The former Minnesota Vikings assistant has a tough task ahead of him in 2020.
For over a decade, Kevin Stefanski was a part of the Minnesota Vikings organization. Stefanski started as a low-level assistant with the Vikings in 2006 under head coach Brad Childress. He went on to remain with the franchise all the way until last January, which was when he left to take the opportunity to become the new head coach of the Cleveland Browns.
For a team like the Browns that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2002, Stefanski is coming into a pretty favorable situation.
Cleveland’s roster is stacked with a ton of talent that includes Odell Beckham Jr., Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry, Myles Garrett, Baker Mayfield, Sheldon Richardson, and Denzel Ward. If Stefanski can figure out how to get everyone on the same page, then it could potentially result in him helping Cleveland snap their embarrassing postseason drought.
How can the former Minnesota Vikings assistant change the fortunes of the Cleveland Browns?
Last season, the Browns had a ton of high expectations and the majority of them turned out to be unattainable. With the spotlight taking a backseat in 2020 (only two primetime games this year), Stefanski will hopefully be dealing with a roster that is much more focused than they were a season ago.
During his long tenure with the Vikings, Stefanski wore a number of different hats. Following Minnesota’s decision to hire Mike Zimmer as their head coach in 2014, Stefanski went on to spend time as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, running backs coach, and tight ends coach.
He just had a willingness to do whatever it took to help the Vikings succeed and Cleveland is hoping this mentality will carry over to their franchise.
Given how long Stefanski spent in Minnesota, he was able to work with a number of different football minds. His exposure to a variety of different concepts on both sides of the ball should result in him being flexible when it comes to figuring out what is going to make the Browns successful in 2020.
The best thing going for Stefanski in Cleveland is actually the franchise’s lack of success during the last two decades. Since nothing has really worked for the Browns in the recent past, the former Vikings assistant should have the freedom and the confidence to try new tactics and take risks, unlike the previous guys who once held his current position.
One thing is for certain when it comes to Stefanski, he’s not going to put his players in a position to fail. He’s going to emphasize what each guy does well and use it to the team’s advantage.
It seems like Cleveland fans ask this almost every offseason, but will this finally be the guy to lead the franchise back to the playoffs?