Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry, shared meals and the plan for the Cleveland Browns to win quiet

Andrew Berry Kevin Stefanski 2020 NFL Combine

Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry (far left) watches coach Kevin Stefanski talk to reporters at the 2020 NFL combine. (Doug Lesmerises, cleveland.com)

INDIANAPOLIS -- What would a Kevin Stefanski-Andrew Berry argument sound and feel like? Maybe like listening to whale sounds while reading a J. Crew catalogue?

It has been smooth sailing so far for the new coach and general manager of the Browns, as one month ago their previous years-long respectful friendship morphed into a working partnership. Since Berry’s hiring on Jan. 27, Stefanski and Berry have been part of almost daily meetings, some of them planned, others blossoming after popping into each other’s offices, as they reshape this version of the win-now Browns.

“We spend a lot of time together,” Berry said at the NFL combine on Tuesday. “On a daily basis, weekends, breakfast together. We enjoy spending time together. We have a good relationship.”

Berry might swing into Stefanski’s office for a quick question and it will turn into a 30-minute session of the coach drawing plays. Stefanski might return the favor and wind up with a half-hour Berry explanation of free agent options.

But no fights.

“Nothing of substance,” Stefanski said when I asked for any potential tiffs. “I wanted to pick up the bill (at breakfast) and he wouldn’t let me? Does that count?”

“We arm-wrestled for it,” Berry said, “so I beat him pretty soundly.”

This was the 1-2 punch in action, the show that was previously unveiled in Cleveland during hiring season now hitting the road at the combine, where Berry and Stefanski followed each other to the same interview podium Tuesday afternoon like sweater models on a runway. They are a style and personality match, though Berry claims Stefanski has the better sense of humor.

Berry watched Stefanski’s interview session Tuesday and laughed several times. Stefanski watched the profile of Berry on the TODAY show Tuesday morning and was impressed, while Berry was too self-conscious to watch it himself.

I’m writing about them hanging out together because I have little idea about what they’re doing with the roster. They’re mostly in the business of soothingly keeping secrets.

That isn’t a bad thing in the name of winning. None of this is mocking the new braintrust -- I might be admiring it. But this is a warning that these guys aren’t going to help much during the NFL silly season, of which looming free agency and planning for the draft are primary components. Mary Kay Cabot is still going to get to the bottom of everything and let you know the plans for this roster, because she always does. But Berry admitted he sounded like a broken record while non-answering multiple questions about players on Tuesday.

Why? I told Berry that both he and Stefanski were circumspect with what they were willing to say about the roster, and that was the closest we may see to an angry Berry for years. He didn’t raise his voice or lose his smile or do any of the things that would indicate anger. But he said, “I’d probably push back on that.”

The idea of Berry disagreeing with my assessment made me look up the definition of “circumspect," because now he had me thinking I didn’t know words good. He does know. He previously had said, off the top of his head, that there were 160 starting offensive linemen in the league, adding, “Someone check my math, sorry, I’m not very good there." I pulled out my cell phone and opened the calculator and did five times 32 and of course it was 160, so I told Berry that he was right, but I also told him he actually already knew that.

Because of course he knew. He and Stefanski know exactly what they’re doing. Not the details, but the shared vision. Stefanski agreed that the franchise plan was already locked in.

“We’re very clear on what we want to be," Stefanski said.

That includes Berry meeting with position coaches to get an idea of the types of players to acquire that will fit the skills each position coach desires. That includes Stefanski’s plan to watch every top offensive tackle in the draft so that if Berry drafts one at No. 10, the GM will have a clear idea on who his coach prefers. They’ll tell each other everything. But they won’t tell us.

My definition check of circumspect as “wary and unwilling to take risks” with their words turned out to be correct. And this is why they do it.

“I guess from our perspective we answer any question with what we believe is the appropriate detail," Berry said. "There is some sensitivity with strategic advantage, but maybe I’d push back on the notion that we’re too circumspect.”

Berry’s point is that no teams reveal any plans at the combine. That’s true. But there’s a lot of bait thrown in the water. Some GMs and coaches nibble. John Dorsey didn’t say much in this area either, but a year ago I left the combine with a staunch belief that the Browns were ready to go for it, and Dorsey traded for Odell Beckham Jr. weeks later. Now, who knows?

The mellifluous tones of coach and GM, in concert, can hypnotize you, and I should know, because I once was hypnotized on vacation and held my shoe over my head like it was the Lion King cub. If the Browns are keeping secrets, it’s because they’re making plans. Immediately after pushing back on circumspect, Berry was asked for the position group in this draft that’s the deepest.

“I’m not going to comment on specifics,” he began, before explaining that good players exist at every position.

Tuesday’s contrast from Dorsey and Freddie Kitchens a year ago, as you know, was obvious. The Browns last year tried to win loud. Now, they’ll try to win quiet. The old 1-31 Browns front office, of which Berry was a part, didn’t say much either, and losing quiet can be difficult on fans, because misery is worse when it’s vague.

But winning quiet would be different. So no fights, but plenty of plans.

“We’ve had really productive discussions, and while it may not sound like a disagreement with one side yelling at the other,” Stefanski said, “I think we push each other to think about a question from a different angle. I’m going to try to push him, and he’s going to try to push me, but it’s just going to come from a place of mutual respect.”

A soothing approach. And maybe, a winning one.


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