AFC Notes: Kevin Stefanski, Browns, Ravens, Steelers, Matt Canada

Browns

Browns GM Andrew Berry threw his support behind HC Kevin Stefanski and said that his job this offseason is to do everything he can to help put him in a position to succeed.

“First of all, I think we have a really strong head coach,” Berry said, via Akron Beacon Journal. “I think he proved his very first year he is smart, he is good with our guys and he is creative. The reality of it is we are all looking to make the necessary changes and modifications to make sure that we can reach our goals and have a really productive 2023. That takes all of us. The head coach, he is out in front, he is the leader of the organization and he bears a lot of burden and responsibility, and he gets really all of the blame when it is not necessarily all him. Our job is to make sure we support the head coach and put him in the right environment to be successful, and it takes all of us. It takes all of us. We know we have a good one in Kev.”

Berry plans on sitting down with Stefanski and evaluating what went wrong and how they can fix it together heading into next season.

“I say this every year, every season is unique,” Berry said. “We work in a super-competitive sport, a super-competitive industry. It is hard and competitive to get to the playoffs. To think just because you go one year you can snap your fingers and go back, it takes a lot of effort. We are back in base camp right here in January as we prepare for 2023. We are under no illusions in terms of the work that it takes every year to try and scale the mountain and get back. Kevin may know the statistic better than I do, but how many new playoff teams per year? It is a fair amount of turnover. Basically, look, it is hard. It is hard, and we do not underestimate that by any means.”

Berry said the dynamic revolving around the QB Deshaun Watson trade was difficult and credited Stefanski and QB Jacoby Brissett for handling it well.

”I think two things can be true,” Berry said. “I think No. 1, the circumstances regarding the trade for Deshaun in terms of managing it for Kevin and the staff, that is certainly a challenge this year. At the same time, I think both of us would tell you that we wouldn’t use that as an excuse for this year. We obviously got really good quarterback play from Jacoby. We felt like we had enough good players and enough opportunities to ultimately win games this year to end at a different point in the season. I also certainly don’t want to minimize the unique dynamics in terms of managing the team on a week-to-week basis for Kevin and his assistants.”

Berry said the team’s plans over the next few weeks will be a period of evaluation from top to bottom.

“Any time this time of year we are sitting here in the postseason instead of getting prepared for an upcoming game is obviously a disappointing place to be,” Berry said. “We didn’t get it done this year. We were just too inconsistent throughout the season, and there are plenty of areas to work on and improve as we get into the upcoming months. We are going to spend the next couple of weeks really assessing everything roster and football operations wise from A to Z really with the goal of getting us to obviously where we are meaningful football this point in the year.”

Ravens

• Ravens LB Roquan Smith‘s new five-year, $100 million deal includes a $22.5 million signing bonus. (Aaron Wilson)

Steelers

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin believes OC Matt Canada got better as the year went on but is not prepared to make any potential changes to the team’s staff.

“I thought he got better,” Tomlin said, via ESPN. “Just like our team got better. I’m not gonna speculate about him or anyone as I stand here today. I’m just beginning the process of transitioning in terms of wrapping a bow around it and look and seeing what 2023 looks like. I’m just not there. We got some work to do, but largely I thought he got better in the ways that we got better. It was encouraging.”

Steelers QB Kenny Pickett said he was always on the same page as Canada throughout the year.

“We’re just getting to know each other,” Pickett said. “I get to know how he calls games. He gets to know what I like, constant communication. The more I was playing, the more input I was able to have and what I like. We were always on the same page with Coach Sully [Mike Sullivan] as well.”

Steelers RB Najee Harris said that at the end of the day, most people call the same plays. The difference comes down to the players executing what’s called. 

“We all believe in Canada,” Harris said. “Everybody’s saying that he called the same plays, but everybody calls the same plays, you know what I mean? You can look at everybody everywhere. Everybody calls the same plays. He’s dressed up a different way. If you really know X’s and O’s, that’s really what it is. All that play-calling stuff, I think that’s just a coverup for just the lack of stuff that we were doing on the field as players.“