August 15, 2024 • 18 mins
08/15/24 Vikes HC Kevin O'Connell and Browns HC Kevin Stefanski both chat with PA at joint practices in Cleveland!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
O good you, Homer.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Gotta be careful with Johnny Pecker. I mean, pick your
poison with that deepense.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Good stuff. Nine to now I know right.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Backing Hot Duke hut Duke, Hot Dupe is on fire,
you lucky stuckers. Oh my god, A pleasant good morning
(01:14):
to you, and thank you very much for listening to
FM one hundred point three Kfan or as all the
kids and ninety nine point two percent of the world
calls it KFAM and I'm Paul Allen Nordo produces in
the Twin Cities.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Yours truly is.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
At the Vikings team Hotel in downtown Cleveland, into our
third day in Cleveland and heading into the second joint
practice for the Vikings in the Browns, and the first
time I had the privilege of sitting down with a
couple of NFL head coaches and elite offensive minds. Kevin
O'Connell's into his third year as head coach of the
(01:51):
Minnesota Vikings. His first coaching job was quarterbacks coach for
the Cleveland Browns. That team was coached by Vikings side
linebackers coach Mike Petton, who joins nine to noon today
about ninety minutes from now. Kevin Stefanski is into his
fifth year coaching the Cleveland Browns and is a two
(02:13):
time National Football League Coach of the Year. He was
with the Minnesota Vikings for fourteen years, finishing in twenty
nineteen as offensive coordinator. So after the first joint, sat
down with KOC and Kevin Calm and learned these learned
passing game minds had some good things to say and
(02:36):
some interesting things to say about day one of the
joints plus their careers, and we began with Kevin O'Connell
asking him, so how to go today?
Speaker 4 (02:45):
I thought it was awesome.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
I cannot You know, when you schedule these joint practices,
you got to really think long and hard about Let's
not just find the first team that you can find
to agree to practice against. It's about this guy right
here in this beautiful facility. We don't just leave our
facility for nothing, because we love our place in Egan,
but just to be able to put together two days
of work with this guy and know the type of players,
(03:08):
the type of team he has. They're going to practice
the right way, physical tough made us better just in
one day, and we get one more day to do it,
so it was I thought it was.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Awesome, and we'll come back and do it again tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
That's the plan.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, like Kao.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
Said, having a familiarity with their staff. There's week how
many guys on our our staffs that work together, so
they know each other. So it's such an important part
of just getting your work done.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And just watch it.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
I had the view of that other field, and then
we'll go watch the other.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
When we get back, we'll watch the tape on the
other side.
Speaker 6 (03:36):
But guys were just working and that's the fun part
where pros or pros. All these guys know each other
from high school days and college days. So I got
some really good work done, and like.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Kao said, I think it'll make both teams better.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
How well do you guys know each other, and like
do you talk outside of just getting ready for joint practices?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Well, I know, back in two thousand and eight, he
was pounding the table saying.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Get he's like.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Nine feet tall, and he just you know, he didn't
quite have the same poll that he has now to
get it done. But no, I just have always you know,
not only his path to you know, he's coached a
bunch of different positions.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
At a really high level. He's called plays at a
really high level.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
And then he kind of gets a chance to come here,
and you know, in an organization and a football town
that loves their loves their team, and I think they've
really embraced this guy because they know how special the
leader he is and he's a damn good football coach
and he does it the right way. So I'm always
trying to get to know him even better. But we'll
save that for the league meetings.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Yeah, we get along, our wives get along. You know
that's important.
Speaker 6 (04:42):
So but seriously, former Cleveland Browns A right, So, and
last time you were here was what year around twenty fifteen,
So just think about that.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Nine years later, here you are.
Speaker 6 (04:53):
Some things have changed, you know, building has changed, but
some faces still the same, right, still some people and
the same thing for me. So Kale gets to come
here and I see some people that he remembers from
his days. I'm getting to see a bunch of former
vikings that you.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Know, spent all those years with. So it's fun for
both of us on both sides of that.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Well, well, on that last note, one would be Harrison
Smith and all the years decade and a half a
little more that Kevin Stefanski was here and Kevin O'Connell
into his third year as head coach. I know you
guys are in lockstep with your respect for Harrison Smith.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I remember what.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Stefanski used to say about him and O'Connell on exes
and o's and outside of it, has said, he's either
one of your or your favorite players you've ever coached,
Harrison Smith the hit man.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
First you, Kevin, Yeah, one of my favorite players is
to coach, not my favorite player to coach against.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
That is not fun because he's so cerebral.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Even today he was doing some stuff, was bus his chops,
he was making calls and he's making fake I knew
he was making fake calls, So he's messing with us there.
