BEREA, Ohio — The changes have begun for the Cleveland Browns after their dismal 3-14 season.
The Browns have fired both offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and offensive line coach Andy Dickerson after just one season on the job. Head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed the previously-reported firings in his day-after-the-season press conference.
‘Just bottom line, I want to go in a different direction,’ Stefanski said Sunday. ‘We need to improve, as everybody knows, on the offensive side of the ball. That’s what we plan to do.’
Stefanski, when asked about any other changes to the offensive staff, said, ‘I don’t anticipate any major changes.’ He also said he would be open to also hiring a separate quarterbacks coach but he ‘need to work through all of that.’
The Browns concluded their season Saturday night with a 35-10 loss at the Baltimore Ravens. Cleveland can secure the No. 1 overall pick with wins today by the New England Patriots (vs. Buffalo Bills) and Tennessee Titans (vs. Houston Texans).
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The fact the Browns finished their season a day before the non-AFC North teams meant they couldn’t reach out to get permission to make contact with possible candidates. While Stefanski should have an idea of coaches he’ll want to talk to, he also doesn’t have a specific type.
‘Yeah, it’s early,’ Stefanski said. ‘So need to work through all of that. I think we’ll talk to a bunch of different guys and get some different perspectives, but there’s a lot of work to be done there.’
Both Dorsey and Dickerson were part of a massive offensive staff shakeup by head coach Kevin Stefanski following the Browns’ 11-6 playoff season a year ago. The former replaced Alex Van Pelt, now with the Patriots, who was fired shortly after the season, while Dickerson replace Bill Callahan, who left to serve as the offensive line coach under his son, Brian, in Tennessee.
The Browns offense was at the center of the team’s woes throughout the season. They finished the season averaging 15.2 points per game, which is currently last in the NFL, while only scoring more than 18 points in a game three times.
The scoring output was a by-product of an offense that, entering Sunday, was 28th in total yards per game (300.8), 31st in yards per play (4.57), 28th in rushing yards (94.6), 20th in passing yards (206.2), 30th in interception rate (3.48%) and 17th in first downs (17.8). Many of those statistics actually went up for a stretch when quarterback Jameis Winston replaced the injured Deshaun Watson in Week 8 against the Ravens, but another factor played a big role in the offense’s struggles.
The Browns, as a team, threw 22 interceptions, including two by Bailey Zappe on Saturday, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Zappe was the fourth starting quarterback for the team, but all of them seemed to have the same issues with ball security.
Winston, in seven starts, threw 12 interceptions. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, in two starts and seven total appearances, threw six, while Watson had three in seven starts before his Achilles tear.
It was Watson’s injury which led to a shift in philosophy on gameday from Stefanski, who turned play-calling duties over to Dorsey. At the time, the Browns offense ranked 32nd in total yards (253.9) and third-down conversion rate (23.7%), 30th in passing offense (159.6), 29th in points per game (15.6) and tied for 28th in rush offense (94.3).
Dorsey had been hired in part because it was believed he could help bring something to the offensive philosophy that would help unlock the full potential of Watson, whom the Browns gave a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract to in 2022 after acquiring him from the Texans. The new coordinator, himself a former quarterback, had worked previously with Cam Newton in Carolina and Josh Allen in Buffalo and was there when they had MVP or near-MVP seasons.
That work never seemed to show up on the field. At the time of his season-ending injury in Week 7, Watson was 26th in passer rating (79) and touchdown percentage (2.3%), 25th in passing yards (1,148), tied for 25th in touchdown passes (five), 29th in yards per attempt (5.31) and was sacked 33 times.
Winston did elevate the passing offense significantly. However, his propensity for turning the football over – including eight interceptions in his final three starts – prevented the Browns from coming close to maximizing any growth seen in production.
Dickerson had been one of the individuals also interviewed for the offensive coordinator’s position when Van Pelt, along with multiple other offensive assistants, were let go in the week following the AFC wild card loss in Houston. When Callahan left to join in son with the Titans, the move was made to hire the former Seattle Seahawks assistant who had worked under Callahan with the New York Jets in both 2008 and 2011.
By the end of the season, former Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel, a coaching and personnel consultant for the team, was almost like a de facto offensive line coach in trying to assistant with that group. Assistant line coach Roy Istvan also was very hands on with the coaching as well.
The move from Callahan, considered one of the elite line coaches in the game, to Dickerson was compounded by a litany of injuries along the offensive line throughout training camp and well into the season. The Browns ended up starting eight different offensive line combinations, including seven in the first eight games.
Left guard Joel Bitonio was the lone Browns offensive lineman to not miss a game this season. The other four spots dealt with a constant churn over the first half of the season that only created more issues for Dickerson.
Left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr., an impending free agent, only played five games due to knee injuries, while promising tackle Dawand Jones had his second season in a row ended early due to an injury, this time a broken ankle in Week 11. Right tackle Jack Conklin missed the first five games while returning from last season’s knee injury, followed by a hamstring issue, but played well once back in the lineup.
Right guard Wyatt Teller also missed time due to a knee injury that landed him on injured reserve and forced third-round pick Zak Zinter to play much sooner than was hoped. Center Nick Harris suffered a broken ankle two plays into his only start in Week 6 at Philadelphia.
(This story has been updated with new information.)