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

[Los216]

Remember last year when everyone wanted them to bench Baker and they never did?

KS and this FO are in lock step. They are not going to make decisions to feed the mob. They aren't going to fire a coach during the season. They just aren't. They had more than enough ammo to bench Baker and they didn't They have more then enough ammo to fire Woods and MP but they haven't.

They clearly have a process and they are letting it play out. Remember when they couldn't easily fired Callie Brownson but they didn't? They stuck with her. They've given players second chances. It seemed like they even had enough ammo to flat out cut Perion Winfrey but they haven't.

This team isn't the same old Browns that everyone loves to say that they are. The people in charge actually have a process and they are simply sticking to it.

This needed to be said because we are beyond the point now and people are gasping at straws to find a smoking gun to prove that KS is not a good coach and it's tiring as fuck.

 

[CBBI]

I really don’t get hung up on Stefanski’s press conference responses either.

Everyone knows what the reality is, we all have eyes. We all watch the games.

But Stefanski is just never gonna level set with the media because that would require directly throwing people under the bus and he’s just never going to do that.

What’s he gonna say?

“We don’t have good enough defensive tackles to stop the run.” - direct shot on the players and the front office who acquired them

“Our defense schemes are ineffective and we’re being outclassed by other coaches.” - direct shot at Woods and his underlings

Of course these things are true, but ultimately the truthfulness of those statements is irrelevant because the changes that need to happen to address these problems (firing coaches, cutting players) aren’t coming until the offseason.

Stefanski isn’t gonna come out and shit on Joe Woods or Tommy Togiai to the media in a Monday and Tuesday presser and then work with them for the next two months like he didn’t say it. That’s not realistic. At the end of the day this is still a business where dealing with people is a massive factor.

Kevin is gonna give very basic and very generic answers because that’s just the way it is. To use that as some sort of evidence that Stefanski doesn’t understand what the shortcomings are and doesn’t understand what needs to be done to address them is foolish to me.

 

[Los216]

I really don’t get hung up on Stefanski’s press conference responses either.

Everyone knows what the reality is, we all have eyes. We all watch the games.

But Stefanski is just never gonna level set with the media because that would require directly throwing people under the bus and he’s just never going to do that.

What’s he gonna say?

“We don’t have good enough defensive tackles to stop the run.” - direct shot on the players and the front office who acquired them

“Our defense schemes are ineffective and we’re being outclassed by other coaches.” - direct shot at Woods and his underlings

Of course these things are true, but ultimately the truthfulness of those statements is irrelevant because the changes that need to happen to address these problems (firing coaches, cutting players) aren’t coming until the offseason.

Stefanski isn’t gonna come out and shit on Joe Woods or Tommy Togiai to the media in a Monday and Tuesday presser and then work with them for the next two months like he didn’t say it. That’s not realistic. At the end of the day this is still a business where dealing with people is a massive factor.

Kevin is gonna give very basic and very generic answers because that’s just the way it is. To use that as some sort of evidence that Stefanski doesn’t understand what the shortcomings are and doesn’t understand what needs to be done to address them is foolish to me.

The same people who are upset at how KS talks to the media are the same people that were all on Baker's jock when he would give unfiltered responses to the media.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I really don’t get hung up on Stefanski’s press conference responses either.

Which is the correct position.

Press conferences are garbage. There's no reason for an NFL team to be honest or to tell other teams real information. The goal is to get the questions over with as quickly as possible.

Bland, vanilla answers like "It's on me. I have to be better" accomplish that.

 

[PIP]

This guy is a bozo

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

This guy is a bozo

I'll take a 41 year run! Although it'll be weird watching Browns games on WGN The Superstation every morning.

 

[BMAN]

This guy is a bozo

So he did the dub?

 

[CBBI]

I'll take a 41 year run! Although it'll be weird watching Browns games on WGN The Superstation every morning.

"You're living in the past man! You're hung up on some clown from the 60s man!"

 

[The Wizard of Moz]

I find it hard to believe anyone can seriously disagree with the statement that Kevin is first and foremost evaluated as an offensive coordinator and not a head coach

Pretty much the only thing that is ever brought up are offensive metrics to support him and defensive woes are entirely pinned on Woods, a guy Stefanski has yet to fire

Does no one else see that as kinda low standards? Sure he’s the offensive coordinator, but he’s also, ya know, the head coach

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

I find it hard to believe anyone can seriously disagree with the statement that Kevin is first and foremost evaluated as an offensive coordinator and not a head coach

Pretty much the only thing that is ever brought up are offensive metrics to support him and defensive woes are entirely pinned on Woods, a guy Stefanski has yet to fire

Does no one else see that as kinda low standards? Sure he’s the offensive coordinator, but he’s also, ya know, the head coach

It's clear that each man controls one side of the ball.

I'm not going to give McVay credit for Wade Phillips's defense in LA. I don't give Reid credit for Spags's defense in KC. I don't give Arians credit for Bowles's defense in Tampa.

It's just normal. You evaluate people based on what they control.

Yeah, DC is technically under Head Coach, but let's be real--we know that Stefanski isn't controlling the defense.