And then just the ball skills that Harry has, the
amount of balls he's gotten do in his career, just
so athletics play so hard. He's certainly one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
And why is he one of your favorites?
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Well, I just think he's one of the few guys
that comes up to my office and Mike's to have
a cup of coffee with me. Sometimes when you have
a guy that's played as long as Harry has.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Sometimes it's good for him too therapeutic to be around
somebody a little closer to his ahup and the head
ball coaches office. But yeah, I think it's what he said, Billy.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
It's like, I really value people that are the same
version of themselves, which is great, every day authentic there,
you know exactly what they're going to get.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
I can lean on him.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
He's such an unbelievable leader in how he does it.
His leadership style, I think is really one of one,
and I can say he's one of my favorite coaches
or favorite players I've ever coached as long as Justin
Jefferson's not about.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Fifteen feet away. And then then we got a problem
in the are right absolutely love him?
Speaker 3 (06:42):
You know that well.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
And AFC Kevin.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
We'll go AFC Kevin and NFC Kevin, but this is
for both of you, and you said something about NFC Kevin.
In twenty fifteen, that was Kevin's first coaching job in
the NFL. Mike Patton was the head coach of the
Cleveland Browns. Kevin was the quarterbacks coach. AFC haven't head
coach here into his fifth year. Here's the question when
the wind is whipping in from Lake Erie at this stadium.
(07:08):
I mean, seriously, you guys are both offensive coaches, your coaches,
but offensive minds. How difficult is it to play a
game and execute an offense with that wind?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Ask the guy who threw balls in that stadium?
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Oh wow, I will tell you this much that I remember.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
There was one game where during pregame warm ups it
was about sixty five degrees in sunny. By the end
of the game it was twenty snowing thirty mile an hour. Win.
It was like nothing I had ever seen. But yeah,
I used to throw a balls pregame. But you throw
enough wobblers in those you know that that win down
there on the league, that will that will humble any
(07:41):
you know, guy that thinks he can throw a football
in the National Football you'll it'll well, you'll find out real.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Quick, kay, Kevin.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Is it a home field advantage because the home team
has to play in the bad conditions too?
Speaker 6 (07:51):
Yeah, I think it's good for both teams. You know,
we enjoy it does make up maybe gripping the football
pretty hard. We've had some games down there what I
call it, it's like a rain globe.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
It's just a misted off the lake.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
I don't know if that's a meteorological terms.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
It's hard to grip that ball a lot of times
and then to win like I've.
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Seen that ball in pregame that it just takes a
nose up, just goes straight down.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
So we have to adjust.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
It's not like the friendly confines of US Bank Stadium rives, right,
but both teams have to deal.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
With you honestly, right, Okay, Now, AFC Kevin, when you
see Christian Darisov, what do you say?
Speaker 6 (08:27):
That's a good looking kid. I mean he is, That's
what you want him to look like. He is so physical.
I didn't get to see a lot of it while
I was out there, but I can't wait to watch
number ninety five go against number seventy one minute. That's
good on good and just to see how those guys
work together and work different moves against each other.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
That kid's pretty special.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
And then for NFC Kevin, Kevin O'Connor, when you see
Miles Garrett, what do you say?
Speaker 5 (08:48):
I told him today after practice, I said, you know what,
to me, it looks like he got some good work.
I'm not going to speak for coach to Fantsky, but
if you want to take tomorrow off, that is totally
all right by me.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
But I'll tell you this much.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
You can tell I was fortunate to be around a
guy like Aaron Donald in LA and I just remember
watching the way people respected through the scheme that they run.
You always knew where the slide was going. You always
knew that there was going to be two or three
guys blocking them. I think it's the same way with
Miles Garrett, and they just happen to have three.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Or four or five other really good rushers on that front.
