The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Stefanski would rather prepare for Bills
Coach pleased with progress made in 2020, but wanted to keep season going this week
Coach Kevin Stefanski gets to work at his office at the Browns complex in Berea bright and early on a typical Monday, reviews the previous day’s game with his team and then gets to work on the next opponent.
But the routine was broken Jan. 18, because the Browns won’t know their next opponent until the 2021 schedule is released in April.
“It’s very hard not to be game planning today,” Stefanski said on Zoom one day after the Browns were eliminated by the Chiefs, 22-17, in a divisional playoff game. “It’s very hard for those guys not to be getting treatment and getting ready for the next one. You get into the rhythm of this season, and I think all of them really wanted to keep it going.”
Stefanski is pleased and frustrated at the same time. He is pleased the Browns accomplished as much as they did in 2020 — improving from 6-10 a year ago to finishing 11-5 and winning a playoff game for the first time in 26 years when they beat the Steelers in a wildcard game Jan. 10. But he is frustrated because the season is over.
“Looking back on the season, as we all do when it’s over, I think we definitely achieved a lot,” he said.
“We did some things we set out to do, but ultimately, we came up short, and there is a very real sense of disappointment there among our players and coaches right now, (but) we can definitely look back and see some things that we accomplished and be proud of that.”
Stefanski addressed several topics in the 24-minute interview with media covering the Browns:
• On his exit meeting with quarterback Baker Mayfield:
“Baker and I spent some time together today, and I can tell you he is very excited not to learn a new offense,” Stefanski said. “That’s a huge part of this is we can start at that baseline and we can start that foundation and build on what we have done to date.”
Mayfield threw 26 touchdown passes, eight interceptions and finished with a 95.9 passer rating. Last season he threw 22 touchdown passes, 21 interceptions and finished with a 78.8 passer rating.
• On where Mayfield improved most:
“There are a bunch of areas,” Stefanski said. “He did a very good job taking care of the ball, just learning the system and some of the intricacies of this system.
“I knew that it was going to get better over time with losing the offseason. I think we saw that from Baker. Once he started getting comfortable with what we were doing and once I was using more concepts that he was comfortable with — which is a big part of this — he really started playing at a high level. I’m proud of the progress he made, but if I had to say one thing, I would say just taking care of that football.”
• On his coaching staff: “I do expect the coaching staff back next season,” he said. “Really proud of this group. They worked very, very hard in some tough circumstances. People stepped up when some of us were out. Really, I loved the way our group worked together and were very much trying to solve problems in the season as they came about.”
• On the young quarterbacks in the AFC, among them Josh Allen of Buffalo, Joe Burrow of Cincinnati and Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City, and how difficult it will be to take the next step in the playoffs against that competition.
“I would tell you that to get to that final game when you have to play in the AFC, there are tough outs everywhere you look,” Stefanski said. “That’s the nature of this beast. There are a bunch of great players in the AFC, and you mentioned those quarterbacks, we recognize that.
“Ultimately, to be the best, you have to beat the best. That is true of any sport and true of any conference, division or you name it. We will have to spend a lot of time this offseason in finding ways to make sure that we are getting better. We have to get better as a football team. I have to get better as a coach. That will be our focus moving forward.”
• On changing the culture from a losing one to a winning one:
“When you are talking about culture — I’ve said this before — I think you’re just talking about people,” Stefanski said. “I think we have the right people in this building. I give (general manager) Andrew Berry a ton of credit for the people he was able to bring in. I think there were a ton of great people here already.
“We established a culture of work, and the players bought into that and they did that. I told them today I am very grateful for the work that they put in week in and week out. We had a bunch of guys up and down the roster who just did their job, knew what their role was and worked hard. Sometimes, we had guys who were not active, then they were active the next week and they were starting the following week. I’m just appreciative of all of those guys and the leadership they displayed.”