When the Cleveland Browns hired Kevin Stefanski as their head coach, he quickly brought within him the wide zone run scheme and mirrored pass game with him from Minnesota. Interesting, Stefanski was somewhat of a neophyte to the scheme having just implemented it with the Vikings.
Despite that, the Browns offense soared under Stefanski. In 2019, Cleveland’s offense was 20th in the league in DVOA but jumped to ninth in the first year in the new system. It dropped back to 14th in 2021 due to injuries to Baker Mayfield and the offensive line.
In the 10 years prior to Stefanski’s arrival, the team’s offense never ranked higher than 17th in the league and never had a positive Total DVOA.
Despite that success, Cleveland’s head coach gets no love from Pro Football Focus’ Eric Eager:
The best offensive play callers in the NFL per @PFF_Eric 📋 pic.twitter.com/Lv8IoNk4ZJ
— PFF (@PFF) June 19, 2022
A few of the names on the list are hard to argue especially Andy Reid and Sean McVay. Despite all the praise heaped on him, Kyle Shanahan’s offenses have been creative but limited. Matt LeFleur and Byron Leftwich are early in their playcalling duties and both have the elite of the elite quarterbacks running the show.
The biggest question mark on the list is Dallas’ Kellen Moore. While the Cowboys offense is full of talent, Moore’s play calling hasn’t stood out and, at times, has seemed predictable.
Stefanski may not crack this list of top play callers but, when looking back on the team’s lack of success on offense for a decade before him, Browns fans should be happy with who is running the show. Even the team’s down year in 2021 was better than anything seen in Cleveland in over a decade.
