Why does that matter?

Because when it comes to having coaching connections across the NFL, most of them came from his 13 previous years with the Vikings. In that span, he only worked on the offense.

It’s rare that one assistant coach stays with the same organization as long as Stefanski did in Minnesota.

Stefanski was hired to coach the Browns on Jan. 12, 2020. That was before GM Andrew Berry came to the Browns, which was on Jan. 27, 2020.

There was a two-week gap between Stefanski and Berry officially coming together. While it seemed clear Berry would be the next GM, he was not involved in the early search for assistant coaches to work for Stefanski.

Stefanski kept Mike Priefer as special teams coach. Priefer had been with Minnesota from 2011-18. He came to the Browns in 2019. So Stefanski knew Priefer well.

Stefanski hired Joe Woods as defensive coordinator. Woods had been a defensive backs coach in Minnesota from 2006-13. Stefanski was on the coaching staff at the same time.

This is not to say Stefanski simply kept hiring friends from Minnesota. Offense coordinator Alex Van Pelt and offensive line coach Bill Callahan had no Minnesota connections.

But it is revealing that the two coordinators fired by the Browns – Woods and Priefer – had the same Minnesota roots as Stefanski.

Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski (right) and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer had a long history together dating back to the Minnesota Vikings. John Kuntz, cleveland.com

NOT WANTING TO MAKE STAFF CHANGES

A major part of the job of a head coach is to “coach” the coaches under him. It also is to realize when to replace people on the coaching staff. Stefanski was very reluctant to fire anyone.

In his first three seasons with the Browns, Stefanski didn’t make a significant change to his coaching staff. Not one in three years.

It’s hard to believe that everyone Stefanski hired after taking over and scrambling to assemble a staff was the best person available in the next two years.

Because the Browns were 11-5 in Stefanski’s first season (2020), there was a natural tendency to believe all was well with the coaching staff. The Browns even came back with the same 11 starters on offense in 2021.

But in 2021, the Browns were 8-9. They made the mistake of believing the problem was primarily the decline of Baker Mayfield. Certainly Mayfield had problems. The Browns made it worse by continuing to play Mayfield when it was obvious he was bothered by an injured left shoulder – and when they had a viable backup available in Case Keenum.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh will be on his seventh offensive coordinator in 16 seasons with Baltimore in 2023. AP

PRIEFER’S CLEVELAND HISTORY

More revealing, Cleveland’s special teams ranked 30th out of 32 teams in 2021, according to Rick Gosselin. He is the guru of special teams rating. In 2020, the Browns ranked 28th.

So in back-to-back seasons of rating near the bottom of the league in special teams, Stefanski still stuck with Priefer.

That showed one of his weaknesses as a head coach. Even the best head coaches replace coordinators.

John Harbaugh is heading into his 16th season as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. He just replaced offensive coordinator Greg Roman with Todd Monken.

Consider this: Monken will be the seventh offensive coordinator under Harbaugh.

Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin has had four offensive coordinators in his 16 seasons as the Steelers head coach.

The Browns special teams moved up to 18th in 2022. But they ranked last defending punt returns. They failed to come up with two onside kicks. Cade York had three field goal attempts blocked.

If you watched the Browns, you know there were problems on special teams.

Illustration by Ted Crow for Crowquill. The Browns hired former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz to replace fired defensive coordinator Joe Woods.

FIRST, THE DEFENSE

While a general manager should not make every hire on the coaching staff, he should be a part of the process – especially when it comes to coordinators. The GM, head coach and coordinators need to have a coherent vision of how each unit should play – and the players needed to fit the scheme.

The front office didn’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that having a full season with QB Deshaun Watson will be the ultimate cure all for the Browns’ problems. There were more than QB issues that led to the team going from 11-5 to 8-9 to 7-10 in Stefanski’s three seasons.

The front office was for new coordinators. It took Stefanski some time to embrace that idea.

Woods was fired immediately after the season. The Browns knew Jim Schwartz and Brian Flores were available, and believed either would be a major upgrade running the defense.

Berry became close to Schwartz in 2019. Berry was the Eagles’ assistant GM that season, Schwartz was Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator.

NEXT, SPECIAL TEAMS

It took longer for a decision to be made about Priefer. The Browns wanted a Schwartz-type special teams coach – an experienced guy with an excellent track record.

They had Bubba Ventrone at the top of their list. He was a star special teams player with the Browns from 2009-2012. He also played in New England. He later became an assistant special teams coach with the Patriots under Bill Belichick and Joe Judge.

For the last five years, he has been the head special teams coach in Indianapolis. In four of those seasons, the Colts ranked in the top 10 in special teams.

The 40-year-old Ventrone was under contract for 2023 with the Colts. But the Browns were able to snag him by also giving him the additional title of associate head coach. The Colts couldn’t stop Ventrone from leaving because that title is considered a promotion.

No doubt, the Browns also delivered big bucks as part of the Ventrone deal.

Jim Schwartz was a head coach for five seasons and a defensive coordinator for 14 years. John Kuntz, cleveland.com

THE BIG PICTURE

The plan for 2023 is for Stefanski to continue calling plays and working extensively with the offense and Watson.

That’s why it’s critical for the Browns to have what amounts to head coaches of the other units – defense and special teams.

The 56-year-old Schwartz was head coach of the Detroit Lions for five years (2009-13). He has been a defensive coordinator for 14 years with three different teams.

Ventrone wants to become a head coach one day. Like many of the Colts staff, he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of Jeff Saturday being brought in from ESPN as the Colts’ interim head coach late in the 2022 season. While he interviewed for the 2023 head coaching position, the Colts didn’t give him the job.

Ventrone views Cleveland as a fresh start and a chance to dramatically improve the special teams.

Remember how kicker Chase McLaughlin (71% on field goals) was the NFL’s worst kicker with the Browns in 2021?

That same Chase McLaughlin improved to 84% with the Colts under Ventrone in 2022. Yes, that was kicking in a dome. But McLaughlin also converted 83% of his kicks on the road. The Browns are optimistic Ventrone can help York.

Finally, the Browns believe Schwartz and Ventrone bring more emotional personality to the top tier of the coaching staff – something needed next to Stefanski’s more analytical demeanor.

Will it work? Who knows.

But in terms of the big picture, the Browns worked with Stefanski to make some desperately needed changes to the coaching staff.