Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on Kevin Stefanski: ‘very organized, very detailed’ and will do well as Browns coach
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was the last of the NFL coaches and GMs to take to the interview podiums here in Indianapolis at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. Normally the Browns wouldn’t care much about the Vikings press conference, but Zimmer happens to be the former longtime boss of the new Browns head man, Kevin Stefanski.
“I think Kevin is very organized,” Zimmer said. “I think he’s very detailed. I think all of those things will help.”
He then hit on a point that hit home with me after watching previous Browns head coaches Freddie Kitchens and Hue Jackson flop. Zimmer talked about his young protege’s humility and collaborative nature.
“He’s not afraid to ask for help if he needs it. He’s not going to go in there and be a dictator. He’s going to go in and tell his philosophy and how he wants to do it, and he’ll ask for the opinions of other people.”
That is not how things have been done in Berea recently. And it should be a welcome change to the Browns organization. It harkens back to the stress upon collaboration that both Stefanski and GM Andrew Berry have consistently stressed in their talks to the media.
Vikings GM Rick Spielman said that Kevin Stefanski improved the Vikings offense in 2019-20, and will be phenomenal as a head coach.
After serving as an assistant for the Vikings since 2006, Kevin Stefanski moved on in the offseason, taking a job as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
Vikings GM Rick Spielman has been with the Vikings since 2006 as well. Asked about Stefanski’s leadership at the NFL Combine, Spielman said the former Vikings coach has grown in that role.
“I went and sat in the offensive meetings and from when he was a young pup to where he is now. Even though it may seem calm, cool, collective, there is presence about him when he’s in front of a group,” Spielman told reporters. “He grabs (the players’) attention.”
Spielman said, that with help from Gary Kubiak, Stefanski was able to take the next step as a coach. Kubiak was offensive advisor for the Vikings and is now the offensive coordinator this season.
“From the last three games, when he took over as the offensive coordinator the year before and how much our offense improved this year, I think Kevin is going to be a phenomenal head coach in this league,” Spielman said.
Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski: Browns have ‘big plans’ for TE David Njoku in 2020
The 2019 season was not one Browns tight end David Njoku will celebrate fondly. Injuries robbed him of all but four games, and Njoku never really fit in Freddie Kitchens’ offense.
Njoku will get a chance at redemption in his fourth season as the Browns tight end. Based on what new Cleveland GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski had to say about Njoku during their press conferences here in Indianapolis at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine, he’ll get every chance to prove he can be a major part of the Browns offensive attack.
“David didn’t quite have the year that he anticipated this past fall,” Berry said. “But we still view David as a talented pass catcher and a guy that we expect to take a step forward in this upcoming year.”
Berry noted he was part of the management regime that drafted Njoku in the first round back in 2017 and he still sees a lot of the alluring athleticism and potential in the 23-year-old.
Stefanski echoed Berry’s thoughts on Njoku.
“I’m looking forward to working with him,” Stefanski stated. “I think there’s an obvious skill set there. There’s a reason he was drafted that high. I think you can see it just in his physical ability, and it’s a big year for David. I’ve explained that to him.”
Without getting into specifics, Stefanski laid out how important the young TE can be in 2020.
“We have big plans for (Njoku),” Stefanski said. “But it’s about, for him, coming back in the building and working and then ultimately being able to see if we can utilize him in a role that can take advantage of some of his skill set.”
Njoku caught just five passes on 10 targets, netting 41 yards and one TD. He suffered a broken wrist and a concussion in the Week 2 win over the New York Jets and never really reassimilated into the lineup.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski will let OC Alex Van Pelt call plays in preseason on a trial basis
One of the more pressing questions for new Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is, who will call the offensive plays for the team? Stefanski is a former offensive coordinator who earned the job in part because of calling the plays for the Minnesota Vikings. Yet new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt has also had success calling plays in the NFL.
At his scouting combine press conference on Tuesday, Stefanski didn’t provide a clear answer as to who will call the plays. But the rookie coach did indicate that Van Pelt will get a chance to prove himself as a play-caller during practices and the preseason.
