a QB rating of (**********************************************************************. 4 for fourth in the league, and a completion percentage of 73. 1 that was fourth as well.DePodesta not only has a chance to land his man this year, but Haslam can achieve his dream of harmony in the building. It’s certainly not the only route to alignment, but it’s definitely one of them.
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