Although the Browns hired a new offensive coordinator and other staffers in an effort to design an offense more suited to Deshaun Watson‘s skillset, the team is not changing its play-caller.
Kevin Stefanski said Thursday he will call plays for the Browns this season. Despite Stefanski carrying the play sheet during his first four seasons in Cleveland, some uncertainty existed whether he would continue to do so after hiring ex-Bills play-caller Ken Dorsey as OC. Dorsey will follow Alex Van Pelt as a non-play-calling Browns OC.
The Browns have succeeded intermittently with Stefanski calling plays, and the recently extended coach most recently displayed his chops by guiding the 2023 team to the playoffs after numerous injuries — including Watson’s season-ending shoulder malady — impacted their offense.
Stefanski steered late-season free agency pickup Joe Flacco to Comeback Player of the Year acclaim, doing so without the services of Nick Chubb and the team’s top three tackles for much of the season.
The Bills fired Dorsey midway through his second season as their play-caller, giving way to Joe Brady. Buffalo’s Josh Allen-driven offense had run into some issues during a midseason swoon, one the team rebounded from en route to the AFC’s No. 2 seed.
That said, Dorsey guided the Bills to No. 2 rankings in scoring and total offense in 2022. This came despite Allen playing through injury for much of the season.
Stefanski having collected the Coach of the Year award in 2020, after Baker Mayfield bounced back from a woeful 2019, came after he called plays in Minnesota in 2019. Cleveland’s current HC carries more experience than Dorsey, by a significant margin, calling plays.
As the Browns make some changes on offense, the unit’s maestro will not change.