Stefanski referred to the decision as a “fluid situation” and that a determination might not be made until late in the preseason, depending on how the trials with Van Pelt calling the plays worked out.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski thrilled to have Stump Mitchell back as the Browns RB coach
New Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski did not really know Stump Mitchell before taking the job. It didn’t take long for those who did know the veteran RB coach to sell Stefanski on Mitchell.
Stefanski talked about the choice of retaining Mitchell as the Browns RB coach.
“There’s plenty of people I called to talk about Stump,” Stefanski said. “They all said the same thing. Just a good person, very knowledgeable, high-character guy. He brings a level of toughness to the position. I think very highly of him. I think he’s a really good teacher. I’m really enjoying getting to know him. I think he brings a different perspective to our staff, which I’m really looking forward to.”
Mitchell did a very good job with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in 2019, guiding Chubb to second in the NFL in rushing. Hunt was one of the leading receivers out of the backfield in his eight games in Cleveland, too.
It was a strong debut for Mitchell being in charge of the Browns’ running backs. Even with the change above him on the coaching tree, Stump is a valuable piece of the puzzle.
Kevin Stefanski has been busy building up his support staff as the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns. With three more assistants officially joining the Browns this week, the coaching roster is nearly complete.
However, there are still a couple of openings left to fill.
On offense, the biggest opening is for the quarterback coach. Both Stefanski and offensive assistant T.C. McCartney have experience as QB coaches in the NFL, but as of today (Feb. 16th) there is no quarterbacks coach on the Browns staff. Expect McCartney to work closely with Baker Mayfield in his vaguely defined role.
Defensively, there are just two coaches under coordinator Joe Woods. The new DL coach is Chris Kiffin, while Jeff Howard will serve as the passing game coordinator and DBs coach.
That leaves openings for assistants under those two, as well as a linebackers coach. A more general defensive assistant like McCartney on the offensive side could be in the works as well.
Reports of Jason Tarver being hired as the LBs coach have been rampant for over a week, but as of yet, the position is still vacant on the team’s website.
Priefer and Stefanski coached together in Minnesota for several seasons
Mike Priefer is one of the few coaching holdovers from 2019 into the new staff being assembled by head coach Kevin Stefanski. Priefer is very excited to be reunited with Stefanski and sees a very bright future for the rookie head man.
Priefer and Stefanski worked together as assistant coaches on the Minnesota Vikings for several seasons spanning 2011-2018. Cleveland’s holdover special teams coach knows Stefanski very well, and he’s an enthusiastic supporter of his old colleague.
“I’ve seen him grow as a coach from being a quality control coach to being a running backs, tight ends, quarterbacks and then offensive coordinator. I’ve seen his growth,” Priefer said of Stefanski via the Browns’ official website. “I knew from the get-go he was going to be a very good coach as he kind of gained experience. Obviously he had that head coaching mentality about him. He’s got that charisma about him, he’s got leadership and he’s going to do a great job for us here.”
Stefanski should be excited about working with Priefer again, too. He did a fantastic job in his first year in Cleveland, helping rookies Austin Seibert and Jamie Gillan thrive as the Browns’ specialists while also dramatically reducing penalties and missed tackles from the coverage units.
The New Orleans Saints can improve by trading draft picks for veterans in 2020, targeting players like Stefon Diggs and David Njoku.
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How can the New Orleans Saints improve after another disappointing playoffs exit? They don’t have much to work with on paper as far as draft picks and salary cap accounting is concerned, but that’s typical for the Saints. Their goal every year is to maximize their resources and leave no stones unturned in search of upgrades. So expect New Orleans to again get creative during the long NFL offseason.
Trading some of those picks for players is one option they could explore. While the Saints got great production out of their first two selections in last year’s draft (Erik McCoy started every game at center, while C.J. Gardner-Johnson averaged 34 snaps per game at defensive back), every other rookie they drafted finished the year on injured reserve or on another team’s practice squad.
