Browns ask permission to interview Minnesota Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski
By Chris Schad
The Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator will be a hot commodity this offseason and the Cleveland Browns are looking for a mulligan after passing last year.
One year ago, the future of Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski was up in the air. After the failed John DeFilippo experiment in 2018, Stefanski had a three-game audition for the full-time OC gig and after things went well, he wound up as a finalist for the Cleveland Browns’ head coaching position along with Freddie Kitchens.
The Browns went with Kitchens and Stefanski stayed in Minnesota as the full-time offensive coordinator. The latter went well for the Vikings as Stefanski helped breathe life into their offense while Kitchens struggled to a 6-10 record in Cleveland.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Browns would like a mulligan after firing Kitchens on Sunday evening by requesting an interview with Stefanski for their now-vacant head coaching position. Cabot also noted that the Browns were also interested in Baltimore OC Greg Roman, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, and former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.
Cleveland has plenty of talent on the offensive side of the ball but finished 22nd in scoring this past season. With Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and Nick Chubb, the underachievement that was 2019 for the Browns looks a lot like the Vikings issues in 2018.
Of course, Stefanski helped the Vikings rebound by leading them to rank 16th in the NFL in total offense despite missing Adam Thielen for half the season with a hamstring injury. With the added resume of coaxing an elite-level season out of Kirk Cousins (3,603 yards, 26 TD, 5 INT) and triggering the explosion of Dalvin Cook (1,135 yards, 15 total TD), it would be a safe bet for that he could get the most out of the talent in Cleveland.
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The problem for Cleveland is that they will be one of many teams looking to court Stefanski’s services this winter. If Stefanski decides the turmoil that led to Cleveland’s demise last year is too much, he should have better options and might even return to the Vikings in 2020 (although that isn’t likely). In any event, the Browns are the first in line and many more will figure to follow.