The Cleveland Browns decision to hire Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach on Sunday threw a lot of people around the league off guard.
It came mere hours after the San Francisco 49ers and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh humiliated Stefanski‘s Vikings offense in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.
Given that a decision was not made heading into that game, one has to wonder exactly what Cleveland saw from Stefanski that led to his hiring over Saleh.
No matter what happened behind the scenes, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is “pumped” that his defensive coordinator did not get the Browns job.
That’s something you don’t hear from a head coach too often. Though, there’s a lot of layers to this.
Saleh has led a dominant 49ers defense that ranked No. 1 against the pass, No. 2 in yards allowed and in the top-eight in points yielded during the regular season.
Shanahan himself has a history with the Browns. He was their offensive coordinator in 2014.
It was not a great experience for a head coach that will be Super Bowl bound should San Francisco defeat Green Bay as heavy favorites in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday.
As it relates to Saleh, his time as a head coach will come soon enough. Perhaps, not landing the Browns’ job was a blessing in disguise.