Swapping late-round picks for proven veterans on the outs with other teams — whether due to coaching staff upheaval or poor salary cap management — is one of the few big market inefficiencies in the NFL today, and the Saints should take advantage of it. It’s a tactic they’ve used in the past (and nearly did last year, before Robert Quinn made a poor decision to pick the Dallas Cowboys instead) and they’re set up well to do it again.
With that in mind, here are four trade candidates the Saints should call in about in the weeks ahead:
LB Christian Kirksey, Cleveland Browns
The Minnesota Vikings lost conservative play-caller Kevin Stefanski to the Browns, and he’ll be Cleveland’s new head coach. That means changes are on the way, and Stefanski doing some housecleaning could mean Kirksey gets offloaded. He’s played well for the Browns, earning a leadership role as team captain, but ended each of the last two years on injured reserve. If healthy, he could help the Saints replace two of their three projected starting linebackers, Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso, who are both recovering from season-ending injuries.
The trade: Saints acquire Kirksey in exchange for their 2020 fifth-round pick.
TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns
This would be more of a long-term move than an instant upgrade, but the Saints should really consider it. Jared Cook is entering the final leg of his two-year contract and projects to be one of the team’s biggest playmakers in 2020, while backup tight end Josh Hill remains an integral blocker. Njoku was in Freddie Kitchens’ doghouse last year for unclear reasons, and there’s no telling whether Stefanski will have the patience to let Njoku learn another new system and develop. The Saints could bring him in as an heir-apparent to replace Cook after the 2020 season.
The trade: Saints acquire Njoku in exchange for their 2021 second-round pick and their 2020 sixth-round pick.
LG Lane Taylor, Green Bay Packers
Nick Easton is projected to start at left guard for New Orleans next season (two-time Pro Bowler Andrus Peat is headed for free agency), but Taylor would be a clear upgrade if the Saints can land him. While he was cut down by an injury just two games into the 2019 season, Taylor did start 45 games in the previous three years. The Packers have an obvious in-house replacement for him in second-year pro Elgton Jenkins, and could clear salary space by trading Taylor away. If the Saints acquired Taylor (counting a little over $4.6 million against the cap) and released Easton (freeing up about $3.8 million), it would result in a net cost of roughly $780,000.
The trade: Saints acquire Taylor in exchange for their 2020 fifth-round pick.
WR Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are one of two teams currently in the red for 2020 salary cap space, and Diggs is a logical trade candidate. The offense’s run-first approach makes him a bit redundant next to Adam Thielen as two highly-paid wideouts, and Diggs’ frustration with the coaching staff was evident last year. With Gary Kubiak taking on a larger role in conducting the Vikings offense (which means even more reliance on the running game), it’s possible Diggs lands somewhere else in 2020. And as a 26-year-old in the middle of a $72 million contract, he won’t come cheaply. Would he be a better addition for the Saints (at that cost) than a rookie first-round draft pick?
The trade: Saints acquire Diggs in exchange for their 2020 first-round pick.
Stefanski’s Vikings were very successful in scripted situations
One of the big problems for the Cleveland Browns in 2019 was the playcalling. Specifically, slow starts plagued the offense in the first few drives of games.
Those portions of the offensive game plan are usually scripted, typically the first 15 plays. Offensive coordinators and offensive-minded head coaches plan those first reps out to set the tone until the game situations change the ability to control the game.
New Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski should be able to help. As the Vikings’ OC in 2019 under defensive-minded head coach Mike Zimmer, it was Stefanski who wrote the script for the offense. And the Vikings offense was one of the best in those game-neutral situations, according to Pro Football Focus data.
The graph from PFF’s feature on Stefanski illustrates how well Stefanski guided the run-centric Vikings offense during those first 15 plays.
While it’s not highlighted, the Browns under Freddie Kitchens were lumped in a group of several teams slightly above average on passing but below average on runs in those scripted situations.
Stefanski has not yet declared if he will control all the playcalling, but his influence will be all over the game planning even if he’s not the only person making the calls. That can only help a Browns offense that found some success but struggled to string together positive drives early in games.
