Alex Van Pelt, the team’s offensive coordinator since 2020 when Kevin Stefanski was hired as head coach, will not be back with the Browns next season.
Running backs coach Stump Mitchell was fired and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney will not be retained.
The news was first reported by Josina Anderson of CBS Sports.
A league source confirmed the decisions on Mitchell and McCartney. The source said Van Pelt is under contract to the Browns for 2024 and that a decision hasn’t been finalized, but Van Pelt confirmed the news himself in a text message to Jake Trotter of ESPN.
“On to the next one,” he said in the text message. “Proud of my time there.”
Mitchell has been the running backs coach since 2019 when Freddie Kitchens was head coach. McCartney was an offensive assistant in 2020 and 2021 and then promoted to tight ends coach in 2022.
Stefanski was asked Jan. 14 during his wrap-up news conference “Will all your coaches be back?” He gave no clue a major shakeup was in store.
“We’re evaluating everything right now,” he said. “The other thing is some guys will get opportunities over the next couple of weeks, so we’ll see how it all shakes out.”
Van Pelt was faced with a difficult situation in 2023. The Browns used four different starting quarterbacks — Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker and Joe Flacco — through the first 16 games. Jeff Driskel started the season finale against the Bengals because Stefanski decided to rest the starters.
Each quarterback had different strengths, which meant tailoring the game plan each week for whichever one was starting. Not until Flacco started games 12 through 16 did any quarterback start more than three consecutive games. The Browns won four straight with Flacco — their longest winning streak of the season.
Watson will be the starting quarterback in 2024, Stefanski said in the wrap-up news conference. Perhaps Stefanski is convinced a different offensive coordinator will get more from Watson than what Watson showed in six starts in 2022 and six in 2023.
Watson was 3-3 in 2022 and technically 5-1 in 2023, though in reality he was 4-1. He started the game against the Colts and then aggravated a shoulder injury before the first quarter ended. The Browns were trailing, 7-0, when the switch was made to Walker. The Browns rallied to win, and since Watson started, he got credit for the victory. He threw 14 touchdown passes and nine interceptions in his 12 starts.
“Coach Stump,” as the running backs fondly referred to Mitchell, seemed to be highly respected by the players he coached.
Star running back Nick Chubb suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second game of the season. The Browns played with a second-string left tackle (Geron Christian) and third-string right tackle (James Hudson) the last month of the season because of injuries to left tackle Jedrick Wills and right tackles Jack Conklin plus Dawand Jones.
Despite the injuries, the Browns finished 12th in the league in rushing (2,017 yards, 15 touchdowns), but they struggled to run in some late season games — 29 yards on 18 carries vs. the Bears, and 54 yards on 30 carries vs. the Texans on Dec. 24. They managed just 56 yards on 20 carries in the 45-14 wild-card loss to the Texans.
![By TOM WITHERS The Browns began trying to fill an unexpected vacancy on Thursday by interviewing Seattle offensive line coach Andy Dickerson to be their offensive coordinator. Dickerson previously worked in Cleveland on coach Eric Mangini’s staff in 2009-10. On Wednesday, coordinator Alex Van Pelt parted ways with the Browns after four seasons working under coach Kevin Stefanski. Van Pelt’s departure was surprising since he appeared to enjoy his time in Cleveland and was instrumental in helping the Browns make the playoffs while coping with numerous injuries on offense. It’s still not known why Van Pelt left. General manager Andrew Berry is […]](https://www.morningjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AP23133215495908.jpg?w=499 "By TOM WITHERS The Browns began trying to fill an unexpected vacancy on Thursday by interviewing Seattle offensive line coach Andy Dickerson to be their offensive coordinator. Dickerson previously worked in Cleveland on coach Eric Mangini’s staff in 2009-10. On Wednesday, coordinator Alex Van Pelt parted ways with the Browns after four seasons working under coach Kevin Stefanski. Van Pelt’s departure was surprising since he appeared to enjoy his time in Cleveland and was instrumental in helping the Browns make the playoffs while coping with numerous injuries on offense. It’s still not known why Van Pelt left. General manager Andrew Berry is […]")
