New offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey is charged with putting Deshaun Watson's game back together. Which makes him the most important new figure on the Browns in 2024.
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
The Super Bowl window for the Browns is not closed … but it is closing.
When they made the bold investment in Deshaun Watson in 2022, the Browns’ decision-makers (read: owners) probably circled Year 3 as when they could reasonably expect the team to mature into a true Super Bowl contender.
That would coincide with the Haslam Sports Group’s methodical campaign for sufficient public funding to support a grandiose indoor stadium development in Brook Park.
So here we are. Year 3 of the Watson era is upon us.
Imagine how different the narrative would be if Watson had led the team to a division title and home playoff win by now. I believe taxpayers and politicians would be in a more giving mood. Shovels would be nearly in hand to dig the 80-foot hole in the ground and start the construction process of a stadium project that would forever upgrade the sports scene in Northeast Ohio.
But Year 3 dawns with Watson gingerly coming back from shoulder surgery after appearing in only 11 games and one quarter in two seasons. And the emergency quarterback who won the key games to a playoff appearance last season has been banished to Indianapolis.
That doesn’t mean Watson can’t fulfill the prophecy the Haslams envisioned. But it does severely reduce the margin for error in Year 3. It’s getting late early. It’s time for the Watson investment to pay the expected dividends.
Which is why the new figures brought to the organization in 2024 are more significant than in previous seasons.
What follows is our annual list of the most important new figures added to the Browns’ organization.
Last season, the most important additions were coaches – defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone. Their impact was immense. As the season played out, quarterback Joe Flacco, defensive end Za’Darius Smith and kicker Dustin Hopkins ranked next on the list.
This season, another coach ranks No. 1.
1. Ken Dorsey, offensive coordinator
Head coach Kevin Stefanski repeatedly has said Dorsey was hired to “put this offense back together.” When I asked him if that statement should be amended to Dorsey was hired to “put Deshaun Watson back together,” Stefanski didn’t dispute it.
The dismissal of coordinator Alex Van Pelt immediately after the Browns went 11-6 with four different quarterbacks winning games was a stunner. Four months later, it is no less shocking. Nobody – repeat: nobody – considered Van Pelt on a hot seat and in danger of losing his job.
Dorsey’s work with dual-threat quarterback Cam Newton as QB coach with Carolina, and with dual-threat quarterback Josh Allen as QB coach and then offensive coordinator with Buffalo, appealed to those in the Browns’ organization that forced the change on Stefanski.
Dorsey’s mandate is to construct an offense that comforts Watson and maximizes his skill-set. It will result in a shotgun-oriented, spread offense that accentuates Watson’s out-of-structure preference, virtually dissolves the Browns’ feared wide-zone running scheme, and replaces the under-center, play-action offense that Stefanski, and Van Pelt, worked to perfection with Flacco in December.
Dorsey has rewritten the Browns’ offensive playbook and may, in fact, be appointed the offensive play-caller – a handoff that nobody ever expected from Stefanski.
But even if Dorsey doesn’t call the plays, his responsibility in shepherding Watson to a higher level makes him a no-brainer as the single most important new addition to the Browns in 2024.
If he can’t raise Watson to an elite level, then I don’t know what the Browns do next.
2. Andy Dickerson, offensive line coach; and Roy Istvan, assistant offensive line coach
When legendary offensive line guru Bill Callahan expressed the desire to join his son, Brian, who was named head coach of the Tennessee Titans, the Browns had no choice but to let Callahan go.
Callahan’s loss can not be over-stated. He was the coach who instilled toughness in the Browns’ offense – yes, even more so than Nick Chubb. He designed the running scheme that pre-occupied every opposing defensive coordinator. He was masterful in raising the level of play of starting linemen, drilling them relentlessly in technique and fundamentals, and in plugging in reserves to play at an acceptable level in place of injured starters.
The Browns probably did the best they could in succeeding – not replacing -- Callahan with Dickerson and Istvan.
Dickerson worked two separate one-year stints under Callahan with the Jets and had success as offensive line coach with the Seahawks. And Istvan apprenticed five years under Philadelphia Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, a veritable NFL legend in his own right. Istvan’s departure for a parallel job with the Browns was a surprise in Philadelphia.
3. Jerry Jeudy, wide receiver
GM Andrew Berry’s trade for Jeudy for fifth- and sixth-round picks to Denver was a typical astute Berry acquisition, necessitated, however, by poor drafts at the receiver position.
Berry’s subsequent contract extension for three years for $58 million will be seen as brilliant if Jeudy realizes his potential as the 15th overall pick of the 2020 draft.
4. Quinton Jefferson, defensive tackle
Jim Schwartz’s defense requires pass pressure from the defensive tackle positions. That was essentially non-existent in Schwartz’s first season. Jefferson is a certifiable upgrade over departed free agent Jordan Elliott.
In his last three seasons with the Raiders, Seahawks and Jets, Jefferson has averaged 5.3 sacks. If he can provide 5 or 6 sacks, it would make a difference in Schwartz’s defense.
5. Jordan Hicks, middle linebacker
Hicks replaces Anthony Walker as the defensive player with the “green dot”, which means he’ll have the ear piece inside his helmet to hear defensive calls from Schwartz. Essentially, he’ll be the defensive quarterback.
Hicks played for Schwartz with the Eagles and was earmarked to be the starting middle linebacker in the team’s Super Bowl-winning season in 2017, but he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 7.
Hicks will be 32 when the season starts, and Schwartz loves veteran players with experience in his system.