CLEVELAND, Ohio — A year ago, with a new head coach, a new general manager, new play callers on both sides of the ball, two new offensive tackles, and a pandemic eliminating any semblance of a normal offseason, the Cleveland Browns somehow replicated continuity.
They’ll admit that 38-6 loss to Baltimore in Week 1 was a “hey, this isn’t us” moment, but they quickly recovered and managed to mostly play, and often win, like a team that wasn’t still being introduced to itself. Kevin Stefanski didn’t look like a first-time coach, and the Browns didn’t act like a team in transition.
All that successful change in the midst of remote learning is why the Browns are particularly excited about one aspect of this coming season.
Nothing.
Same old, same old. Run it back. The delicious monotony of the status quo. For the first time since 2017 (Hue Jackson and Sashi Brown), the Browns will open the season with the same head coach and general manager as started the previous season. For the first time since 2008 (Derek Anderson, Romeo Crennel and Phil Savage) they’ll open the season with the same trio of quarterback, head coach and general manager that started the year before.
Baker Mayfield, Stefanski and Andrew Berry are a familiar foundation. But it doesn’t end there. The major offensive moves were done last season not only to give Mayfield immediate help, but to start the clock on getting to know each other. The solidifying offensive additions (Jack Conklin, Jedrick Wills, Austin Hooper, Harrison Bryant) were done all at once, so the Browns could get to this point and revel in nothingness.
That doesn’t mean the Browns aren’t going to add in free agency this week. They will. It means they already believe they are adding by not losing. Teams around the league, spurred by an unanticipated, pandemic-caused salary cap crunch, are letting go of good players they want to keep because they can’t afford them. The Browns aren’t doing that. The offense should return its quarterback, entire starting offensive line, top two running backs, two best receivers and at least two of its three tight ends. The 10 Browns with the most snaps on offense in 2020 should be part of that offense in 2021, and it could be that the top 15 in offensive snaps are all back.
That’s new territory for this organization. And they absolutely view that as an edge. They won without continuity a year ago, but the Browns believe they could jump a level with everyone back on offense, while restructuring the defense around a handful of its best players.
The Browns aren’t just winning with “nothing” compared to themselves. They’re winning with “nothing” compared to the rest of the league. Let’s eliminate teams in different categories based on the important pieces they won’t have back in 2021. Certainly, in some of these cases, the talent or coaching is an upgrade — the new guy is better. But he’s not familiar.
So we’ll start with 32 teams, and wipe a team out the first time it has a change. One team may have multiple changes, but once you’re gone, we don’t care about the rest, because it’s already clear that team isn’t doing “nothing” as well as the Browns are.
Former San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is the new head coach of the New York Jets, replacing Adam Gase.
Did you change head coaches?
Yes (7): Houston, Jacksonville, L.A. Chargers, New York Jets, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia.
If No, advance: 25 teams.
Explainer: Stefanski was one of five new head coaches a year ago, and the only one with a winning record, though Washington’s Ron Rivera also made the playoffs at 7-9. Swapping out former Jets head coach Adam Gase for anyone is a positive step, for instance. But new is new, and that puts these seven teams behind the Browns.
Carolina fired general manager Marty Hurney while keeping head coach Matt Rhule.
Did you change general managers?
Yes (1): Carolina.
If No, advance: 24 teams.
Explainer: Several teams that changed coaches also changed GMs. Carolina was the only one to do it without a coaching change, though in Denver John Elway stayed in charge but took himself out of the GM role. But in Carolina the philosophy shift will take some time to adapt to.
Matthew Stafford is the new starting quarterback for the Rams after Los Angeles gave up on former No. 1 pick Jared Goff after five years.
Are you changing starting quarterbacks?
Yes (4): Indianapolis, L.A Rams, New Orleans, Washington.
If No, advance: 20 teams.
Explainer: More teams than this may change starting QBs, but we know of those that didn’t change coaches or GMs, these four teams are swapping signal callers. Philip Rivers retired in Indy, Drew Brees all but officially retired in New Orleans, and the Rams and Washington are changing guys. This might be an upgrade for some teams, but you’d rather have a guy you like and you know running the offense.
The Steelers let go of Randy Fichtner (left), who had been a Pittsburgh assistant, and the quarterbacks coach for much of the career of Ben Roethlisberger (right). Fichtner had been the Steelers’ offensive coordinator in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Did you change offensive coordinators?
Yes (5): Miami, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Minnesota, Seattle.
If No, advance: 15 teams.
Explainer: Is the offensive plan shifting? Miami, Pittsburgh and Seattle ushered out their play callers, while Minnesota’s retired and Tennessee’s got a head coaching job. Change all around.
The Packers did not give a new contract to defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, the former Browns head coach who had run Green Bay’s defense in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Did you change defensive coordinators?
Yes (5): Las Vegas, Dallas, Green Bay, San Francisco, Chicago.
If No, advance: 10.
Explainer: Plenty of defensive problems here, including former Browns coach Mike Pettine losing the DC gig in Green Bay. Meanwhile, there’s a chance that defensive coordinator Joe Woods in Year 2, and with better talent, takes a big step with the Browns in 2021.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) obviously isn’t going anywhere, but the Chiefs were forced to let go of Pro Bowl starting tackles Eric Fisher (72) and Mitchell Schwartz (71) for financial reasons.
Did you cut important offensive line starters for salary cap reasons?
Yes (2): Kansas City, N.Y. Giants.
If No, advance: 8 teams.
Explainer: The cap is rough. The Chiefs lost both their tackles, while the Giants let go of former Brown Kevin Zeitler to save money at guard. This is just a sample of starters that have been lost, or will be lost, around the league due to the cap. But on the offensive line is where teams might really miss guys they wanted to keep but couldn’t afford. And none of the Browns Big 5 up front are going anywhere.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots haven’t lost a lot from the 2020 team for the moment, but there are questions about whether veterans like offensive lineman Joe Thuney and cornerback Stephon Gilmore will be back.
Did you miss the playoffs last year, and therefore maybe you should be making more changes instead of keeping so much in place?
Yes (4): Cincinnati, New England, Denver, Arizona.
If No, advance: 4 teams.
Explainer: Denver’s a little lost, and Cincinnati is heading in the right direction but still adding lots of pieces. The Patriots and Cardinals are close to playoff level, but the Browns are playoff level.
What will Josh Allen (17) and the Bills be looking at in 2021? A lot of familiar faces.
Are you good and returning most of what made you good, and therefore an experienced, talented and cohesive Super Bowl contender?
Yes (4): Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Baltimore, the Browns.
Explainer: Tom Brady restructured his deal with the Bucs. Why? To facilitate change? No, so Tampa would have more money to try to retain as many pieces of their Super Bowl team as possible. That’s because when it’s working, you don’t want to change.
Brady saw it in Tampa Bay while winning a ring last season. The Browns saw it, too, with an 11-5 record and a playoff win.
The Ravens could actually lose a decent amount of their pass rushers in free agency. The Bucs still have some key pieces who might go. It’s the Bills and Browns who truly might lead the league in continuity in 2021. Undoubtedly, the Browns are in the top group for cohesion. Keep that in mind as free agency starts. As the Browns add, they think who they’re keeping already has them ahead.
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