Kevin Stefanski looked over at his father, Ed, after delivering the analogy that perfectly described why he was viewed as the best possible fit for the Browns as their new head coach.

Ed, a longtime NBA executive and current senior adviser for the Detroit Pistons, appreciated this one, and Kevin didn't want him to feel too proud of himself.

"No smiling over there," Stefanski said.

Stefanski had just laid it out, explaining why his goal was to become the "point guard" for a Browns organization that is striving for the kind of alignment it believes will lead to better success on Sundays in the fall for years to come.

"I am ready and willing and excited to lead from out in front as I stand before you," Stefanski said Tuesday at FirstEnergy Stadium, speaking behind the same dais and inside the same room he'll speak from after the Browns' home games in 2020 and beyond.

"I am also ready and willing to step back and let the success and shine the light on our players, which is where it should be. To use basketball terms so that my dad can understand this, I want to be the point guard for this organization. I want to bring the ball up, but then I want to share the basketball with someone else to get an easy bucket."

It's that kind of mindset that drew the Browns to Stefanski, who becomes the team's 18th full-time head coach in franchise history. Half of those have come since the franchise returned in 1999 -- too large of a number for anyone's liking. Inserting Stefanski into a structure the team believes will lead to better overall alignment is the start to hopefully putting a halt to that trend.

In the 37-year-old Stefanski, the Browns believe they have the leader that can bring much-needed stability to one of the most important positions in the entire organization. There's "no ego" in the former Vikings offensive coordinator, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said. There's a quiet confidence and authenticity that resonates with players and his colleagues, a sentiment that was repeatedly relayed by the 25-30 references the Cleveland search committee checked before interviewing Stefanski late Thursday in Minnesota.