Speaker 5 (09:22):
So you really have to be aware of where he
is at all times because he's a game wrecker, really,
you know, one of the top, if not the top
edge rusher in our league.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And I have a lot of respect for how he
plays all downs.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
He plays the run, you know, instinctive versus the different
types of screens and things that he's going to see.
As a really really good rusher, he can handle getting
chipped on the edges. I just think he's spectacular.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Now.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Kat the Kevin Stefanski and O'Connell are two of the
most well respected offensive mines in the NFL, and when
it comes to the art of designing offense and having
to be ever changing on a week to week basis
and running up big numbers in a lot of points
like does it start?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Like like like, I know.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
It's a broad, wide question, but simplify it for us,
like where does that start?
Speaker 6 (10:07):
I would tell you good ideas come from everywhere. We
have young coaches. We were both young coaches, and some
of your young coaches will bring you a play from honestly,
sometimes high school, sometimes college, and you look at it
and you put it on the board and then you say,
all right, maybe we could do this, and you just
tweak it.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
But it's it's a lot. It's really that that you
push all those.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Ideas in the middle of the table and you see
which ones make it.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
But there's a lot of pruning going on, and hey,
this this will work for us. I know why they
did that, but you know that really doesn't fit our scheme.
Let's try this.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
So it's a lot of mixing matching, and then it
also helps when you have good players.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Yeah, what about you, I just as a young coach
in this league.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I remember whether it was Sean McVay most recently or
going back to Jay Gruden, Chip Kelly. You know, even
when I coached here, you know, having that when you
get a play in the in the game plan for
the first time and then it gets called and it
works and you exactly how you said it would or
sometimes it's a scramble play and it looks nothing like
(11:03):
you said it would work, and you're still equally excited
because it was it was your play on the call sheet.
So I think that's such a great point. Is and
it also engages your whole staff. There's no such thing
as a bad idea. It's just the bad ones we
may prove.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I like that take it.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I tend to use a different word.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
You know, we've got the graveyard where bad plays go
to die. So every Excel spreadsheet, there's about ten or
fifteen of them re funder the area exactly. But I
think it's important because then your staff styled in and
hopefully you guys feel like they've got real roles in
our in our staff.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Can either of you see yourselves at any point not
calling plays, not being in gameplay callers.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
I'll go first.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
I mean I've we've both been young coaches where we
weren't play callers, and now as head coaches.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
We've been play callers.
Speaker 6 (11:51):
Yeah, I think it depends on the staff, depends on
what your group needs. I do know this, even the
guys that aren't per se call and plays, you can
be heavily involved both during the week and even on
the game.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
But are on game day if you will.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
But yeah, I enjoy a lot of things about football.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
I enjoyed.
Speaker 6 (12:08):
I enjoyed the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I've been putting it
on the board, coming up with those plays. I enjoy
that even more than call in the place.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
You know what about you?
Speaker 5 (12:16):
Yeah, I would think that, uh, you know, getting to
I remember getting the.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Call plays for the first time when I was in Washington.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
It was mid season and you're, you know, you're getting
really thrown.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Into the fire.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
And I just remember how much every single quarter, every
drive felt like experience that made you a better coach.
And then Sewn would always let me call plays in
the preseason. I think Saturday, I don't know if either
one of us will call a single play in that
game on Saturday, So we might be a little bored.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
We're trying to figure out what we're going to do.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
We want to get the headsets we could probably figure this.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Yeah, hit one button.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
So we just talked to each other. Right, what are
you call them here? I mean, unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
That's going to work, all right, one for each of
them before we say goodbye. First for Kevin O'Connell, truly
sorry about the JJ McCarthy used. What what is?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (13:01):
I think the the you know, the blessing of you know,
when this has happened. I'm just crushed for the kid,
just because he has done everything we've asked of him
and then some since he's arrived. The improvement, the commitment
to playing the position the way we've asked of him, and.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Just how he's really owned that.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
I was really excited about seeing him out here against
the Browns, seeing him this weekend against the Browns next
week against the Eagles. So removing some of those real
tangible results based reps that you can Okay, yeah, now
we can say he actually did this or did that.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Well, he's checked the box.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
In my mind, I think from the improvement I saw
to what he took to US Bank Stadium last Saturday,
it was just an extension of what he had been
doing in training camp on the daily, and so we
know we can play we know he's everything we hope
for as a person on and off the field, really
excited about his future. Now we got to figure out
how to, you know, continue this development process where maybe
you remove those physical reps for a few months here.
