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Kevin Stefanski Should Make the Decision Whether to Bench Deshaun Watson
If it becomes time to make a change at quarterback, the coach should trust his gut no matter what his bosses think.
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Kevin Stefanski Should Make the Decision Whether to Bench Deshaun Watson
If it becomes time to make a change at quarterback, the coach should trust his gut no matter what his bosses think.
Coaches and NFL team higher-ups often despise hypotheticals and assumptions from outside the facility, nevermind hypotheticals wrapped in hypotheticals wrapped in assumptions. It takes them out of a schedule in which every second is accounted for—and necessary—to perform a task that requires, as Jerry Jones might say, gnat surgery focus.
Be that as it may, the Cleveland Browns are in a quarterbacking situation that looks to be approaching a decision point. Deshaun Watson, as colleague Matt Verderame outlined in a recent film breakdown, is increasingly hesitant to respond to openings provided via the offense. He’s taking an astronomical number of sacks (16), more than any other quarterback in the NFL heading into Week 4, and his ability to extend plays has been showcased inconsistently.
Benching Watson is an idea that would have seemed unfathomable a few years ago, when the team signed him to what was then one of the most expensive contracts in NFL history, and remains the most binding one. It felt more possible after Joe Flacco led the club on a miraculous run to the postseason last year. Benching him for new backup Jameis Winston may now be the only avenue to a second consecutive playoff appearance for the Browns. It’s being discussed with some degree of regularity, though a recent report from The Athletic noted that there’s “no way” the team would do it any time soon.
In my mind, choosing not to re-sign Flacco in free agency showed a discomfort with the idea of a fan favorite sitting behind the struggling franchise quarterback. Given the layers involved in that type of decision, here comes the sandwich of both hypothetical and outside assumption together: If Kevin Stefanski were ever to make a move toward benching Watson, he would need to clear that with a not insignificant number of people who are shackled to the enormity of this Watson contract and situation.
If it comes to that point—and stripping away on-field performance from any contract considerations, it may already have—my thought is that Stefanski would be better off asking for forgiveness rather than permission. As you look around the NFL, teams that are vibrant and successful are coached by mostly younger offensive minds with the skills to retrofit an explosive scheme to almost any quarterback. Stefanski is one of a small number of coaches such as Matt LaFleur, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, Sean McVay, Kevin O’Connell, Andy Reid and Shane Steichen who possess this ability and have showcased it with different passers. In Stefanski’s case, he has gotten great performances out of Baker Mayfield, Jacoby Brissett and Flacco.
What’s the worst that could happen to Stefanski? How big a slap on the wrist would he receive from his bosses for making his own decision about whom to play at quarterback? If the Browns dismissed him, he would be one of the first coaches hired the following January when the coaching carousel heats up. If they wanted something for him, Stefanski’s trade value would presumably be quite high. As an added bonus, he would be shielded from the fallout of a possibly difficult back-end of Watson’s contract, and maybe the team could recoup some draft picks to ease that pain. Now these are massive hypotheticals.
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