The Cleveland Browns have made it clear they want to continue to have a strong analytics presence, but new head coach Kevin Stefanski says the reports about how much influence the numbers department will have over his decision-making are overblown.
One of the reasons the Browns chose Stefanski over Josh McDaniels is that the New England Patriots offensive coordinator reportedly wanted a franchise makeover in Cleveland, while Stefanski is willing to let Paul DePodesta and his staff have a significant role in football operations. Cleveland radio host Dustin Fox says one thing Stefanski had to agree to do is turn turn in a copy of his game plan to the analytics department by Friday each week so the plan can be discussed.
Was also told candidates also had to agree to turn in game plans to the owner and analytics department by Friday, and to attend an end-of-week analytics meeting to discuss their plan. https://t.co/rDqltnucRj
— Dustin Fox (@DustinFox37) January 13, 2020
Stefanski told the media on Friday that the report is simply not true.
Kevin Stefanski denies a report that he'll be required to share his game plan with the Browns analytics department every Friday.
"It's not true. I like that report. It's a good one."
— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) January 14, 2020
While DePodesta and company may not have asked for veto power with Stefanski’s game plan, the coach did make it clear that he is in favor of analytics.
Kevin Stefanski on analytics: "Information is power."
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 14, 2020
The Browns supposedly have no plans to promote DePodesta to general manager, but there’s a reason they stuck with him and parted ways with John Dorsey. They believe in the former MLB executive’s analytics-based approach, and Stefanski must be on-board with it as well. DePodesta has said in the past that his methods have been mocked by some of his NFL peers, but time will tell if Stefanski is the right coach to help him prove everyone wrong.
