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There's always a somberness that comes with an NFL team's "getaway day."
It's par for the course really, for the 31 teams that have to clean out their lockers with the deflating realization that they missed out on the league's ultimate prize.
For the 2023 Browns though, there was something even more disappointing about a memorable 11-6 season falling short at the hands of the Houston Texans on Wild Card Weekend. See, this once rudderless franchise finally has an identity. Words like "togetherness" and "resilience" were thrown around a lot from Cleveland's collection of players this year. Those are traits that allowed this team to overcome an excessive number of injuries to get to the playoffs in the first place.
It all came crashing down in an almost unfathomable, 45-14 loss to the Texans on Saturday. Now, as the team gets ready to embark on an offseason destined to bring inevitable change, their newly established culture will be put to the ultimate test.
“It’s hard because these teams are different year to year," Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Sunday. "I mean, every single team has turnover. That’s the NFL. So you have core thing that you believe in your culture. You have core things that you believe in when it comes to your roster. And then there's core guys that are leaders for this football team that we’ll be counting on.”
Stefanski has been at the forefront of changing the vibes around the Cleveland Browns organization. Since he took the reigns in 2020, he's led the franchise to two of it's three postseason appearances since it returned to the shores of Lake Erie in 1999. It was obvious from his first year on the job that there was something different about the team.
But his calm, cool, collected, something robotic demeanor took a few years to catch on. His press conferences may be filled with all sorts of head coaching clichés but this year those clichés seemed to become badges of honor for the team. The players took on the mentality of their head coach, which may just be the ultimate sign that your message is truly being received.
"I think you keep the structure here obviously," 10-year veteran Joel Bitonio said. "Andrew Berry, Coach Stefanski, and I think the main core of guys is going to be back and I think those guys carry on the culture. But I think we learned what it takes to be resilient. The main core can carry that over and be like, hey, this is what we went through. Hopefully we don’t have to go through anything like that again, but this is what we went through last year. We had 11 wins, we made the playoffs and hopefully that’s our floor now – a playoff team that has a chance to win a division and host a playoff game in the future.”
Bitonio has been with the franchise so long he's seen the good, the bad and the ugly of the Browns organization. That gives his words a little added profoundness. If he sees the changes, it means something. And while Stefanski, Berry and other key members of the team's brass will definitely still be here next fall, the same can't be said for much of the roster.
Saying the culture is built to last and proving it are two very different things though. Faced with a lengthy list of 26 free agents to be from this year's playoff team, retaining and replacing players who fit the now established locker room dynamics with bee just as crucial to keeping momentum rolling as the core guys passing the message on.
Young linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah believes this newfound culture is a way of life for he and his teammates, making it sustainable through a long offseason.
“Yeah, I think when culture is instilled, it allows you to continue to be a certain way," the three-year veteran said. "I think culture is actually what sustains the society as we see itself, right? After culture is established, people act a certain way. They live by a certain moral code, a certain standard, and are able to continue to be in that same mindset. I think overall, even though we are [in the] offseason, the culture still lives within us."
With an established culture, come higher expectations as well. Some of the historic NFL dynasties in NFL history are remembered for their unique identities. Think the Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's Patriots. The "Legion of Boom Seahawks. The Steel Curtain of the 1970s.
Stefanski's Browns are hardly in the upper echelon of those historic teams right now. Which is why there was such a somber tone resonating from the locker room one day after that brutal loss to the Texans. It was an opportunity missed, as cornerback Greg Newsome said immediately following the game.
There can be lessons in losses though and if this culture is legitimate, the embarrassing playoff exit could become an jumping off point for a franchise looking to take that next step.
"Sometimes a loss like that can deprive the entire season," Owusu-Koramoah addmited. "I was trying not to let that get a hold of me, even though I went to sleep at like 4:00 a.m. Just still thinking about it. At the end of the day, I think that the culture originates with intentionality. And since last offseason, we had that intentionality.
"It’s about the organization of it, too. Putting guys in the right position, making sure that the personnel is right, making sure that we have guys to be the anchor, but also to be the roles. There’s so much to a football organization that creates culture, but all in all, I think that were very intentional and we organized well.”
All of that will be put to the test over the next sixth months as the Browns march towards a 2024 season with higher expectations. If this established culture is truly for real, they may be entering the beginning stages of something great.
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