INDIANAPOLIS — Baker Mayfield was too limited. Deshaun Watson was too much. But if Browns coach Kevin Stefanski is the guru Cleveland thinks he is, his next quarterback will be juuuuust right.

Rest easy, Browns fans. General manager Andrew Berry counts Stefanski as a partner in his crawl through the QB desert. Stefanski has traveled with Berry to every stop of Cleveland’s search for quarterback talent, including this week’s NFL Scouting Combine. And he brings with him a portable plan for success under center.

Over the last six seasons, three different quarterbacks have posted career-best QBRs (2020 Baker Mayfield, 2022 Jacoby Brissett) and/or passer ratings (2019 Kirk Cousins) with Stefanski calling plays. One more (2023 Joe Flacco) revived his career after signing with Cleveland off the street. And if we’re selling the Browns to first round and/or free agent quarterbacks, the Stefanski System belongs near the top of our listing.

That is, assuming you believe in such a concept.

“There’s a Cleveland Browns offense,” Stefanski told reporters Wednesday. “It’s never been about me. I think it’s really important that we put a system together that fits our players and that’s what (new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees) and the offensive staff are doing.”

True enough: Rees and the rest of this coaching staff, not to mention starting quarterback X, claim a sizeable stake in Cleveland’s 2025 offense. But Stefanski is the majority owner. He’s the one calling plays. He’s the one helping scout the quarterbacks. So he’s the face of an offense in desperate need of a makeover.

Last season, the Browns ranked last or second-to-last in points per game, expected points added (EPA) per play, yards per play (to name a few categories), passing yards per attempt, success rate and giveaways per game. They switched play-callers, quarterbacks and, after season’s end, offensive coordinators and offensive line coaches. Nothing worked.

Of course, you can’t overcome a bad quarterback. Deshaun Watson ranked 42nd out of 42 quarterbacks in EPA per play and success rate. He missed open receivers and managed pockets poorly. In three seasons with Cleveland, he never felt like a fit for Stefanski’s offense(s).

Although, as Stefanski alluded to this week, fit can be a fickle concept.

“I don’t think you want to take a lesser player for a reason of fit,” Stefanski said. “That’s a complicated word as well. There’s players on our roster that played really well, and you wouldn’t say they’re quote unquote a perfect fit for what we do. But I think you get into a really tough spot if you’re just taking the fit because there’s different ways to do it.”

Couldn’t agree more. Talent trumps fit if your coaching staff can conform, which is why it feels strange to acknowledge a pair of conflicting truths.

First, Stefanski has raised the ceiling on virtually every quarterback with whom he’s worked. From Cousins to Mayfield to Brissett to Flacco, his structure served players well.

But five years, two playoff appearances and at least three quarterback successes (Mayfield, Brissett, Flacco) into his Browns tenure, Stefanski still can’t find a stable pass-game partner.

Cleveland needed Mayfield to grow up. It needed Brissett and Flacco needed to clear out for Watson. Watson and the Browns needed a time machine capable of returning him to Pro Bowl form.

Viewed separately, each breakup holds merit. Taken together, though, Stefanski’s resume counts several short-lived successes and one massive, overshadowing failure.

Coming off his worst season ever, the talented coach is once again searching for a quarterback. This rookie class is too shallow, and the free agent market is too dry. But if Stefanski is still the play caller we have praised before, then he’ll pair well with any talented passer.

Right?

“I think it’s our job as coaches to fit talent into our schemes,” Stefanski said Wednesday. “I’m talking offense, defense, special teams. You’re always looking for talented football players. You don’t want to just look only for scheme fit because then that’ll take you away from taking maybe a more talented player.”