A year after the Freddie Kitchens disaster, the brass again trusts the Browns with a first-time head coach.
(Ken Blaze, USA TODAY Sports)
For the second time in as many offseasons, the Cleveland Browns have hired an offensive coordinator without experience as a head coach to lead the talented-laden roster in to battle each Sunday.
Marked changes this time: Demeanor and accountability. The 2020 hiring, Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, replaces Freddie Kitchen. Arguably the most important difference is found in how they present themselves as leaders. Kitchens talked a big game during the introductory press conference and seemed like he was from the mold of being the right blend between a player’s coach and team leader. By midseason, neither proved to be true.
Stefanski brings an even-keeled demeanor that commands respect. His actions have backed up this unspoken authority by finding ways to keep the mouthy Stefon Diggs content, feeding several targets, and making sure head coach Mike Zimmer’s preference for leaning on the ground game was successfully implemented.
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How did Stefanski get to this point in such a short period of time, one may ask? Well, it wasn’t as brief as it may have seemed. He was lurking in the background of the Minnesota sidelines for years before being an inseason replacement for fired OC John DeFilippo in the 2018 season. The Vikings were calling pass plays at rate of nearly 2-to-1 over rushing the ball, and Zimmer wasn’t having it. After a late-season swing that made the Vikings see Stefanski could handle the task, the interim label was removed heading into the 2019 offseason. He would go on to establish one of the NFL’s most dominant rushing attacks with Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison, even seeing Mike Boone post studly numbers as an injury replacement in one contest.
Prior to his ascension, Stefanski coached pretty much everything for the Vikings. He began in 2006 as a 24-year-old assistant to head coach Brad Childress and served in this role through the 2008 season. Then he became the assistant quarterbacks coach in 2009, helping Brett Favre author one of his finest seasons as a pro. Stefanski would hold this title through 2013 after Childress was fired and replaced by Leslie Frazier in 2010. Zimmer came in prior to the 2014 season and moved Stefanski to tight ends coach for two years. In 2016, at 34, Stefanski would coach the running backs for one season and then become the full-blown quarterbacks coach in 2017.
The system
During his full season calling plays, Stefanski’s Vikings ranked (1st being best):
Overall: 16th in offensive yards and 8th in points scored per game
Rushing: 4th in attempts, 6th in yards, 6th in TDs
Passing: 30th in attempts, 23rd in yards, 14th in TDs, 5th in fewest interceptions
Stefanski, 37, offers a much different style of calling games. One could say that’s because he knows what he’s doing, but Kitchens flashed potential in the 2018 season as an interim playcaller, one may contest. The latter would get too enamored with the pass at times in 2019 and turn to the running game when it was too late. He would make head-scratching decisions, especially around the end zone, and even once admitted some of the situations were new to him. While that is true, who says that as a head coach?!? The responsibilities of calling plays and being the head coach proved to be too much for him.
Anyway, the point isn’t to pile on Kitchens. It’s to show Stefanski is poised to do something Kitchens likely never would have been able to accomplish: Turn around the culture of a losing tradition. That starts by implementing the right mentality — one of accountability, respect, and discipline — but it also comes with the mandate of winning. Without those W’s, the culture can quickly dissolve.
So how does Stefanski go about delivering wins? It will take a few things first that are out of his control. The primary factor is the offensive line must be bolstered. Far too often quarterback Baker Mayfield was running for his life or taken to the turf. Play designs can help, but substandard personnel can take a team only so far…
Another area is cutting down on mistakes, which is a group effort. This comes from having heady players, respected leaders, a consistent voice from the coaching staff, and a system that doesn’t beg for unforced errors. All of the fancy misdirections and so forth in other offenses comes at a price, which tends to be a greater frequency of mistakes.
