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The Kevin Stefanski: Two-Time Coach of the Year Thread

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Grade the signing

  • A+ -Awesome Analytics Alignment!

    Votes: 55 30.9%
  • A - Good choice moving forward

    Votes: 53 29.8%
  • B - Better than the other options

    Votes: 20 11.2%
  • C - Could work out I guess

    Votes: 30 16.9%
  • D - Browns done put their foot in it again, but at least he looks good on TV

    Votes: 9 5.1%
  • F - A failure on every level

    Votes: 11 6.2%

  • Total voters
    178
But why must we keep referencing “the past 20 years?” What does that actually have to do with a business decision pertinent to who’s on the roster right now and within the next couple seasons? It literally doesn’t matter if he’s better than every single quarterback of “the past 20 years.”

If I’m the front office I don’t think I have much of an interest in discussing contract negotiations until I see how he continues to develop (or not) in this offense with this personnel. If he ascended to that elite, high-tier guy and you have to explore that 35-40m year route, good for you; you found one of the best in the league. If not, fine. Offer a fair deal and if it’s rejected then explore your contingency options and do what’s best for the financial health of the overall roster’s well being and preserve draft capital for replacing other positions.

Just don’t think it’s concluded yet — either way. We have to see how he does.

all I know is Stefanski has essentially convinced me two-fold. Minimal penalties, clean execution, in-game adjustments, isn’t stubborn or too prideful, seems to carry the respect of his staff etc.
 
Even the "good" franchises struggle to find QBs when the time with one is up.

Steelers had an eternity between Bradshaw and Pig Pen.

Rats D dragged Trent Dilfer to a SB, then St. Ozzie the Near-Infallible struggled with Troy Smith, Mr. Carrie Prejean, the late great Steve McNair, etc. for years until Flacco came around. They actually did keep Flacco around after his Super Bowl MVP run until Lamar was ready.

You'd be very hard-pressed to see anyone who would've wanted to give any money to Mariota anyway.

Kirk realistically could've and still can match or exceed Keenum's NFCCG success, although Stefanski has been a huge loss.

Even if Cam can resurrect his career, he may only be in Foxboro this season, and the Pats may well be back to their long wilderness trip pre-Brady.

Rams and Goff, up-and-down as he is, may very well be back on track now; they have been hampered as much by their other all-in FA deals as a basically market-value deal on a QB, whom almost no GM would let walk.

And yes, since you mentioned him, obligatory "Berry/DePo did get us 1-31 and that does have bearing!11!" comment, that I know doesn't consider context.

No sense pulling the plug on Baker unless he, in fact, ends up Mariota level or lower, which for context is barely over 1 TD per game, with every single one of his seasons' YPG being below Baker's current career average of 243.7, and 180.6 and 171.9 being his 2018 and 2019 YPG.
I think i agree with everything you said, but you failed to recognize the salary implications and what that does to the rest of your roster. If Baker is just above that level and wants or can get 40 million, you don't dedicate that much salary to a mediocre qb if you want to win championships
 
Do we really think Baker will get/ask for 40 million? I imagine a 25 million or so extension seems fair for him? Maybe I'm wrong
 
I think most of us fans would agree. Bakers agent and maybe Baker himself......not so much.

DeShawn Watson will be making $39mm per, and Goff $33.5mm per.

Tannehill is sort of an in-between case at $29.5mm per; he both has Mahomes-level stats over the past 14 games, at the viral tweet says, with lots of career still left, but also is still barely removed from reclamation-project status. Garoppolo, likewise, is at $27.5, because he had basically no body of work, except for the whole 7-0 run and the deflategate fill-in.

The only consistently healthy i.e. non-Newton vet QBs who are comparable or better and who just signed extensions for that $20-25 range are of very advanced age i.e. Rivers, Brees and Brady are all at $25MM. The reason for that is that you are paying for future performance as much as current performance with an extension, i.e. why Mahomes is making a half-billion between ages 25 and 35; it's current youth as well as GOAT ability.

Keep in mind that even though we are having one or two years of cap cratering, QB salaries have vastly outstripped inflation otherwise.
 
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That’s true, but a school can’t trade draft, or sign someone to replace you. A team can, will, and should if you are progressing.

The opportunity cost of trying to acquire a franchise QB is massive, and can consume a franchise's attention for a decade or more. So I think we'd better be damn sure Baker can't be that guy before moving on.
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Honestly his numbers are very similar to Wilson's number his 3rd year and he had the same coach for all 3 years and a Super Bowl title. They won on the defense and running game, same with Roethlisberger's first year. Brees spent 5 average years in SD before finding a new coach and system and even then he had 26 TD and 11 int then 28 TD and 18 int in his first 2 years in NOLA.

My point is Baker is on pace for 29/13 his first year under Stefansky with no offseason. Couch's best year 18 and 18...Derek Anderson the year he went to the Pro Bowl...29 and 19 with 56% completion. I am not saying past failures mean we stick with a bad qb, but even the best put up simular numbers and no one we have had the last 20+ years has come close.

Let the kid develop for christ's sake.
 
I have a feeling that Mayfield and his agent are going to attempt to work the Browns’ overall success as a team into their contract demands.

“The team has been horrible for 20 years and is now a playoff team with Baker taking the snaps, we deserve to be paid accordingly.”

Not sure that makes much logical sense, but I think that’s what they’ll say.
 
I have a feeling that Mayfield and his agent are going to attempt to work the Browns’ overall success as a team into their contract demands.

“The team has been horrible for 20 years and is now a playoff team with Baker taking the snaps, we deserve to be paid accordingly.”

Not sure that makes much logical sense, but I think that’s what they’ll say.
The nice part is we have time and leverage. Look at what Dallas has done with Dak. We have 2 years of team control left and then the franchise tag.

Next year at 10m, year 5 at 20-25M. Being that we have 2.5 years still to decide if we want to keep Baker.
 
I have a feeling that Mayfield and his agent are going to attempt to work the Browns’ overall success as a team into their contract demands.

“The team has been horrible for 20 years and is now a playoff team with Baker taking the snaps, we deserve to be paid accordingly.”

Not sure that makes much logical sense, but I think that’s what they’ll say.

Well, when he was first showing promise, we were all saying that there was a huge motivator to being "the QB who finally ended up being the savior and turning the team around." That this opportunity, and the fans' passion for a the team and finding a QB as such, would also prevent any Eli Manning/Chargers or Elway/Colts type situations.

Considering that many people view QB as basically the only position that affects Ws and Ls - which, taken to its logical conclusion, could be taken to mean that you would want to spend 90%+ of your cap on the best QB, and pull randoms off the street for your other positions - I wouldn't blame him and his agent.

Now, people both from Brownsland and from the other 31 are acting like he's Trent Dilfer or Fitzmagic during his teams' good runs...?
 
Big fat peace after year five of Baker wants north of 25.

Isn’t worth it, isn’t worth the tender.
 
His play calling could be better when coming from behind
 

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