(14:00):
I know I've got the coaching staff to do it
with Josh and Grant, Wes and myself, and then how
does he still have a role in the short term
with those other quarterbacks. Because he's got a big brain,
he's really smart, he's dialed into his preparation. There's a
lot of ways we can continue to make JJ McCarthy
ready to roll for when his time comes.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Mister Stefanski, your quarterback, DeShawn Watson, when he's healthy, happy,
in full bore, what do you know you'll love about him?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
He's a winner.
Speaker 6 (14:26):
He's won at the high school level, the college level
is a professional level. Even last year for US, while
he didn't have it wasn't a huge sample size.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
He won games for US, one games for US.
Speaker 6 (14:36):
The last glimpse was winning the game for US at Baltimore.
So excited for him to get back healthy. He's attacked
his rehab like a crazy man.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I mean, just always chopping at a bit wanting to
do more.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
So all he's hit every step along the way, including
these practices, you know, just another big step for him
to go against the defense like the Vikings have. So
all of it's a process, but he's excited about being
out there on the field.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
These teammates be cool of the next we did this
was that the or a super Bowl? And in closing
part two, I promise and I know both you guys
are really comfortable with this type of stuff and I'm
a roll the dice anyway. Kevin Stefanski, what do you
like about your squad? What do you like about the
twenty twenty four Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 6 (15:15):
Yeah, I think we're just now figuring who we are
out and there's certain certain things that we hang our
hat on that will never change, and how we play
the things that we believe in offensively, defensively, special teams.
But this time of August as you're starting to streamline
what you do on all three sides of the ball.
So right now, I see a team that's working hard,
(15:37):
but we're miles to go before September eighth.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
We have a lot of work to do. Ko.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Yeah, I mean really, it's what just hit me with
what Kevin said was, you're figuring out really your identity
based upon the football philosophies you do believe in as
a coaching staff, and then the players you fit into
the roles to really fill out that football philosophy. But
there's still things like play style. There's still still things
like effort.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
You know, the.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
Guys having the mental understanding of the challenges that will
be ahead chematically.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Weekend and week out. You're really laying the foundation for
all that right now.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
But you never ever can shy away from looking in
each other square in the eyes in your building and
saying are we be and who we say we are?
Are you establishing that that core foundation belief of how
you want your football team to look. And if you're not,
you can, you know, try to. There's still time. But
as I'll tell the guys tonight, day one that Cleveland
(16:29):
is over, we get one more tomorrow to come out
here and continue to shape what the twenty twenty four
Minnesota Vikings that look like.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
And no better place to do it than his shop here.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Man, this is been awesome. Oh you guys are awesome.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Thank you very much for doing this.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Appreciate you, Pierre.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Thanks Jay, Kevin O'Connell and Kevin Stefanski, AFC Kevin and
NFC Kevin, and that was an absolute privilege. Thank you
very much for everybody who aided in putting it together.
And we hope to we hope to a mass and
accumulate more interviews after today's Joint Practice Day two from Berea,
(17:06):
Ohio and the Cleveland Browns facility. The second joint practice
begins about four hours from now, and courtesy of timber
Tech and TimberTech dot Com, what's on deck nine to
noon includes the analyst p Persage around the corner. Vike's
bites comes up a bit later. Outside linebackers coach and
assistant head coach former head coach of the Cleveland Browns,
(17:27):
Mike Patton will join yours Shirley here at the team
Hotel in Cleveland, and then Gabe Henderson with some thoughts
on some things that transpired yesterday at the joint practices,
including an injury to Jordan Addison where I can't believe
you'll practice today, and we'll chat about that with the
analyst around the corner when we return to Cleveland. Joint
(17:52):
Practice Covenant Day two at FM one hundred point three KFAM,
it
Speaker 6 (18:01):
May do back to kid, anything to pat
O good you, Homer.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Gotta be careful with Johnny Pecker. I mean, pick your
poison with that deepense.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Good stuff. Nine to now I know right.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Backing Hot Duke hut Duke, Hot Dupe is on fire,
you lucky stuckers. Oh my god, A pleasant good morning
(01:14):
to you, and thank you very much for listening to
FM one hundred point three Kfan or as all the
kids and ninety nine point two percent of the world
calls it KFAM and I'm Paul Allen Nordo produces in
the Twin Cities.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Yours truly is.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
At the Vikings team Hotel in downtown Cleveland, into our
third day in Cleveland and heading into the second joint
practice for the Vikings in the Browns, and the first
time I had the privilege of sitting down with a
couple of NFL head coaches and elite offensive minds. Kevin
O'Connell's into his third year as head coach of the
(01:51):
Minnesota Vikings. His first coaching job was quarterbacks coach for
the Cleveland Browns. That team was coached by Vikings side
linebackers coach Mike Petton, who joins nine to noon today
about ninety minutes from now. Kevin Stefanski is into his
fifth year coaching the Cleveland Browns and is a two
(02:13):
time National Football League Coach of the Year. He was
with the Minnesota Vikings for fourteen years, finishing in twenty
nineteen as offensive coordinator. So after the first joint, sat
down with KOC and Kevin Calm and learned these learned
passing game minds had some good things to say and
(02:36):
some interesting things to say about day one of the
joints plus their careers, and we began with Kevin O'Connell
asking him, so how to go today?
