By Jordan Long
The Cleveland Browns season ended with a loss in the Wild Card Round against the Houston Texans. The Browns kept the game competitive in the first half, only down 24-14. In the second half, Cleveland was outscored 21-0, falling 45-21. With the poor performance in the game, the Browns decided to make changes to their offensive coaching staff, firing Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt, Running Backs Coach Stump Mitchell, and Tight Ends Coach T.C. McCartney.
The Browns finished the regular season with an 11-6 record, 2nd in the AFC North Division. They earned a playoff spot as the 5th seed in the AFC Playoffs. In the regular season the Browns’ offense gained 335.9 yards per game, 16th in the NFL. When it came to passing, they had trouble throwing the football, averaging 217.2 yards per game which was 19th in the NFL. It didn’t help the Browns started 5 different quarterbacks, Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, PJ Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, and Jeff Driskel. Driskel’s doesn’t count as much since he played in week 18 when the Browns had already wrapped up a playoff spot and couldn’t improve their seeding.
The running game ended up being the best part of their offense. The Browns’ offensive line was able to block and create holes for the running backs to run through, averaging 118.6 yards per game, 12th in the NFL.
During the playoff loss against the Houston Texans, the offense played well, totaling 324 yards. The Texans gained 356 yards. The difference in the game were the turnovers and sacks. The Browns tossed 2 interceptions and the offensive line allowed 4 sacks. The Texans didn’t have a turnover and didn’t give up a sack.
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski decided changes were needed to the offensive coaching staff. Letting go of Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt makes sense. The offense struggled at times during the season. Van Pelt tried to make adjustments and they didn’t work. Even in the playoff loss against the Texans, he didn’t put his team in a position to win with his play calls.
Letting go of Running Backs Coach Stump Mitchell is puzzling. The Browns ran the football well this season. The only issue was in the playoff game where they gained only 56 yards on the ground. That is not on the Running Backs Coach but rather the offensive line coach. His unit failed to open up the running lanes for the running backs. Stefanski should have thought about that.
The Browns feel these changes to the offense will improve the team next year. During the offseason, Stefanski will look for a new offensive coordinator, running backs coach, and a tight ends coach. Whoever he hires, hopefully, it equals a longer playoff run next season.
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