Around three months ago, Kevin Stefanski sat in his well-lit office in Eagan, Minnesota, and got peppered with questions about his core tenets as an offensive coordinator. The Minnesota Vikings were rolling at the time — winners of eight of 10 at the time — and I wanted to know the secret to getting the most out of Kirk Cousins, who was in the midst of a career year.

About three weeks after that conversation, Cousins, the man many said couldn’t win the big one, finally got the statement win he badly needed, a stunning 26-20 road victory at New Orleans.

So yeah, I’d like to think I was a bit ahead of that train.

I admit, I also sought out Stefanski because I knew it wouldn’t be long before he’d be a head coach in this league. I’d met him for the first time during training camp in August and was immediately impressed with his friendly demeanor, disarming way with the media and sharp mind. That’s an ideal trio of skills to have in today’s NFL, which has never been more offense-driven.

So I figured that when — not if — he becomes the head man somewhere, it would be great to already know what he wants to accomplish offensively. And to that end, the following anecdote stood out from December:

“Every Monday, I watch the top five plays from every offense because you’re looking for inspiration, and you want to see how somebody [executed] a certain scheme and then you say, ‘All right, that looked pretty cool — maybe we could try it this week.’

“So the fun part of this business is, you’re constantly evolving and adapting and finding out more about your players.”

View photos Jimmy, left, and Dee Haslam, owners of the Cleveland Browns, are turning to head coach Kevin Stefanski to turn the franchise around. (AP Photo/Phil Long) More

Then came the kicker:

“The nice part is that we have depth at wide receiver, tight end and running back, so we can be multiple and versatile,” Stefanski said.

Stefanski was referring to the Vikings’ two Pro Bowl receivers (Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs), a Pro Bowl tight end (Kyle Rudolph) and a promising young one (Irv Smith Jr.), one premium running back (Dalvin Cook) and a promising young one (Alexander Mattison). The Vikings rode that group to an average of 25.4 points per game, eighth most in the league.

Projecting things forward, Stefanski, who was hired as the Cleveland Browns’ head coach in January, might as well have been talking about his new team.

Browns’ free agent blueprint looks familiar for Stefanski

While Cleveland fans have a well-deserved tendency to expect the worst, it’s hard not to be optimistic about the level of competency the Browns have displayed thus far in free agency.

In an effort to give Stefanski what he needs to make Cleveland’s 22nd-ranked offense sing in 2020, new general manager Andrew Berry promptly set about making the Browns’ offense more Minnesota-like. The Vikings used two tight ends as much as anyone in the league last season. So Berry went and signed 25-year-old tight end Austin Hooper, giving the Browns the opportunity to pair him with David Njoku. That improves Cleveland’s athleticism at the position, giving defenses issues.

But that’s not all! The Browns’ receiving tandem of Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham Jr. is every bit as good as the Vikings’ duo of Diggs and Thielen a year ago, and they also have the explosive running backs (Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt) to match Cook and Mattison. The Browns even signed Jack Conklin, one of the game’s premier run-blockers, to big money to shore up the right tackle spot, leaving the left tackle position as the only remaining offensive hole.

View photos Baker Mayfield regressed in his second NFL season. It's up to Kevin Stefanski to get him back to top form. (AP Photo/David Richard, File) More

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