IS THERE ALIGNMENT?

I was thinking about some recent Browns history, the connection and communication between the front office and coaching staffs.

That’s especially true because I’ve been impressed with how new GM Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have worked together during free agency.

The Browns have been talking “alignment” for a while, and free agency was the first chance for the Berry/Stefanski combination to show it.

“AB (Berry) set out a plan and followed through on it,” Stefanski said. “We identified people who were really important to what we wanted to do and who we wanted to be.”

That was a response to a question I asked on the coach’s recent conference call about the key free agent signings.

“It was so important to get the right players... and the right people,” he said. “They fit the mentality of what we want to be.”

I asked a vague question to learn what Stefanski thought of the first-day, free-agent signings of right tackle Jack Conklin, tight end Austin Hooper and QB Case Keenum.

I was told those players were wanted by Stefanski, and they also fit into the analytics approach to signing free agents who wer in their middle 20s and coming off rookie contracts to long-term deals.

The 32-year-old Keenum is an exception. He is a QB, and they tend to have long careers. He also is a backup to Baker Mayfield, and highly valued because he played for Stefanski (QB coach) in 2017 in Minnesota.

Stefanski said he and the front office asked, “Where do you think we can add some good players who fit our scheme and fit the personality of the locker room?"

This came from a question I asked about Hooper, the former Atlanta Falcons tight end.

“Austin right away checked all those boxes,” said Stefanski. “Credit Andrew and his group for identifying him and getting the deal done... In this system we are running, we want to use multiple tight ends.”

The Browns also want to run the ball.

Conklin is a good overall right tackle, but his strength is run-blocking.

Stefanski almost sounds poetic extolling the virtues of Keenum as a backup QB who also can play when needed.

The trade for fullback Andy Janovich also was something Stefanski wanted. Just as he loves tight ends, he swoons over a hard-blocking, physical fullback.

It’s very early. They have been together for only three months. They haven’t lost a game.

And maybe I’m just being hopeful...

But I have a good vibe about what the Browns have done so far – and it seems different than the recent past.

That's what new Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said of tight end Austin Hooper. In this photo from 2018, Hooper was playing for the Atlanta Falcons and he leaped over former Browns linebacker Jamie Collins. Photo by John Kuntz / cleveland.com

A HISTORY LESSON

1. Shotgun marriage (2014-15): That was the pairing of GM Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine. The two men were rookies in their jobs. They barely knew each other. Throw in a troubled QB Johnny Manziel. There was no direction, just two guys trying to survive and not having much confidence in each other. It was doomed for failure from the start.

2. The analytics (2016-17): The Browns went from an old-line football GM (Farmer) to the new-age style of front office with Paul DePodesta and Sashi Brown. The problem was the pairing of coach Hue Jackson with analytics. Jackson was old school. The losing was killing him. The front office and coaching staff spoke a different language. No chance to succeed.

3. The real players (2018-19): Veteran GM John Dorsey went back to the more traditional style of drafting and acquiring players. He called them “real players.” He upgraded the talent. He had some success with interim coach Gregg Williams (5-3, 2018). But the hiring of overwhelmed rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens in 2019 was yet another example of a poor pairing.

If you want to read more background on this and other recent Browns struggles, my Browns Blues book gives lots of gory details.

CAN WE BE FOOLED AGAIN?

Confession time: I had an uneasy feeling when Dorsey was bringing in some character/personality risks. I hated the idea of trading guard Kevin Zeitler and worried Odell Beckham Jr. could turn into a major distraction. But I was blinded by the Browns success in 2018 when they finished 5-3 (7-8-1 overall). I failed to raise some of the tough questions after those moves after the 2018 season required.

OK, now back to the story...

While the Browns will never say it, Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta emerged from the Dorsey firing with a stronger voice. He put together the searches, and it began with finding a coach.

But looming in the background was the idea of having Andrew Berry return to Cleveland in a more prominent role. He was part of the Sashi Brown front office (2016-17) and worked for a year under Dorsey. Berry spent the 2019 season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Interesting sidelight: Sashi Brown was preparing Berry to take over as GM in a few years with Brown assuming a big-picture role in the football operations. But Brown was fired after 23 months.

That didn’t diminish the affinity ownership and DePodesta have for Berry.

DePodesta and some others in the front office favored hiring Stefanski as coach in 2019. Ownership went with Kitchens, the choice of Dorsey.

When Kitchens fell apart and DePodesta rose in prominence, Stefanski immediately appeared to be the leading candidate for the job. Rumors soon popped up about Berry coming back.

Others were interviewed for coach and GM, but it ended up being almost where it started... with Stefanski and Berry.

And yes, we heard a lot about “alignment” from ownership, then from Berry and Stefanski.

The GM and coach then developed their own mantra of wanting players who are “smart, tough and accountable.”

The Browns also signed a lot of players (primarily on defense), most to modest one-year contracts.

I asked Stefanski about that: “They may not be the biggest names, but when you are putting together a system, you are looking for systematic fits. I think that’s what we’ve done on offense and defense.”

The draft is coming. More player decisions need to made. The biggest hole to fill is at left tackle.

But so far, the “alignment" seems to be lining up in Stefanski’s favor.

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