Many fans of the Cleveland Browns are not happy on Monday morning. The reason is the team fired head coach Kevin Stefanski after a 5-12 season.
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And while Stefanski went 8-26 over his last two seasons in the NFL, many fans made it clear that they didn't view him as the problem. They wanted the team to keep the head coach but fire General Manager Andrew Berry, who will remain to lead the search for the next head coach.
"The GM who makes the (Deshaun) Watson trade keeps his job," one person posted on X. "The coach who has to deal with a carousel of terrible qbs gets fired. Nice."
Stefanski, the former offensive coordinator for the Vikings, took over as head coach of the Browns in 2020. He led the team to an 11-5 regular-season record and an appearance in the playoffs. The Browns then went 1-1 in the postseason while defeating the rival Steelers. Stefanski missed this win due to a positive COVID-19 test.
The Browns went 8-9 and 7-10 in Stefanski's next two seasons leading the franchise, which featured some quarterback upheaval. The team sent Baker Mayfield to the Panthers and brought in Deshaun Watson via a blockbuster trade featuring three first-round picks and the largest guaranteed contract in NFL history.
This quarterback changed kicked off a tumultuous era for the Browns. Watson only played 19 games between 2022-2024 while the Browns relied on a rotating lineup of quarterbacks. This included such names as Jameis Winston, Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders, Joe Flacco, Jeff Driskel, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson among others.
"Remember when Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski were one team together," another NFL fan posted after Stefanski's firing. "They both succeeded or failed? Yeah so do I.
"Don't blame the coach, he did the best with what he had. Blame the man who got the 'talent' including the worst trade in NFL history."
Yet, Stefanski guided the Browns back to the playoffs in 2023 after an 11-6 regular season. Five different quarterbacks started games this season, including Flacco who went 5-1 during a late-season charge. This winning season helped Stefanski lock up his second Coach of the Year award in four seasons with the Browns.
"Y'all are (candidly) stupid," another person wrote. "You ruined a team ready to win now. Made the single worst trade and contract in sports history and set this franchise back by who knows how long but only the (good) coach gets fired after trying to cook a Michelin star meal with dumpster scraps?"
What is next for Stefanski? The expectation among industry insiders is that he will immediately get interviews for another head coach role. The fans also expect this to happen, and they expect him to lead his next team to the playoffs very soon.
