Kevin Stefanski is the new coach of the Browns, but he’s not based in Cleveland yet.
Stefanski revealed Thursday his family postponed its move from Edina, Minnesota, to Northeast Ohio because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been working from home in Minnesota for the past two weeks, helping his wife, Michelle, with their three young children and attempting to guide the Browns remotely.
“This is definitely testing my parenting skills,” Stefanski said during a conference call with media.
It’s also testing his leadership and organizational skills while he charts a new course for the franchise as a first-time head coach.
“You’ve just got to make it work,” Stefanski said. “I don’t look at it from any other perspective than that. I think all 32 teams are at the same disadvantage.
“It’s a very fluid situation as we all know. We are just awaiting word from the league on how they’re going to handle certain things, and then we’ll adapt and adjust accordingly.”
The Browns had been scheduled to begin their voluntary offseason workout program Monday at team headquarters in Berea until the global health crisis forced the NFL to audible. The league closed club training facilities and delayed offseason conditioning programs indefinitely.
Now no one knows when Stefanski will be able to get his players and coaching staff in the building. He doesn’t even know when he’ll be permitted to conduct virtual meetings with players about football or send them playbooks.
“We have plans and then contingency plans and contingency plans for those contingency plans,” he said. “We’re trying to think about this thing and hit it from every angle, pending the rules and pending the structure that the NFL and the NFLPA agree upon.
“Is it virtual classrooms? We’re ready for that, but we just don’t know exactly how it’s going to go down.”
Virtual meetings are in full swing among the coaches and player personnel staff led by General Manager Andrew Berry, who, like Stefanski, is new to the job.
“What you can get done remotely is maybe not the same as having everybody in the same room, but the way we’ve attacked, it is we’re full steam ahead,” Stefanski said. “Whatever the rules are, we’ll play by them, but it cannot slow down our preparation.”
That’s easier said than done.
NFL officials have stated they’re expecting a full regular season to begin on time in the fall, but everyone knows these are extremely uncertain times.
If the Browns open the season on Sunday, Sept. 13, but aren’t able to practice until training camp, which usually begins in late July, the coaches would need to expedite the installation of new systems on both sides of the ball. Plus the Browns have acquired 13 new players this offseason, with more inevitably on the way.
The league recognizes the inherent challenges of a fresh start by giving new head coaches an extra minicamp in the spring. It’s a stretch to believe any of the three minicamps the Browns would have had this year under normal circumstances will be held.
It’s also obvious the obstacles in such a scenario would be greater for rookie NFL head coaches like Stefanski, Joe Judge of the New York Giants and Matt Rhule of the Carolina Panthers, but Stefanski is steering clear of using it as an excuse.
“All 32 clubs are going to be playing by the same rules,” he said. “Whenever we see our players, whether it’s via a tablet or seeing them in person, we’ll have our program ready to go and our installs ready to go. I think we’re in the same boat as everybody else.”
He basically used the same answer to describe Berry and Co.’s preparation for the NFL Draft, which will still be held April 23-25, albeit as a largely virtual version of the traditional event.
In-person meetings with prospects and pro days have been shut down. There is limited data and medical information available as a result. Stefanski said Browns scouts and position coaches are doing the bulk of the virtual calls teams are permitted to conduct with prospects as a way to compensate for missing face-to-face meetings.
“We have our information,” Stefanski said. “Our scouts are working hard still. They’ve done a great job throughout the fall and through the combine of gathering information. So we’ll be ready to go. But is it a unique year? Would we love to have more medical information? Would we love to be able to go out to these pro days? Of course, but we’re dealing with what’s out there. That’s our job to adapt.”
Stefanski conceded it’s possible he could remain in Minnesota during the draft.
“I want to get to Cleveland ASAP,” he said. “But I’ll heed the advice of the professionals on this one.”
A Minnesota Vikings staff member for 14 seasons before the Browns hired him in January, Stefanski was an assistant quarterbacks coach in 2011 during the NFL lockout. The labor battle between owners and players wiped out practices until training camp, so Stefanski cited it as an example of coaches being forced to prepare their teams in a rush.
“I really truly believe we have a plan in place,” he said. “We have a program that we’re ready to roll out, pending some of the structure of what we’re allowed to do. So we preach this all the time that you have to be ready to adapt and you have to be ready to hit the curveball. So this is a bit of a curveball, but I think our guys are thinking creatively about how to attack this offseason, and that’s where I have a ton of confidence in our coaching staff.”
Stefanski went to the creativity card again when asked about building camaraderie and unity among players while everyone is apart. He said players will need to have as many virtual interactions as possible with their teammates and, when permitted, coaches.
“When you’re not sitting in the locker room for an hour with each other, there’s some missed opportunities to build a team,” he said. “But that is something that we’re thinking long and hard about some ways to do that.”
In the meantime, Stefanski insisted he’s establishing a reputation as “one of the better gym coaches” while keeping his kids busy.
“The e-learning, they’re doing a nice job,” he said. “I’m learning from them as they take their classes online. I’m learning how they as students respond, so know I can use that information for when we get to our players. Luckily, the weather’s decent, so there’s been a lot of outdoor breaks. So baseball has been coming back, a lot of bike rides, hitting some plastic golf balls out in the lawns. Really, we’re throwing the kitchen sink at them.”
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