 

[Vee-Rex]

I find it hard to believe anyone can seriously disagree with the statement that Kevin is first and foremost evaluated as an offensive coordinator and not a head coach

Pretty much the only thing that is ever brought up are offensive metrics to support him and defensive woes are entirely pinned on Woods, a guy Stefanski has yet to fire

Does no one else see that as kinda low standards? Sure he’s the offensive coordinator, but he’s also, ya know, the head coach

I think people would rather take an iterative approach rather than risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

If we bring in a defensive coordinator who appears to know what the hell he's doing and the team is still performing badly, then Stefanski will (rightfully so) have a much bigger spotlight and the seat will be hot.

But if we bring in another DC and start pushing 12'ish wins each season and winning in the playoffs, it kind of shatters the notion that he's only a coordinator and not fit to be head coach, right? Rather than self-immolating, let's get a real DC in here, Watson a full year, and THEN we can truly evaluate Stefanski as a HC.

 

[buzzdog]

I give up - there's no good faith discussion with certain people.


I understand where you're coming from but I disagree with some aspects.

Minimally he does need to fire Woods during the offseason. I would have fired him after the Patriots game but that's me.

Other than that, we're not inside the locker room with these guys. We don't know how much impact he has in terms of inspiration. You're drawing an assumption because he's not the "rah-rah" yelling at people's faces guy on sidelines. I'm not sure that would make much of a difference with the defense being historically bad against the run and giving up wide open completions on a regular basis. If anything, that could backfire and cause problems.

At the end of the day, Stefanski just isn't the meathead on the sidelines that people want. Maybe Freddie Kitchens is, I don't know. The criticisms about not throwing tantrums on the sidelines are just goofy to me, because if he were that guy and we're still losing, the same people would start criticizing him for it. It wasn't a big deal when we went 11-5, right? The fact is we're losing and people who can't cope need to find any little "blemish" or thing they disagree with and harp on it endlessly.

The effort and results (or lack thereof) kind of speaks for itself. Exactly what has KS proven as a head coach, in terms of wins, given the talent he has available? That is the bottom line.

I haven't said he can't get there. But to say he is at this moment what he needs to be as a head coach is disingenuous. He's shown himself to be a good offensive mind. He still needs to prove he is a good head coach, by his results.

You're right, it's not worthwhile having a good faith discussion with people who think he can do no wrong, and all problems are someone else's fault. In my book the buck stops with the head coach.

 

[Vee-Rex]

The effort and results (or lack thereof) kind of speaks for itself. Exactly what has KS proven as a head coach, in terms of wins, given the talent he has available? That is the bottom line.

Well, he has a positive W/L record as of right now, a playoff berth and win, while having 2 backup QBs and a poor defense the entirety of his head coaching career.

I haven't said he can't get there. But to say he is at this moment what he needs to be as a head coach is disingenuous. He's shown himself to be a good offensive mind. He still needs to prove he is a good head coach, by his results.

Sure, he's no Andy Reid right now but the good offensive mind has to account for something, right?

You keep handwaving off that he's a good offensive mind and... that's a pretty big deal, right? He has only had one DC - a DC that has basically proven to be inept, leading a historically bad defense after 3 full offseasons on the job, players disgruntled and dysfunctional, with quite a bit of talent (on paper). Let's see if the wins start rolling in when he gets a new DC.

I understand the notion that the HC is the guy in charge - I fully agree. But he'll need the opportunity to make the changes he needs to make. If Woods is still our DC next year then the majority of my energy will be directed at Stefanski's head coaching capabilities. Until then, we'll need to wait and see.

You're right, it's not worthwhile having a good faith discussion with people who think he can do no wrong, and all problems are someone else's fault. In my book the buck stops with the head coach.

I was talking about Triple Threat in that instance, who keeps moving goal posts and refuses to acknowledge a point even when shown to be completely wrong.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

The effort and results (or lack thereof) kind of speaks for itself. Exactly what has KS proven as a head coach, in terms of wins, given the talent he has available? That is the bottom line.

He stepped into a disparate franchise with one of the worst QB's in the NFL, a defunct diva of a WR room, and took them to contender immediately--winning a playoff game against our rival.

One thing that's incredibly telling--players are willing to turn on each other before him. How many locker rooms in the NFL does that happen? During the entire Baker drama, every media outlet was saying how bad the Browns are treating Baker... yet not a single player stood up for Baker. Every single player sided with Stefanski and the organization.

He's a leader. He's shown intelligence and demeanor. He's someone I trust to be good to people and to make good decisions.

Oh, and toss in the fact that he's one of the best offensive minds in football.

That's a hard equation to beat--and it CERTAINLY isn't one you carelessly toss aside because other things on the team go bad. You fix those things. Right now, those prescriptions are easy. Bad QB? Insert Watson. Bad defense under Joe Woods? Replace the defensive coaches. Bad Defensive Tackles? Get your shit in gear Berry.

 

[buzzdog]

Just curious if you were aware of this fact. And maybe you're completely aware and simply don't care, which is fine too.

The percentage of NFL coaches who call plays (either offensive or defensive) is higher than the percentage that do not.

19 head coaches currently call plays. 13 do not.

I don't care about him calling plays as long as he has a firm grip on every other aspect of managing a game, situational awareness, awareness of his players, etc.
I perceive him as lacking in these areas compared to the best head coaches.