Kevin Stefanski tapped as one of NFL’s top play callers

Browns HC lands in the Top 10 on The 33rd Team’s list of the league’s best at calling plays on offense.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has built a solid résumé during his first four seasons in town.

A pair of playoff appearances, two NFL Coach of the Year Awards, the fifth-most wins and the fifth-best winning percentage by a full-time head coach in franchise history, and a calming influence on the sidelines and in the locker room have all combined to make Stefanski a candidate for a contract extension this offseason.

That hasn’t stalled the ongoing angst from some fans over Stefanski calling plays on offense, even though around a third of the league’s head coaches call their own plays. Or the tiresome questions over whether or not this is the season that Stefanski will finally give up play-calling duties, with offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey being the new flavor of the day to take over the offense.

If that day ever were to arrive, it might be a mistake, however, at least according to The 33rd Team’s Derrik Klassen, who ranked each of the 32 offensive play-callers based on the core principles of “flexibility, creativity, call sequencing, and the ability to craft specific game plans.”

In what surely be disappointing news for the crowd that rails weekly about Stefanski and his “Denny’s menu” of plays, Klassen places Stefanski at No. 9 on his list:

Kevin Stefanski’s quarterbacks in 2023 were Joe Flacco, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker, and the worst version of Deshaun Watson. The offense was obviously inefficient.

When you watch the film it’s hard not to be impressed by Stefanski. He so perfectly crafted the offense to each quarterback’s needs.

For Watson, it was a lot of screens, play-action, and shotgun formations. Thompson-Robinson got more RPOs and a simple quick game. Walker got more vertical shots. Flacco, somehow the best of the bunch, got a ton of pure dropback passes and more volume than the other three.

None of that even touches on Stefanski’s run game, which is the best part of his call sheet. He is well-versed in zone and gap runs and can adapt his scheme to whichever is best at the moment.

The Cleveland Browns may not have been a productive offense last season, but Stefanki is a really impressive coach. He’s doing his part over there.

Stefanski checks in ahead of such notable names as Todd Monken of the Baltimore Ravens, Brian Daboll of the New York Giants, Doug Pederson of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys, Joe Brady of the Buffalo Bills, Nathaniel Hackett of the New York Jets, and (gasp!) Alex Van Pelt of the New England Patriots.

Stefanski did his best work in 2023 as he juggled a revolving door at the quarterback position, the loss of running back Nick Chubb for almost the entire year, and injuries along the offensive line to help lead the Browns back to the playoffs.

Just imagine what he could do with a healthy offense for a full season.