Speaker 4 (02:45):
I thought it was awesome.
Speaker 5 (02:46):
I cannot You know, when you schedule these joint practices,
you got to really think long and hard about Let's
not just find the first team that you can find
to agree to practice against. It's about this guy right
here in this beautiful facility. We don't just leave our
facility for nothing, because we love our place in Egan,
but just to be able to put together two days
of work with this guy and know the type of players,
(03:08):
the type of team he has. They're going to practice
the right way, physical tough made us better just in
one day, and we get one more day to do it,
so it was I thought it was.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
Awesome, and we'll come back and do it again tomorrow.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
That's the plan.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
Yeah, like Kao.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
Said, having a familiarity with their staff. There's week how
many guys on our our staffs that work together, so
they know each other. So it's such an important part
of just getting your work done.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
And just watch it.
Speaker 6 (03:32):
I had the view of that other field, and then
we'll go watch the other.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
When we get back, we'll watch the tape on the
other side.
Speaker 6 (03:36):
But guys were just working and that's the fun part
where pros or pros. All these guys know each other
from high school days and college days. So I got
some really good work done, and like.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Kao said, I think it'll make both teams better.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
How well do you guys know each other, and like
do you talk outside of just getting ready for joint practices?
Speaker 5 (03:53):
Well, I know, back in two thousand and eight, he
was pounding the table saying.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Get he's like.
Speaker 5 (04:01):
Nine feet tall, and he just you know, he didn't
quite have the same poll that he has now to
get it done. But no, I just have always you know,
not only his path to you know, he's coached a
bunch of different positions.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
At a really high level. He's called plays at a
really high level.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
And then he kind of gets a chance to come here,
and you know, in an organization and a football town
that loves their loves their team, and I think they've
really embraced this guy because they know how special the
leader he is and he's a damn good football coach
and he does it the right way. So I'm always
trying to get to know him even better. But we'll
save that for the league meetings.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Yeah, we get along, our wives get along. You know
that's important.
Speaker 6 (04:42):
So but seriously, former Cleveland Browns A right, So, and
last time you were here was what year around twenty fifteen,
So just think about that.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
Nine years later, here you are.
Speaker 6 (04:53):
Some things have changed, you know, building has changed, but
some faces still the same, right, still some people and
the same thing for me. So Kale gets to come
here and I see some people that he remembers from
his days. I'm getting to see a bunch of former
vikings that you.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Know, spent all those years with. So it's fun for
both of us on both sides of that.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Well, well, on that last note, one would be Harrison
Smith and all the years decade and a half a
little more that Kevin Stefanski was here and Kevin O'Connell
into his third year as head coach. I know you
guys are in lockstep with your respect for Harrison Smith.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
I remember what.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
Stefanski used to say about him and O'Connell on exes
and o's and outside of it, has said, he's either
one of your or your favorite players you've ever coached,
Harrison Smith the hit man.
Speaker 6 (05:33):
First you, Kevin, Yeah, one of my favorite players is
to coach, not my favorite player to coach against.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
That is not fun because he's so cerebral.
