Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry both have work to do to complete their respective staffs. (Tony Grossi/TLOD)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Takeaways from interviews with Jimmy Haslam, Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski …
Joe Woods could be officially named Browns defensive coordinator as early as Thursday.
The 49ers defensive backs coach has had to endure a couple cross-country flights since Sunday’s Super Bowl – Miami to San Francisco, and then San Francisco to Cleveland. He was scheduled to arrive in Berea on Wednesday to meet Kevin Stefanski’s burgeoning coaching staff and others in the organization.
Stefanski has been careful not to speak prematurely of Woods joining as defensive coordinator, saying there will be “an appropriate time” to talk about him.
“I think he is an outstanding football mind,” Stefanski said. “You saw that [49ers] defense and what they were able to do this year. I think adding Joe to the mix [in 2019] was very impressive. I saw it firsthand, unfortunately, how good they were. A good family man. I have known him for a long time.”
Offensive fluidity
The Browns have confirmed much of Stefanski’s offensive staff. It includes Alex Van Pelt, offensive coordinator; Bill Callahan, offensive line coach; Chad O’Shea, wide receivers/pass game coordinator; Stump Mitchell, running backs coach; and Drew Petzing, tight ends coach.
Conspicuously missing is a quarterbacks coach and Stefanski’s clarification of who will call plays.
“As it pertains to play-calling, I know that is a very popular topic,” Stefanski said. “We will work through it. I do not know. That is the God’s truth, the God’s honest truth. Like I said before and it is still true today, we will do what is best for the Browns.”
Based on a recent conversation I had with Gary Kubiak, Stefanski’s senior offensive assistant with the Vikings last year, I expect Stefanski to call plays for at least his first season.
If that’s the case, it wouldn’t surprise me if Van Pelt handles the dual role of quarterbacks coach, and a young offensive quality control coach is added perhaps to be groomed for the position.
“It is a very fluid situation,” Stefanski said. “I have spoken about this before. Putting a staff together is a puzzle. You have to find the right pieces, and the big pieces are the coordinators. Even a seemingly small piece of the quality control coach, I want to get the right people in here as we fit this puzzle together.”
The Baker factor
New GM Andrew Berry was still on staff as vice president of player personnel when then-GM John Dorsey made Baker Mayfield the first overall pick of the 2018 draft.
Dorsey had Mayfield rated as the draft’s top-rated quarterback even before he was named Browns GM. Once on the job, he set about forming a consensus among everyone in the building.
Before doing that, I’m told Dorsey had everybody rank the top quarterbacks in the 2018 draft. Former VP Alonzo Highsmith has said he had Sam Darnold No. 1. At the Super Bowl, a source said that Berry initially ranked Josh Rosen No. 1.
Ultimately, everybody was on board with Dorsey’s decision.
"Obviously, I was a part of drafting Baker in 2018," Berry said. "I can tell you there was kind of an organizational consensus with selecting him with the first overall pick."
Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I found Berry’s next comments about Mayfield on Wednesday very interesting.
He said, “[I] still have a lot of belief in Baker as a quarterback, his talent and what we think he can become in the NFL. Looking forward to seeing what Kevin, Alex, and his staff do with Baker this spring and into the fall. We are really excited about his future, and I am really excited about the work that Kevin is going to do with him.”
Berry’s staff
The parting with Highsmith and Eliot Wolf, assistant GM, leave significant voids in the personnel staff. Berry eventually will hire a right-hand man carrying the title of player personnel director.
One rumored candidate is Chris Polian, who was VP and GM of the Indianapolis Colts under his father, Bill Polian, when Berry broke in with the Colts. Chris Polian recently was let go as director of pro personnel of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Berry declined to tip his hand on any imminent hirings to personnel.
“I am not going to get into any specifics regarding staffing dynamics at this point,” Berry said. “We have a lot of really talented people and talented evaluators that are already in the building, and we will revisit that over the next couple of months and certainly after the draft.”
Will he or won’t he?
When it comes to Odell Beckham Jr., the elephant in the room is whether he will break his practice of not attending the offseason conditioning program and OTAs.
Beckham is rehabbing from core muscle surgery on Jan. 21. Typical timetable for recovery is about eight weeks, which would clear Beckham for the start of Stefanski’s offseason program beginning April 6. OTA practices on the field would begin about three weeks later in small groups, and in full team practice about two weeks after that.
Neither Berry nor Stefanski wants to venture into public comment about their preference to see Beckham attend OTAs to get a jump on the new Browns’ offense.
Berry said, “I think Kevin has answered this earlier. That is optional. Obviously, the more time that guys can spend with their teammates, we certainly like that, but we are not going to hold that against any individual because that is their right. That is the off season, and it is optional.”
Stefanski said his meeting with Beckham went “well,” but he wouldn’t elaborate on Beckham’s commitment to the offseason program.
“We talked about a lot of topics, and then commitment is shown over time,” he said. “I have full confidence in Odell. I have spoken to him a couple of times. I have met with him face to face and am really looking forward to getting to know him more and him getting to know me and getting him in this scheme, getting him around the coaches and then see where we go.”