The qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 18 years -- and won't have the head coach that led them there for Sunday's wild-card showdown against the . Kevin Stefanski tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday and coached the team remotely throughout the week while in self-quarantine.Per the NFL's COVID-19 protocol, Stefanski will not be allowed to coach the Browns in this week's playoff matchup. Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer is the team's acting head coach while offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt will call the offensive plays (Stefanski called the plays for Cleveland). Stefanski will watch the Browns game in the basement of his house with no communication available.So why can't Stefanski coach the Browns from his home, with all the Zoom technology available? Here's why the Browns head coach Trevor Linden Jersey can't orchestrate the team this week:The NFL had a policy in place for years that forbids outside communication (phone calls, texts, emails for example) prior to kickoff on game days that extends until the game ends. This is why Stefanski will have his phone off during the game, watching it in isolation. Detroit Lions interim head coach Darrell Bevell was not allowed to coach two weeks ago under the same protocols. The NFL isn't bending the rules for Stefanski and the Browns because it's a playoff game.Yes, up until kickoff. Stefanski can addre s the team prior to the game and give a speech Oscar Fantenberg Jersey to the locker room if he sees fit. Once the game starts, he can not contact anyone on the Browns coaching staff -- hence why he can't call plays.Stefanski won't talk to the team on game day."I will addre s the team the night before the game like I normally do," Stefanski said to reporters Friday. "Once it is game time and in that locker room, Coach Priefer will be serving that role. I have a ton of faith in him. The guys know the me sage. They do not need a Zoom call from me before the game to understand what they need to do." Let' Alexander Edler Women Jersey s leave this to how Stefanski described the situation Friday."Similar to last week where we got out on the field briefly Wednesday, nothing on Thursday and then really we had a Friday-plus so that is kind of how we will treat today," Stefanski said. "We will have a Friday practice, add a couple periods and added a walkthrough. We have spent a lot of time on Zoom so had a lot of virtual work, and now, we will be able to get some physical work out there today."Stefanski clearly had a plan in place prior to the season on what to do if the coaches contracted COVID-19. Cleveland did all the game planning during the week, making sure it's a smooth operation with Stefanski not present. "Once you get to gameday, those are long days waiting for those games to start. I am sure there will be some phone calls here or there, but by and large, a lot of the work is done," Stefanski said. "We will have a walkthrough Sunday morning at some point with offense and defense for each Derrick Pouliot Women Jersey one to go over some of the finer points. Again, I can't stre s enough how much I trust the coaches we have and the players to do their jobs. It is not going to be me inserting myself into the game plan on Sunday." Priefer has been in the NFL since 2002 and has coached at the special teams level throughout his NFL career. He was on the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff with Stefanski from 2011 to 2018, serving as the special teams coach (he left Minnesota for the same position with Cleveland in 2019).Priefer actually served as an interim head coach once in his career, being named the head coach for the Vikings for a Week 13 game in 2016 against Josh Leivo Women Jersey the Dallas Cowboys when Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer had emergency eye surgery. Stefanski was the running backs coach that season.Van Pelt, a former NFL quarterback with the Buffalo Bills, is serving his 16th season as an a sistant coach in the league (first with Cleveland). Van Pelt played for the Bills from 1995 to 2003, throwing 477 pa ses with 16 touchdowns to 24 interceptions. His most succe sful stint as a coach in the NFL was the quarterbacks coach for the Green Bay Packers from 2014 to 2017, as Aaron Rodgers tied for second in the NFL with 125 touchdown pa ses and won MVP in 2014.
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