Watched a interview with potential HC candidate this upcoming cycle, Vance Joseph. He was asked what would he do differently if offered another HC position that he didn't do his first time around when he failed; his answer was to pay attention to the rest of the roster before worrying about finding a QB. Said the reason he failed as a head coach was because all of his focus was on fixing and finding a QB, and he let the rest of the roster slip as a result of it.
He hinted at the importance on building a complete roster with defense and offensive line first in order to have a winning formula, so you don't need worry about finding the next Peyton Manning in order to win games.
I found this interesting in relation to where the Browns currently are in their rebuild needing just about everything on offense. Either way, great interview by a guy the Browns might have their eye on if they let Stefanski walk.
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More teams should adopt that approach. Look at the Colts if they had focused on their oline andrew luck would still be playing
If Vance Joseph took the Browns job, I don’t think he would be having the time of his life.
The problem is when you have a chance to draft a FQB you have to take it. That’s an easy strategy when your drafting outside the top 10.
This take doesn’t make sense to me.
Unless I’m mistaken (fair possibility, still on my first cup of coffee), Joseph didn’t try to find a QB at all in his first stint at Denver.
In 2017, he inherited Paxton Lynch from Kubiak. They brought Osweiler in (the equivalent of bringing Flacco in…but even worse). They didn’t draft a QB in 2017. They actually did the thing he’s talking about, drafting an OT and WR in their first 3 picks. They went 5-11.
In 2018, they waived Lynch. And signed Keenum (basically a Kenny Pickett type signing). This is the Baker draft. They didn’t try to find a QB here either. They passed on Allen (oops) Lamar (oops again) and Rosen (good call). They instead drafted Chubb. They didn’t draft a single QB. Then he was fired. Chubb was later traded for something called a Chase Edmonds and a first.
He’s just straight up not telling the truth. They didn’t try to find a QB at all. They actually did the thing he said he wants to do, and it was wrong. And he went 11-21. And he was fired.
I think that is sound if you’re a team like the Seahawks or Broncos or Colts have been, where you’ve been bad to okay but not quite horrible and not in the position to strike at a FQB.
I keep fucking saying this every draft.
Teams don’t win Super Bowls with QBs drafted top 5. Not in the modern NFL (which started in 1993).
Why?
Because they’re awful.
There’s only one instance (in the modern NFL (post salary cap/free agency)) of a team drafting a QB top 5 then winning a Super Bowl with that QB.
One.
That was Peyton Manning. Which I think Vance is very aware of.
People will point out Eli, but the Giants didn’t draft him. He refused to play for the shittier Chargers so went to a better team in the Giants and benefitted from the fact they had been a Super Bowl caliber team for years until Kerry Collins hit a wall. One bad season, one high draft pick, they went right back to winning.
What made Patrick Mahomes so good wasn’t just that he’s Patrick Mahomes. It’s that the Chiefs had been 12-4 then traded up 20 spots to draft Mahomes.
Think about Matthew Stafford. Premier talent who struggled for a decade on the Lions. Lions can never acquire the overall team talent to win. Stafford goes to the far more talented Rams. He plays the best football of his career and wins a Super Bowl. (ironically, Detroit finally gets the talent they had been missing).
Are the Titans really better off because they drafted Cam Ward? Or would they have been better served getting the true BPA?
Look at the Colts. Or the Seahawks. Teams that benefitted greatly from free agent QBs who also benefitted by leaving less talented rosters.
QBs actually do much better when drafted by teams in the first round but outside the top 5. Especially when that team trades up.
Which makes logical sense. Not just for a QB but for most players. If Ashton Jeanty was on the Patriots rather than the Raiders, he probably averages more than 4 yards per carry, rather than the 3.7 he is.
If Cam Ward was on the Steelers, he probably looks better.
Joe Flacco has been better on the Bengals than the Browns because the Bengals have more talent on offense.
So Vance is completely right. The league is just slow to adjust.
Ideally, the Browns would draft the best OL and WR available in the first three rounds of the draft. Then BPA the rest of the draft. Raise the talent floor of the offense.
I guarantee, we’d suddenly win 5+ games. And not be drafting in the top 5. And then we could draft a QB who is truly BPA for where we are in the draft, or even sign a free agent, and follow the formula that has allowed other teams to win Super Bowls.
It’s a copycat league and I think the next trendsetter in the league will come from someone with this mindset.
I mean we say this, but for a while the browns had some of the best offensive lines (even before baker) in the game and it didn’t do shit lol