In 2018, rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield had three different play-callers in the Browns offense. The battle between head coach Hue Jackson, offensive coordinator Todd Haley and interim OC Freddie Kitchens was a confusing maelstrom of divergent voices in young Mayfield’s ear.
Flash forward to 2019 and once again the play-calling shifted on Mayfield. Kitchens as the head coach and offensive coordinator Todd Monken struggled to find the right balance of power, and it cost the Browns in the win column and stunted Mayfield’s development.
Now it’s 2020 and the Browns have another new head coach in Kevin Stefanski. The offensive-minded head man is installing his version of the base offense he ran in Minnesota and others in the Gary Kubiak/Mike Shanahan offensive scheme tree have implemented. But there is also a new coordinator in Alex Van Pelt, who comes from a different coaching tree.
So it’s troubling when Stefanski said in his last Zoom session with the media that he wasn’t really sure who was going to call the plays.
“That really remains to be seen,” Stefanski said when asked point-blank who would be the authority. “I’d like to get everybody back in the building, get out there practicing and get together before we make that decision. That decision will be made before September 13, I promise you that.”
One of the ways in which rookie head coaches often struggle is in finding the balance between running the entire team and being devoted to just one side of the ball. Many successful coaches do call their own offensive plays, including both headmen in last season’s Super Bowl, Andy Reid and Kyle Shanahan. It can take time for a greenhorn like Stefanski to find that balance, however.
It’s easy to appreciate that Stefanski wants to get all his offensive coaches together in person before deciding, but it’s a critical decision that needs to be made quickly.
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