CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Kevin Stefanski found his offensive coordinator right down Interstate 71.
Stefanski plans to hire Bengals quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt to be his offensive coordinator a source told 92.3 The Fan Wednesday night.
The 49-year old Van Pelt is “pumped and excited” to join the Browns the source said.
Zac Jackson of the Athletic first reported Van Pelt’s impending hiring.
Van Pelt spent the last two seasons in Cincinnati after not being retained by the Green Bay Packers where he coached running backs and quarterbacks from 2012-17.
Van Pelt will be the fourth coordinator for quarterback Baker Mayfield in three years since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2018. Van Pelt follows Todd Haley, Freddie Kitchens and Todd Monken.
Van Pelt is credited with getting Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on track. The Packers’ QB threw for over 4,000 yards twice and had 125 touchdown passes against just 26 interceptions during their four years working together.
From 2014-17 Rodgers completed 64.1% of his passes for 14,305 yards and registered a cumulative QB rating of 102.1.
Last season Mayfield threw 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions while completing just 59.4% of his passes, a massive step back following a rookie season that saw him complete 63.8% of his passes while setting an NFL rookie record with 27 TD passes.
While not completely clear, it’s likely Van Pelt, who served as Dick Jauron’s offensive coordinator and called plays for the Bills in 2009, will call plays for Stefanski.
NFL Network reported Wednesday night that Vikings defensive assistant Jeff Howard is also coming to Cleveland where he’ll be the pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach.
Stefanski is retaining special teams coordinator Mike Priefer and has his eye on 49ers defensive backs coach Joe Woods to become defensive coordinator following the Super Bowl on Sunday.