Simplistically speaking, Stefanski’s system is rooted in the West Coast offense. He had a helping hand of epic proportions from the man who would replace him in Minnesota, Gary Kubiak. The offensive master served as an assistant to the offensive coaches in 2019 and assistant head coach. In short, his responsibility was to make Stefanski’s job easier … teach, but don’t get in the way. Few men on planet Earth know as much about a zone-blocking scheme as Kubiak, and Stefanski will bring this system with him to Cleveland. Speaking of tutelage, Bill Callahan is the new offensive line coach and is widely regarded among the best in the game at installing a zone system.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt is expected to be the offensive coordinator in name only. He will help with the game plans and preparation.
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It requires athletic linemen who tend to be smaller and quicker than the norm. They move in a choreographed flow to create holes in the front seven for which the running back is responsible to attack, wherever said gaps may occur. Oftentimes, runners are forced to make split-second cutbacks and go against the grain of the defensive pursuit. It tends to produce chunk plays and has created some of the most successful fantasy football backfields of all time.
It also keeps Mayfield from tossing so many meatballs to the opposite team. The 2018 No. 1 overall pick set the rookie touchdown pass record with a fierce surge under Kitchens as his interim OC that year, but it all fell apart in 2019’s iteration. The TDs came way down, the INTs went way up, and Mayfield looked like he was trying to do too much too often. Expect that to be the primary focus of Stefanski. Keeping Mayfield playing within the system and relying on play-action passing to catch defenses off-guard. Low passing volume figures to be a staple of this offense. That’s not to say Mayfield cannot take advantage and play at a high level in fantasy, but he’ll need to be extremely efficient.
Personnel concerns
Obviously, such a shift in philosophy greatly caters to another strong year by running back Nick Chubb. It remains uncertain as to what the Browns will do with restricted free agent Kareem Hunt. He was recently involved in a traffic stop, and Cleveland has a new general manager heading into free agency. The former Kansas City Chief could receive an offer from another franchise that just isn’t worth matching on Cleveland’s end.
In free agency, Cleveland’s offense faces left tackle Greg Robinson, backup quarterback Drew Stanton and WR Rashard Higgins all set to become unrestricted in March. Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in 2014, will all but guaranteed be playing for his fifth team in 2020.
While Odell Beckham Jr. and tight end David Njoku aren’t free agents, both players are coming off of extremely disappointing seasons. Njoku was made inactive late in the year as a healthy scratch, and one reason cited was his struggle catching the ball. He never has been a natural receiver and has relied heavily on his athleticism. OBJ, however, catches everything under the sun but will be asked to spend an inordinate amount of time building chemistry with Mayfield this summer.
Jarvis Landry’s release would save more than $10 million against the salary cap. He produced like a weak WR1 last year, and Cleveland has plenty of cap space, so it’s unlikely he’s axed. Restructuring his deal is in play, though.
Fantasy football takeaway
We’ve established Mayfield will be asked to do less, and Chubb possibly tasked with more of a workload, mostly depending on what happens with Hunt. Mayfield should have a few huge games and disappear in others based on game plans and situation requirements — much like Kirk Cousins last year in Minnesota. Even though Mayfield is fully expected to rebound, don’t think he’s going to explode. This just isn’t the system for it.
Chubb remains an RB1 candidate in all formats, mostly because of his explosive nature. His body of work speaks for itself, and there is little chance he escapes the first five fantasy draft picks while playing in this system. Hunt would be a PPR No. 3 who can post quality RB2 numbers many weeks based on receiving work.
Beckham and Jarvis Landry should alternate fantasy roles this year and produce similarly to what the expectations were entering 2019. While the volume won’t be the same as he was used to in New York, Beckham’s game is built around getting down the field. He’s a low-tier No. 1, if for no reason than his otherworldly athletic traits. Landry was supposed to be his sidekick in 2019 and ended up leading the offense in catches, receiving yards and aerial scores. Flip that script in favor of OBJ in 2020, especially if the O-line improves.
Njoku may not even be the best tight end on this roster for fantasy purposes. The market has a few viable options, but he’s pretty well a lock to return with the entirety of his 2020 cap charge being guaranteed money. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, he’s a fringe No. 1 tight end at a position that is rocky after the top names. In reality, Njoku is no more than a backup with perennial upside yet to materialize.
