These bad moves have led the Browns to a bad place

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Second thoughts on Browns’ 20-16 loss to Philadelphia Eagles …

Kevin Stefanski showed everybody last year that he could win games without Deshaun Watson. The Browns reached the playoffs with P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Joe Flacco filling in when Watson was injured.

After the season, Stefanski’s bosses effectively told him, “Fine. Now win with Watson.”

That directive set in motion a series of moves that led the Browns to where they are today – a 1-5 record and arguably the worst offense in the history of the franchise.

Virtually every decision the Browns made in the past nine months with Watson in mind has backfired. A few others unrelated to Watson have, too.

The Browns pride themselves on their “collaborative” process when making decisions. Which serves to conceal who exactly was responsible for which decision. In the end, it may not matter.

These are the mistakes that were made starting nine months ago that sent the Browns reeling to a depth that nobody imagined.

Joe Flacco

The emergency quarterback was an instant hit in the locker room because of his elite arm and easy-going nature. Receiver Amari Cooper said he threw the ball like “poetry in motion.” Flacco came “off the couch” and won four games in a row in December, leading the Browns to the playoffs. Flacco averaged 340.5 yards passing and the Browns averaged 30 points a game. Stefanski’s play-action passing game never looked better. After Flacco’s run ended with two Pick 6’s in the wild-card loss in Houston, the Browns said all the right things about wanting him back in 2024. But somebody made the decision that Flacco and Watson could not co-exist. The fear was Flacco’s immense popularity would merely invite a divisive quarterback controversy. Flacco was never offered a contract by the Browns. Instead, they turned to Jameis Winston to serve as a personal supporter and defender of Watson. Winston was signed for $4 million guaranteed. Flacco signed with the Indianapolis Colts for $4.5 million guaranteed.

Result: Now 39, Flacco’s magical run has continued. In three appearances (two starts), Flacco is 71 of 108 for 716 yards, 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Colts have won two of the three games.

Ken Dorsey

Three days after losing the AFC wild-card game in Houston by 45-14, the Browns shockingly parted ways with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, along with two other offensive assistants. Van Pelt had run the offensive meetings in each of Stefanski’s four seasons as head coach. Although Van Pelt didn’t call plays – except for two games while Stefanski was stricken with COVID, including the 2020 wild-card win in Pittsburgh -- he was the top offensive assistant in a season the Browns finished 10th in scoring, and won games with four different starting quarterbacks to make the playoffs. Widespread reports surfaced that Van Pelt was fired because those above Stefanski – ownership, chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta, and GM Andrew Berry – were frustrated with the progress Watson made in the Cleveland offense before his season-ending shoulder surgery. On February 5, the Browns introduced Dorsey, who’d been fired as Buffalo Bills coordinator midway through the season, as Van Pelt’s successor. Stefanski hedged on whether Dorsey would call plays, but said he was most looking forward to “putting this offense back together with Ken really leading the charge.”

Result: Through six games, the Browns rank 30^th or lower in eight major offensive categories and have failed to score more than 18 points or gain more than 300 yards in every game.

Bill Callahan

The legendary offensive line coach, one of Stefanski’s early and most important hires when he became head coach in 2020, asked out of his contract to join his son Brian, who was hired as Tennessee Titans head coach. The Browns were kind not to stand in Callahan’s way or demand compensation from the Titans. It was projected as a feel-good story of father and son reuniting on the same NFL staff for the first time. However, at the NFL Combine, the younger Callahan disclosed that his father didn’t intend to leave Cleveland. “We had a conversation the year previous when I was interviewed for a couple jobs,” Brian said. “He had said we wouldn’t work together, that he was very happy where he was at and didn’t want to leave and felt I should do that on my own. I was working under the assumption that he wasn’t interested.” Some have speculated that Callahan changed his mind to leave the Browns because he disagreed with the new plans for the offense and foresaw problems ahead. The Browns also let Callahan’s assistant, Scott Peters, leave. They replaced them with Andy Dickerson and Roy Isvalt.

Result: The Browns have 21 combined false start and holding penalties, second-most to Seattle. Not all – but the vast majority – of those penalties are on the offensive line. They have struggled to protect Watson and power a consistent running game. Watson’s 31 sacks, which are not all the fault of the line, are 11 more than next-worst, and his 178 yards lost are 41 more than next-worst.

Jerry Jeudy

Seeking a No. 2 complement to Cooper, Berry traded 5^th- and 6^th-round draft picks to Denver for Jeudy, who had underachieved in four years since the Broncos made him the 15^th overall pick of the 2020 draft. Berry then double-downed on Jeudy and gave him a 3-year contract extension worth $58 million, with $41 million guaranteed.

Result: Jeudy is on pace for 57 receptions for 703 yards and 2.8 touchdowns. Those figures are remarkably similar to Jeudy’s career averages of 52, 763 and 2.75.

Amari Cooper

In two seasons with the Browns, Cooper averaged 75 receptions for 1,205 yards and 7 touchdowns. Entering the last year of his contract with no further guaranteed money, Cooper held out of voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamp after efforts to secure a multi-year contract with the Browns failed. Cooper ended his holdout at the beginning of training camp when Berry converted most of Cooper’s $20 million base salary into a bonus guarantee and added $5 million in contract incentives. At the same time, Berry included Cooper in a trade package for San Francisco receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk eventually re-signed with the 49ers.

Result: According to multiple Websites, Cooper leads the NFL with nine dropped passes. His catch percentage of 35.8 (24 catches on 53 targets) is the worst in his 11 years in the NFL.

Kareem Hunt

The Northeast Ohio native led the Browns with 9 touchdowns in a season his best friend, Nick Chubb, was sidelined for 15 games with a severe knee injury. While Hunt had slowed down in his age 28 season, his indefatigable toughness on short-yardage runs was inspirational and indispensable. The Browns replaced him with free agent D’Onta Foreman, a former teammate of Watson’s in Houston.

Result: In limited duty, Foreman has rushed for 124 yards on 39 attempts for a 3.2-yard average. Hunt recently signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. In his first start, Hunt rushed for 102 yards and 1 touchdown on 27 attempts.