Back in 2020, Kevin Stefanski led the Cleveland Browns to an 11-5 record and a surprise playoff appearance. The rookie head coach was the toast of the city at that point.
Fast forward a couple years, and it appears that Stefanski’s job in Cleveland is not safe. The Browns entered Sunday’s action against the Houston Texans with a 4-7 record. Things did not start swimmingly for Deshaun Watson in his debut with the team, either.
All of this comes after the Browns posted a pedestrian 8-9 record during what was a drama-filled 2021 season for the team.
Could this potentially lead to Stefanski getting his walking papers following the 2022 campaign? NFL insider Jason La Canfora seems to think so. The veteran insider reported on Sunday that Stefanski’s name is one to watch on the hot seat.
Since a 2-1 start to the season, Cleveland has posted a 2-6 record. Even with Deshaun Watson having just made his debut with the team on Sunday following an 11-game suspension, that’s just not going to cut it.
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Cleveland Browns could create a fall guy with Kevin Stefanski
General manager Andrew Berry exhausted multiple first-round picks and change to acquire Watson from the Houston Texans during the spring. He then handed Watson a fully-guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract.
These two moves were met with push back around the NFL after Watson was accused by north of 20 women of sexual misconduct. While the Pro Bowl quarterback was not charged criminally, his decision to settle a vast majority of those lawsuits didn’t paint the organization or quarterback in the best of lights.
Where does Kevin Stefanski fit into the equation here? Well, it’s rather simple. Cleveland’s brass could very well make the decision that Stefanski is not the man to lead Watson and Co. moving forward. Instead, the Browns find another offensive-minded head coach who could fit Watson’s skill-set.
While a lot will depend on the final month of the regular season, it’s clear that these Browns are going nowhere fast in 2022. With a number of interesting potential candidates potentially set to make waves this cycle, Stefanski’s future in Cleveland seems to be up in the air. And in reality, the Watson situation could prove to be a major backdrop here.