One thing about Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is that he recognizes the importance of special teams. A lot of fans don’t understand the skill needed for these units.
Special teams is the field goal team, which scores points. The guys who block, the players on the outside who defend the edge, the holder who catches a spiral pass and then has to place the ball down at the precise angle with the laces facing forward, the pass from the long snapper has to be exact and straight. The kicker,
who is already moving even before the ball is placed in order to time his kick and then has to strike at the exact location of the football, or else alternate things occur, like a shanked kick.
Plus, as former Browns kicker Matt Bahr once explained, every field goal attempt is nine-on-11. The kick block team can rush all 11 players while the line is just nine players with the holder and kicker occupied.
This same group of guys also lines up for PATs, which also adds to the scoreboard. The punt team requires that the kick not be blocked or returned for a touchdown, so good blocking up front and skilled tacklers are needed, plus a great hike that doesn’t hit the ground from the long snapper as he snaps the ball 15 yards looking backwards and upside down. Tossing a spiral by the way.
The return game needs a good punt and kickoff returner, plus able bodies up front to block and make alleyways for the speed of the return man to gain yardage and improve field position.
And it is imperative to employ a great punter.
Coach Bubba Ventrone is one of the best special teams coordinators in the league. He was brought over from the Indianapolis Colts after he developed their units into Top-5 groups. His official title is “Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator,” so he is considered more than just a guy who finds players who can tackle a kick returner.
Coach Ventrone was a special teams demon as a player with the Browns from 2009-2012 and inked a three-year deal worth $2.2 million in 2010. That year he was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate, where he led the #1-ranked special teams unit in the NFL. He was voted special teams Captain in both 2011 and 2012.
When he signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2013, they brought him in specifically to reconstruct their special teams groups and named him Captain in 2013 and also 2014. He was then voted “Special Teams Player of the Year” by his teammates and coaches.
After he hung up his cleats, he was hired as a special teams assistant coach under Joe Judge with the New England Patriots, whose head coach was Bill Belichick. When Belichick was first hired into the league, his first job was special teams coach of the New York Football Giants, so like Stefanski, Belichick has always emphasized good special teams play. Coach Ventrone learned quite a bit and won a Super Bowl ring.
Being an exceptional special teams player and now a coach, it was just a matter of time before he would be offered to run his own program. He got that opportunity with the Colts in 2018.
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For 2025, the Browns’ special teams units have quite a bit of newness. This can be good – or damaging. For most of the changes, we will see how all of this pans out, but feel certain under Coach Ventrone’s tutelage that the alterations will be for the greater good.
Dawgs by Nature’s Barry Shuck caught up with Coach Ventrone while he was traveling from Cleveland to his Indianapolis home for these three days that everyone has off.
Coach Ventrone rents an apartment in the area while his family still resides in Indianapolis. Obviously, this is not ideal, but Coach’s thought process was that he didn’t want to uproot his children from their daily lives, schools, church, doctors, and friends. Coach has a daughter who is a standout on her high school lacrosse team, who should receive a college scholarship at some point. In fact, all three of his children have been blessed with his speed.
Shuck: A lot of different bodies for you this year in all areas. After years of trying, you finally got an excellent returner in DeAndre Carter. What does he offer as far as a return man?
Coach Ventrone: He is an experienced veteran with very good mental processing. He is a reliable ball handler in all phases. He can provide all returns for us, which gives us a lot of value. The experience factor playing in a city like Cleveland is important. He’s played in Chicago, he’s played in Philly, and Washington. He has played in the elements. He is used to being in outdoor stadiums.
Shuck: Jerome Ford has always been a very good kickoff returner. Now that he is the starting running back for the offense, does this mean the end of his return days?
Coach Ventrone: No, we will continue to give all those guys reps. Once the running back situation clears out, we will see Jerome at some point and see if he is a factor.
Shuck: Pierre Strong and Mike Ford were two of the league’s best gunners. Who will take their place?
Coach Ventrone: That was a good duo that we had. All of the corners and receivers on our roster will be a factor. It will be a while to figure out who will be in that position and who we think can do it. It will be an ongoing rotation until we get the right ones in place.
Shuck: The team let go of a 10-year vet at long snapper in Charley Hughlett, who you had to coach very little. How are you adjusting to a younger guy like Rex Sunahara?
Coach Ventrone: It’s been good. He has a good skill set and throws a hard ball. He’s got good length and size. He has an understanding of the protection scheme, which is good. He is a hard worker and has put in a lot of time in the off-season this year, and he is now stronger. I loved Charley, who was great for this organization. I am excited for him that he has a good opportunity to play for a great football team. Great guy.
Editor’s note: Hughlett is now the long snapper for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles
Shuck: Special teams require guys who are aces on punt and kickoff coverage teams. I know you fought like hell to keep Tony Brown. Why was he released?
Coach Ventrone: Yes, special teams need their own guys. I think Tony was just a numbers thing. A lot of decisions factor into this stuff. It is what it is.
Shuck: This year, your coverage teams have lost a lot of guys: Mike Ford, Matthew Adams, Tony, Pierre, Winston Reid is hurt, so is Bookie Watson. They are all gone now. What process do you use to find their replacements?
Coach Ventrone: That is the thing about being a coordinator, you have the ability to work with so many players. I use backups to fill those positions, like backups to the linebackers and corners. Starting back in April, we are in meetings and starting our on-field work, developing our depth from everybody on the roster in the event we lose a guy like Winston Reid.
This is what I do: I try to train as many guys as I can to play multiple spots to be versatile and have flexibility to be able to play guys in different positions. That way, once you get into it, you’re in a pinch, you have an answer. I think it’s just being able to use all the players that are available that you can and train them.
Shuck: On kickoff coverage, normally, it is linebackers, corners, and running backs. I have noticed some bigger dudes lined up like defensive tackle Adin Huntington. Is this because of the shorter distance the XFL kickoff has offered?
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Coach Ventrone: With the new kickoff, guys aren’t having to run down 30 yards any longer. A guy like Adin is a bigger guy, but he runs like a linebacker. He’s 280 pounds and runs a 4.6. That’s a pretty good combination of size, strength, and speed. I got to like that I am able to use him. He ended up tying for the most tackles in the NFL preseason of every team. He’s a good player, and the thing I love about him is that he is just tough. Willing to do anything you ask, even though he was tired. And he never wants to come off the field.
Shuck: The big piece of the puzzle for you this year is not retaining veteran kicker Dustin Hopkins, but instead keeping the younger Andre Szmyt. His first NFL game will be in Week 1 against the Bengals, whereas Hopkins has played in 140 games. What was it that tipped you over to make this change?
Coach Ventrone: Andre did a really good job with his opportunities. He made all of his kicks in the preseason games, including the big game winner against LA. He had a really good process and got better from the time we had him on the practice squad last year. He was in here all of the off-season working out and took advantage of the time when he got in. He had a lot of success in college, winning the Groza Award, and was the UFL’s best kicker, so he has pro experience. So far, he has been making the kicks, and we saw that should be the trend moving forward.
Shuck: Coach, for your family to remain back in Indianapolis, where you lived for five years while on the Colts’ coaching staff, has to be unpleasant for you as a father. But at the same time, I respect you for not uprooting their lives. Your wife must be an amazing person to keep all of this together. I am not married, so does your wife have an older sister?
Coach Ventrone: No, just an older brother. It’s been challenging and hard for me as a father, but with this profession, you have to make sacrifices. I appreciate the time I am able to be around my children and wife, who, like you said, is an amazing woman.