Speaker 6 (05:41):
Even today he was doing some stuff, was bus his chops,
he was making calls and he's making fake I knew
he was making fake calls, So he's messing with us there.
And then just the ball skills that Harry has, the
amount of balls he's gotten do in his career, just
so athletics play so hard. He's certainly one of my favorites.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
And why is he one of your favorites?
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Well, I just think he's one of the few guys
that comes up to my office and Mike's to have
a cup of coffee with me. Sometimes when you have
a guy that's played as long as Harry has.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Sometimes it's good for him too therapeutic to be around
somebody a little closer to his ahup and the head
ball coaches office. But yeah, I think it's what he said, Billy.
Speaker 5 (06:16):
It's like, I really value people that are the same
version of themselves, which is great, every day authentic there,
you know exactly what they're going to get.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
I can lean on him.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
He's such an unbelievable leader in how he does it.
His leadership style, I think is really one of one,
and I can say he's one of my favorite coaches
or favorite players I've ever coached as long as Justin
Jefferson's not about.
Speaker 4 (06:38):
Fifteen feet away. And then then we got a problem
in the are right absolutely love him?
Speaker 3 (06:42):
You know that well.
Speaker 4 (06:43):
And AFC Kevin.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
We'll go AFC Kevin and NFC Kevin, but this is
for both of you, and you said something about NFC Kevin.
In twenty fifteen, that was Kevin's first coaching job in
the NFL. Mike Patton was the head coach of the
Cleveland Browns. Kevin was the quarterbacks coach. AFC haven't head
coach here into his fifth year. Here's the question when
the wind is whipping in from Lake Erie at this stadium.
(07:08):
I mean, seriously, you guys are both offensive coaches, your coaches,
but offensive minds. How difficult is it to play a
game and execute an offense with that wind?
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Ask the guy who threw balls in that stadium?
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Oh wow, I will tell you this much that I remember.
Speaker 5 (07:20):
There was one game where during pregame warm ups it
was about sixty five degrees in sunny. By the end
of the game it was twenty snowing thirty mile an hour. Win.
It was like nothing I had ever seen. But yeah,
I used to throw a balls pregame. But you throw
enough wobblers in those you know that that win down
there on the league, that will that will humble any
(07:41):
you know, guy that thinks he can throw a football
in the National Football you'll it'll well, you'll find out real.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Quick, kay, Kevin.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
Is it a home field advantage because the home team
has to play in the bad conditions too?
Speaker 6 (07:51):
Yeah, I think it's good for both teams. You know,
we enjoy it does make up maybe gripping the football
pretty hard. We've had some games down there what I
call it, it's like a rain globe.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
It's just a misted off the lake.
Speaker 6 (08:03):
I don't know if that's a meteorological terms.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
It's hard to grip that ball a lot of times
and then to win like I've.
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Seen that ball in pregame that it just takes a
nose up, just goes straight down.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
So we have to adjust.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
It's not like the friendly confines of US Bank Stadium rives, right,
but both teams have to deal.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
With you honestly, right, Okay, Now, AFC Kevin, when you
see Christian Darisov, what do you say?
Speaker 6 (08:27):
That's a good looking kid. I mean he is, That's
what you want him to look like. He is so physical.
I didn't get to see a lot of it while
I was out there, but I can't wait to watch
number ninety five go against number seventy one minute. That's
good on good and just to see how those guys
work together and work different moves against each other.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
That kid's pretty special.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
And then for NFC Kevin, Kevin O'Connor, when you see
Miles Garrett, what do you say?
Speaker 5 (08:48):
I told him today after practice, I said, you know what,
to me, it looks like he got some good work.
I'm not going to speak for coach to Fantsky, but
if you want to take tomorrow off, that is totally
all right by me.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
But I'll tell you this much.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
You can tell I was fortunate to be around a
guy like Aaron Donald in LA and I just remember
watching the way people respected through the scheme that they run.
You always knew where the slide was going. You always
knew that there was going to be two or three
guys blocking them. I think it's the same way with
Miles Garrett, and they just happen to have three.
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Or four or five other really good rushers on that front.
Speaker 5 (09:22):
So you really have to be aware of where he
is at all times because he's a game wrecker, really,
you know, one of the top, if not the top
edge rusher in our league.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And I have a lot of respect for how he
plays all downs.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
He plays the run, you know, instinctive versus the different
types of screens and things that he's going to see.
