The Cleveland Browns appear to be targeting young, inexperienced offensive minds for their head coaching position.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday that Kevin Stefanski, who was promoted to the Vikings offensive coordinator position late in the season, is headed back to Cleveland for a second interview with the Browns, per sources informed of the situation.
Making matters more interesting, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that at this point the two finalists for the Browns' top job are Stefanski and Cleveland OC Freddie Kitchens.
Stefanski and Kitchens have a combined play-calling experience of 11 NFL games.
Kitchens, 44, was elevated to the Browns OC job after the team ousted Hue Jackson and Todd Haley midway through the season. Under Kitchens' guidance, rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield and the offense exploded down the stretch. The signal-caller threw for 2,254 yards, 19 of his rookie record 27 TD passes, and was sacked just five times as the Browns went 5-3 down the stretch.
Stefanski took over in Minnesota after the Vikings jettisoned OC John DeFilippo. The Vikes offense got back to the ground game in the first two outings of the 36-year-old's play-calling career, but struggled brutally in the must-win season finale, compiling just 164 total yards in a loss to the Bears that dashed Minnesota's playoff plans.
Kitchens and Stefanski sitting as the top two candidates to lead Mayfield and a young, rising Browns squad sits as an intriguing early offseason twist.
