The Cleveland Browns have been busy this offseason.
In the midst of signing several high-profile free agents and getting an impressive haul in the 2022 NFL Draft, the team has made other changes as well.
Some coaches have been shuffled to new positions while others have been elevated from entry level work.
Stephen Bravo-Brown has been named as special teams assistant for the upcoming season.
Bravo-Brown (also known as “Bravo” by team members) worked the last two years as Cleveland’s defensive quality control coach.
As he embarks on a new season with the team, here are three things to know about Stephen Bravo-Brown.
1) Walk-on Receiver in College
Bravo-Brown played prep ball for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in North Lauderdale, Florida.
He was a team captain and helped lead Aquinas to the 2007 Florida state title and 2008 high school national championship.
Bravo-Brown then walked-on as a receiver for the University of South Florida Bulls and eventually earned a scholarship with the program.
Between 2010 and 2013 he lettered three times while playing in 31 games and collecting a total of 22 passes for 259 yards.
All eyes on the ball as Stephen Bravo-Brown lines up a pass in a 31-3 @USFFootball win over Florida Atlantic in 2010. Bravo-Brown later coached at Wake Forest and Missouri State, and is now the defensive quality control coach for the Cleveland Browns. pic.twitter.com/CHahKZWZ6s
— Jim Louk (@USFjimlouk) April 23, 2020
In 2014, Bravo-Brown used his final year of college eligibility to play at Eastern Illinois University.
That season, he had 38 receptions for 289 yards.
Bravo-Brown earned the OVC Medal of Honor in 2014 after serving as team captain and leading the Panthers to an appearance in the conference championship game.
After the season ended, he received tryout opportunities with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
2) College Coach before Joining Cleveland
When his pro tryouts didn’t pan out, Bravo-Brown got into coaching.
In 2015, he coached receivers at Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa.
During his time at Waldorf, Bravo-Brown helped mentor two all-conference players.
A year later, Bravo-Brown found work at Wake Forest University where he was an offensive quality control coach in 2016.
In 2017 and 2018, he became a graduate assistant coach for receivers for the program.
While Bravo-Brown was at Wake Forest, the Demon Deacons went to three consecutive bowl games.
The 2017 squad alone set more than 100 team and individual records, including points scored (459), total offense (6,055 yards) and five of the top 10 offensive games in school history on their way to an 8-5 record.
In 2019, Bravo-Brown made his way to Missouri State University as the receivers coach.
More positional outlooks coming your way!!!
Wide Receivers preview with Coach Stephen Bravo-Brown…
⬇️⬇️⬇️#BearUp 🐻⤴️ pic.twitter.com/suh9znXgWw
— Missouri State Football (@MoStateFootball) August 25, 2019
The Browns hired Bravo-Brown to be their defensive quality control coach in 2020.
3) Steep Hill to Climb
In January, NFL writer Rick Gosselin ranked the Browns 2021 special teams unit 30th in the league.
Gosselin has ranked every NFL team’s special teams unit for over 40 years.
Last year Cleveland had a very shaky Chase McLaughlin at kicker and punter Jamie Gillan was waived after 12 games.
The unit overall was ranked last in: Opponent field-goal percentage (96.2%), field-goal percentage (72.2%), and number of field goals (16).
McLaughlin made only four of eight field goals in the last eight games of the season and connected on 71.4% (15 of 21) of his tries for the year.
In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Browns selected LSU kicker Cade York in the 4th round.
That made McLaughlin expendable.
Bravo-Brown takes over for Doug Colman, an assistant in 2021 to head special teams coach Mike Priefer.
Stephen Bravo-Brown bringing 'enthusiasm and passion' in transition to assistant special teams… – NFL News https://t.co/lnUjtS1u6W pic.twitter.com/27Rk2Bt0Sp
— GirlsTalkinSmack (@GirlsTSmack) March 9, 2022
Both Priefer and Bravo-Brown have their work cut out for them as they spend this offseason revamping the unit, working with a new kicker, and trying out new punters.
NEXT: Browns Bring In Free Agent TE For Workout“The season’s long,” Bravo-Brown said. “Every day, my goal and the goal for my players is to be the same person every single day. No matter what’s happening throughout the season, you can’t ride the wave of the highs and lows, or else your personality changes, so if you’re the same person every day, you’ll get the same results.”