As a really really good rusher, he can handle getting
chipped on the edges. I just think he's spectacular.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Now.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Kat the Kevin Stefanski and O'Connell are two of the
most well respected offensive mines in the NFL, and when
it comes to the art of designing offense and having
to be ever changing on a week to week basis
and running up big numbers in a lot of points
like does it start?
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Like like like, I know.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
It's a broad, wide question, but simplify it for us,
like where does that start?
Speaker 6 (10:07):
I would tell you good ideas come from everywhere. We
have young coaches. We were both young coaches, and some
of your young coaches will bring you a play from honestly,
sometimes high school, sometimes college, and you look at it
and you put it on the board and then you say,
all right, maybe we could do this, and you just
tweak it.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
But it's it's a lot. It's really that that you
push all those.
Speaker 6 (10:25):
Ideas in the middle of the table and you see
which ones make it.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
But there's a lot of pruning going on, and hey,
this this will work for us. I know why they
did that, but you know that really doesn't fit our scheme.
Let's try this.
Speaker 6 (10:36):
So it's a lot of mixing matching, and then it
also helps when you have good players.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
Yeah, what about you, I just as a young coach
in this league.
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I remember whether it was Sean McVay most recently or
going back to Jay Gruden, Chip Kelly. You know, even
when I coached here, you know, having that when you
get a play in the in the game plan for
the first time and then it gets called and it
works and you exactly how you said it would or
sometimes it's a scramble play and it looks nothing like
(11:03):
you said it would work, and you're still equally excited
because it was it was your play on the call sheet.
So I think that's such a great point. Is and
it also engages your whole staff. There's no such thing
as a bad idea. It's just the bad ones we
may prove.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
I like that take it.
Speaker 4 (11:19):
I tend to use a different word.
Speaker 5 (11:21):
You know, we've got the graveyard where bad plays go
to die. So every Excel spreadsheet, there's about ten or
fifteen of them re funder the area exactly. But I
think it's important because then your staff styled in and
hopefully you guys feel like they've got real roles in
our in our staff.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Can either of you see yourselves at any point not
calling plays, not being in gameplay callers.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
I'll go first.
Speaker 6 (11:44):
I mean I've we've both been young coaches where we
weren't play callers, and now as head coaches.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
We've been play callers.
Speaker 6 (11:51):
Yeah, I think it depends on the staff, depends on
what your group needs. I do know this, even the
guys that aren't per se call and plays, you can
be heavily involved both during the week and even on
the game.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
But are on game day if you will.
Speaker 6 (12:04):
But yeah, I enjoy a lot of things about football.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
I enjoyed.
Speaker 6 (12:08):
I enjoyed the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I've been putting it
on the board, coming up with those plays. I enjoy
that even more than call in the place.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
You know what about you?
Speaker 5 (12:16):
Yeah, I would think that, uh, you know, getting to
I remember getting the.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Call plays for the first time when I was in Washington.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
It was mid season and you're, you know, you're getting
really thrown.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Into the fire.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
And I just remember how much every single quarter, every
drive felt like experience that made you a better coach.
And then Sewn would always let me call plays in
the preseason. I think Saturday, I don't know if either
one of us will call a single play in that
game on Saturday, So we might be a little bored.
Speaker 4 (12:42):
We're trying to figure out what we're going to do.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
We want to get the headsets we could probably figure this.
Speaker 4 (12:47):
Yeah, hit one button.
Speaker 3 (12:47):
So we just talked to each other. Right, what are
you call them here? I mean, unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
That's going to work, all right, one for each of
them before we say goodbye. First for Kevin O'Connell, truly
sorry about the JJ McCarthy used. What what is?
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (13:01):
I think the the you know, the blessing of you know,
when this has happened. I'm just crushed for the kid,
just because he has done everything we've asked of him
and then some since he's arrived. The improvement, the commitment
to playing the position the way we've asked of him, and.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Just how he's really owned that.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
I was really excited about seeing him out here against
the Browns, seeing him this weekend against the Browns next
week against the Eagles. So removing some of those real
tangible results based reps that you can Okay, yeah, now
we can say he actually did this or did that.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
Well, he's checked the box.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
In my mind, I think from the improvement I saw
to what he took to US Bank Stadium last Saturday,
it was just an extension of what he had been
doing in training camp on the daily, and so we
know we can play we know he's everything we hope
for as a person on and off the field, really
excited about his future. Now we got to figure out
how to, you know, continue this development process where maybe
you remove those physical reps for a few months here.
