Baker Mayfield's tumultuous second season humbled him and left him in the hands of a new, unfamiliar coach.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Kevin Stefanski will be Baker Mayfield’s fourth Browns head coach in 25 months.
Mayfield doesn’t even know the name of his next offensive coordinator, but it will be his fourth. His next quarterbacks coach will be his third.
According to ESPN.com’s Jake Trotter, per Elias Sports Bureau, only three quarterbacks previously suffered through four different head coaches in their first three seasons in the NFL with a single team. They are Blaine Gabbert, Marty Domres and Scott Bull.
That’s no bull.
In two full seasons, Mayfield’s career path with the Browns has been a ride on Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster.
No. 1 overall choice and franchise savior.
Toast of the town.
Multi-company pitchman.
Coach-maker.
Most powerful figure in the organization.
Serial turnover machine.
Irritable, immature sophomore slumper.
Sympathetic figure.
“Let me say this,” owner Jimmy Haslam said on Jan. 2. “Baker caught a lot of grief this year, and I think with everything that was asked to put on his plate both in terms of leadership and as a player in his first full year, he did a remarkable job.”
How the mighty have fallen
A year ago, reports circulated that Mayfield was being skyped into interviews with Browns head coach candidates. They weren’t true, but Mayfield asserted subsequently that the decision-makers knew his thoughts on the successor to Hue Jackson.
Mayfield wanted Kitchens. Mayfield got Kitchens.
Over the next several weeks, photos surfaced of Mayfield socializing with New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
Mayfield wanted Beckham. Mayfield got Beckham.
Be careful what you wish for, right?
Instead of an asset for Mayfield, Beckham became his albatross. The organization-wide obsession with validating the trade for Beckham, compounded by Beckham’s allergy to OTAs and subsequent soft-tissue injuries, disrupted the rhythm and identity of the offense.
Mayfield famously uses chips on his shoulder to produce great feats. But the weight of Beckham’s drama was too much for him to carry.
As for Kitchens, his game-planning, play-calling, and game management were a tragic mix of clown show and train wreck.
After putting together one of the greatest rookie seasons for an NFL quarterback – Mayfield set the league rookie record with 27 touchdown passes in just 14 games – his second season was a momentous free-fall. Mayfield plummeted to 31st in completion percentage, 31st in interceptions and 31st in passer rating.
He lost crucial head-to-head duels with Brandon Allen and Devlin “Duck” Hodges. His friend and successor at Oklahoma, Kyler Murray, schooled him.
In the last month, Mayfield’s two biggest advocates in Browns headquarters – GM John Dorsey and Kitchens – were sent packing.
Mayfield’s personal mentor -- veteran quarterback Drew Stanton -- is a free agent and probably will not be back for a third season.
The future of one of his boys from Oklahoma -- offensive quality control coach Tyler Tettleton -- is uncertain.
One of his best friends from Austin, TX -- backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert -- is under contract through 2020, but is no lock to return, given the coaching turnover.
Nowhere to go but up
How do the Browns fix Mayfield?
"Well, that is Kevin's job,” Haslam said.
Mayfield may have been looking forward to New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels getting the Browns’ job. McDaniels worked out Mayfield in Austin prior to the 2018 draft as Patriots coach Bill Belichick contemplated a trade-up to anoint Mayfield as Tom Brady’s heir.
The trade never happened, and McDaniels eventually lost the Browns’ job to the lesser-accomplished Stefanski.
It may be a blessing in disguise.
Stefanski’s work as Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach with Case Keenum and then as coordinator with Kirk Cousins was exemplary.
In his last season with the Vikings, Stefanski called the plays in Gary Kubiak's zone-blocking, play-action passing offense that made Cousins the No. 4-rated passer in the NFL.
A new coach who doesn’t coddle him but coaches him hard is the best thing for Mayfield.
“I am looking forward to hunkering down with him and getting to work,” Stefanski said at his introductory press conference on Tuesday. “Like any one of our players, when they walk in the building, we will have a detailed plan for them about how they are going to improve. Baker, as a young player, the sky is the limit, but we are going to put in the work to get it done with Baker.
“I will just tell you the skillset that our quarterback has is legit. He is as accurate as they come. I think there are plenty of things that we will do schematically to, hopefully, make life easier on him, and [I’m] looking forward to the jump that this kid will take. He is such a young player and the guys I have been around, when they put their mind to it and they start to grind on this thing and understand the whys and the concepts that we are teaching, I really think this kid has a chance to take off.”
Like most of his teammates, Mayfield has been mum on social media since the Browns’ 6-10 season ended with a 33-23 loss in Cincinnati.
The last we heard from Mayfield was in the visitor’s locker room that grim day. He was humbled and embarrassed and conceded he “definitely didn’t have it all figured out.”
Mayfield has been yanked out of his comfort zone, stripped of his support staff and knocked down more than a few notches.
“We need to do everything we can to help Baker realize his full potential,” Haslam said. “That is something all of us in this organization are focused on.”