Stefanski 8th most aggressive coach, top 10 a mixed bag of winning, losing teams

Aggressive doesn’t mean good but it doesn’t mean bad either

There is no lack of analysis and data from the 2022 NFL season. While we move into the offseason with the NFL combine and the start of the league year just around the corner, we still have ways to look back to help us understand what went right and wrong for the Cleveland Browns.

Unfortunately, the data available here will be less about right and wrong and more about the overall decision-making process. Head coach Kevin Stefanski is obviously aggressive in his decision making especially on fourth downs. Sometimes it works out very well while others we hear the fanbase and media in an uproar.

According to Football Outsiders, Stefanski is the eighth most aggressive coach in the NFL. Based on the list of coaches, we find some interesting information on aggressiveness:

• 4 of the top 10 aggressive coaches made the playoffs
• 2 others, Matt LaFleur and Mike Vrabel, were one game away from the playoffs
• 2 of the least aggressive 10 coaches made the playoffs
• 2 others, Mike Tomlin and Ron Rivera, were one game away from the playoffs

Six of the most or least aggressive coaches made the playoffs while eight middle-of-the-road coaches were in the postseason.

Based solely on last year’s data, a team is most likely to make the playoffs if they are not at the top or bottom of this list. Some of that could come down to the talent on the team. Some of that could be due to the limited sample size of one season.

For the Browns, Stefanski isn’t far from being in the middle. He is closer to 12th than 1st based on the Aggressiveness Index.

In the end, aggressiveness is fine when it works out well and passiveness is fine if it works out well. As an outcome-oriented league, that is all that will be discussed. For the last two seasons, Cleveland hasn’t made the playoffs so Stefanski should be less aggressive and coaches like Tomlin and Rivera should be more aggressive.