SAD NEWS:Browns Fire Two Coaches and the Coordinator, Upsetting Some Players with the Move: Report
Shortly after the Cleveland Browns’ January 13 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans, the team fired many offensive coaches.
On Wednesday morning, January 17, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports announced that Alex Van Pelt, the offensive coordinator, has been fired by the organization. Additionally, two of Van Pelt’s position coaches were fired by the Browns.
Breaking: According to a source, the #Browns have dismissed tight ends coach T.C. McCartney, running backs coach Stump Mitchell, and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, Anderson said on X. “The news has upset some of the players.”
Anderson did not say if the firings were started by head coach Kevin Stefanski or general manager Andrew Berry.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network followed up Anderson’s report roughly an hour later.
According to a report that Rapoport shared on X, the Browns fired Mitchell and decided not to keep McCartney on staff. Van Pelt “remains under contract, with no other final decisions made,” according to Rapoport, which runs counter to Anderson’s initial Wednesday morning reporting.
Anderson quickly re-posted Rapoport’s report with the following addition: “According to a source, Alex Van Pelt told some team members yesterday that he was let go on Tuesday afternoon after learning of this particular news and receiving condolence messages, along with Mitchell and McCartney, to that effect.
After Kevin Stefanski took over as head coach of the Browns in 2020, he hired Alex Van Pelt.
Along with Stefanski, Van Pelt moved to Cleveland in 2020, where he oversaw offensive playmaking for the Browns’ two postseason runs in 2020 and 2023.
Since taking over as the offensive coordinator in Cleveland, Van Pelt has changed the quarterback position. For his first two years on the job, he was Baker Mayfield’s coach. The Browns acquired Deshaun Watson in 2022 and then traded Mayfield. In the end, Cleveland signed Watson to the largest-ever fully guaranteed NFL contract ($230 million over five years).
While Watson was suspended by the league, Jacoby Brissett started the first 11 games of the 2022 season. Though he wasn’t the same three-time Pro Bowler he’d been with the Texans, Watson made a comeback for the final six games of the season.
A number of variables, including an injury to Watson that ended the season in November and disappointing play from backups PJ Walker and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson, ultimately led to the Browns starting five different quarterbacks in 2023. Nevertheless, once the team acquired Joe Flacco, Van Pelt’s offense started to click.
After losing his first game as a starting against the Los Angeles Rams, Flacco went on to win four straight games, earning the Browns their second postseason trip under Stefanski. In the six games (including Super Wild Card Weekend) that he started for Cleveland, Flacco averaged well over 300 yards passing, but he also threw ten interceptions in total. Last Saturday against Houston, two of those turnovers occurred on consecutive possessions in the second half, both of which were recovered for touchdowns by Texans defenders.
After the Texans crushed the Browns 45-14 on January 13, Van Pelt, Mitchell, and McCartney were dismissed by Cleveland four days later.
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