The Cleveland Browns made major stipulations for their next head coach while interviewing candidates, according to multiple reports. That seemed to be when offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels lost standing in his race with candidates like former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who ultimately landed the job.
Stefanski seems to have complied with the requests of owner Jimmy Haslam and team president Paul DePodesta. McDaniels would not, per multiple reports.
The coach will have to turn over his game plan for the review of Haslam and the analytics department, according to Dustin Fox, a Cleveland radio host and ESPN college football analyst. The higher-ups also asked that a member of the analytics team has a headset, connected to the coach during games, according to The Canton Republican. And finally, there would have to be a coach-owner meeting every Monday after a game.
It doesn’t sound like a healthy work environment.
Was also told candidates also had to agree to turn in game plans to the owner and analytics department by Friday, and to attend an end-of-week analytics meeting to discuss their plan. https://t.co/rDqltnucRj
— Dustin Fox (@DustinFox37) January 13, 2020
The Browns and McDaniels seemed like a natural fit on paper. McDaniels and Baker Mayfield were a nice match, with the young quarterback needing some remolding heading in 2020 after a season of regression. The offensive-minded coach has the brainpower to bring new life to the Browns’ skilled offense. With the right coaching and some key additions on the offensive like, Cleveland seemed to be mendable.
But Stefanski will be charged with those duties. And he’s likely to get hamstrung by owner and analytics in the process. Game planning should be a process where head coaches delegate to his coaching, scouting and analytics departments. But the head coach typically puts the final stamp on the game plan. For the analytics department get the final look — and, perhaps, say — is an unfair request, especially for a coach with McDaniels’ resume.
It’s easy to see why he wouldn’t back down. It’s easy to see why he was content to wait another season for his next head coaching gig. He’ll wait for 2020 when another round of coaching searches will begin. And who knows, he may wait long enough to get what he might think of as the perfect job: the Patriots, where he could get similar, unique freedoms that Bill Belichick has. Belichick is both the general manager and the coach.
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