(14:00):
I know I've got the coaching staff to do it
with Josh and Grant, Wes and myself, and then how
does he still have a role in the short term
with those other quarterbacks. Because he's got a big brain,
he's really smart, he's dialed into his preparation. There's a
lot of ways we can continue to make JJ McCarthy
ready to roll for when his time comes.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Mister Stefanski, your quarterback, DeShawn Watson, when he's healthy, happy,
in full bore, what do you know you'll love about him?
Speaker 3 (14:25):
He's a winner.
Speaker 6 (14:26):
He's won at the high school level, the college level
is a professional level. Even last year for US, while
he didn't have it wasn't a huge sample size.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
He won games for US, one games for US.
Speaker 6 (14:36):
The last glimpse was winning the game for US at Baltimore.
So excited for him to get back healthy. He's attacked
his rehab like a crazy man.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
I mean, just always chopping at a bit wanting to
do more.
Speaker 6 (14:47):
So all he's hit every step along the way, including
these practices, you know, just another big step for him
to go against the defense like the Vikings have. So
all of it's a process, but he's excited about being
out there on the field.
Speaker 2 (14:58):
These teammates be cool of the next we did this
was that the or a super Bowl? And in closing
part two, I promise and I know both you guys
are really comfortable with this type of stuff and I'm
a roll the dice anyway. Kevin Stefanski, what do you
like about your squad? What do you like about the
twenty twenty four Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 6 (15:15):
Yeah, I think we're just now figuring who we are
out and there's certain certain things that we hang our
hat on that will never change, and how we play
the things that we believe in offensively, defensively, special teams.
But this time of August as you're starting to streamline
what you do on all three sides of the ball.
So right now, I see a team that's working hard,
(15:37):
but we're miles to go before September eighth.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
We have a lot of work to do. Ko.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Yeah, I mean really, it's what just hit me with
what Kevin said was, you're figuring out really your identity
based upon the football philosophies you do believe in as
a coaching staff, and then the players you fit into
the roles to really fill out that football philosophy. But
there's still things like play style. There's still still things
like effort.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
You know, the.
Speaker 5 (16:01):
Guys having the mental understanding of the challenges that will
be ahead chematically.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Weekend and week out. You're really laying the foundation for
all that right now.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
But you never ever can shy away from looking in
each other square in the eyes in your building and
saying are we be and who we say we are?
Are you establishing that that core foundation belief of how
you want your football team to look. And if you're not,
you can, you know, try to. There's still time. But
as I'll tell the guys tonight, day one that Cleveland
(16:29):
is over, we get one more tomorrow to come out
here and continue to shape what the twenty twenty four
Minnesota Vikings that look like.
Speaker 4 (16:35):
And no better place to do it than his shop here.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
Man, this is been awesome. Oh you guys are awesome.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Thank you very much for doing this.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Appreciate you, Pierre.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
Thanks Jay, Kevin O'Connell and Kevin Stefanski, AFC Kevin and
NFC Kevin, and that was an absolute privilege. Thank you
very much for everybody who aided in putting it together.
And we hope to we hope to a mass and
accumulate more interviews after today's Joint Practice Day two from Berea,
(17:06):
Ohio and the Cleveland Browns facility. The second joint practice
begins about four hours from now, and courtesy of timber
Tech and TimberTech dot Com, what's on deck nine to
noon includes the analyst p Persage around the corner. Vike's
bites comes up a bit later. Outside linebackers coach and
assistant head coach former head coach of the Cleveland Browns,
(17:27):
Mike Patton will join yours Shirley here at the team
Hotel in Cleveland, and then Gabe Henderson with some thoughts
on some things that transpired yesterday at the joint practices,
including an injury to Jordan Addison where I can't believe
you'll practice today, and we'll chat about that with the
analyst around the corner when we return to Cleveland. Joint
(17:52):
Practice Covenant Day two at FM one hundred point three KFAM,
it
Speaker 6 (18:01):
May do back to kid, anything to pat
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