The Cleveland Browns entered 2019 with Super Bowl expectations – and promptly fell flat on their face. The Browns started 2-6 and finished 6-10, missing the playoffs for the 17th straight season.
Entering 2020, however, fans are cautiously optimistic that the Browns can turn things around. Why the optimism? Fans believe that new head coach Kevin Stefanski is a clear upgrade over Freddie Kitchens.
“I don’t think we were all crazy,” Cleveland.com Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot said on After Hours with Amy Lawrence, referring to last year’s debacle. “I think we were all looking at a lot of talent on the roster, and I just think – I actually know firsthand from talking to enough people – that it really was just not knit well together by a coaching staff that could handle that talent, that could work together, that knew the right schemes to put them in, and it was just a very dysfunctional process.”
How will Stefanski change that, you ask? By focusing on the little things.
“Kevin Stefanski comes in here as a very organized, very detailed coach,” Cabot said. “The Browns were looking for a CEO coach who could be the face of the franchise, who could oversee the process, who could hire good coaches, and let them do their work. But for the most part, really have a handle on the players. I think that’s one of the biggest things from last season. Freddie didn’t really have the complete respect and the command of the players. He didn’t have, really, a handle on that. That’s why you saw guys getting in his face on the sidelines.”
Have you ever seen a player get in Bill Belichick’s face? Or Andy Reid’s?
“They just knew it wasn’t organized,” Cabot said. “Even Jarvis Landry has come out several times and said, ‘We just didn’t have an identity. We didn’t know what was happening after the first 15 scripted plays. It just seemed sort of chaotic and haphazard.’ And that’s the way that it has been described to me throughout the season from behind the scenes."