In the last four years before Kevin was hired [+] COPYRIGHT 2023 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
One of the first indications that the Cleveland Browns had found a goalie in coach Kevin Stefanski came in his first year on the job, in 2020, when the rookie coach overcame all the obstacles and challenges that the COVID season presented to coaches , especially to rookie coaches. and in this case, a rookie coach takes control of one of the most inept franchises in the NFL.
It was surprising that Stefanski was interested in the job, given that Brown officials, after interviewing him for their head coaching job last year, hired Freddie Kitchens instead.
The Kitchens era lasted one season, after which the Browns returned Stefanski, then in his 14th year on the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff, as offensive coordinator.
This time the Browns offered him the job. He accepted and the team has never had to hire a coach since.
Stefanski’s arrival fundamentally changed the arc of the franchise, and it didn’t take long for that change to happen.
In his first year as the Browns’ coach in 2020, Stefanski led them to an 11-5 regular season record, the franchise’s first winning season in 12 years and only their second winning season in 21 years.
The icing on the cake that season was a 48-37 Cleveland victory over the Steelers in Pittsburgh in a wild-card game, a victory Stefanski orchestrated from the basement of his Cleveland-area home, where he had been quarantined after the tests. positive for covid.
The Browns then lost 22-17 to Kansas City in the divisional round of the playoffs. Cleveland finished the year with a 12–6 record, and the team’s dramatic turnaround led to Stefanski being named the NFL Coach of the Year in his first year on the job.
In retrospect, that season highlighted a sea change in the history of the franchise.
Consider this: Over the last four years (2016-19) before Stefanski’s hiring, the Browns had a 14-49 record, which represents a .222 winning percentage.
In the first four years since Stefanski was hired (2020 through the first ten games of this season), the Browns have a record of 33-27, which equates to a winning percentage of .550.
The Browns’ last division title came in 1989, when coach Bud Carson led them to a 9-6-1 record.
Since then, they have finished last in their division 17 times in 30 years. In these thirty years they have generally changed coaches every two years: seventeen coaches in thirty years.
Bill Belichick, the third-winningest coach in NFL history and a six-time Super Bowl winner, also had a losing record (36-44) in his five years as the Browns’ coach, from 1991 to 1995.
That’s why Stefanski’s arrival was so important for the Cleveland franchise.
It wasn’t just shells and balloons. In his second and third years on the job, 2021-22, he had an overall record of 15-19.
But as the league resumes on Thanksgiving, only one AFC team — the Baltimore Ravens (8-2) — has won more games than the Browns (7-3).
Since being signed by Cleveland, Stefanski has also had to deal with a turnover of quarterbacks.
Over the past three and a half years, Stefanski has worked with seven different Browns quarterbacks: Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum, Nick Mullens, Jacoby Brissett, Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker and current starter, rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Stefanski’s biggest coaching challenge may be the current one.
Watson, the $230 million quarterback tasked with leading the Browns out of the desert, has a five-year, two-year contract but has made virtually no impact because of all the games he’s missed due to injuries. as well as serving an 11-game suspension imposed by the NFL for violating the player conduct policy.
In Cleveland’s 33–31 win over Baltimore on November 12, Watson suffered a season-ending fracture of his right shoulder.
He will enter next season having played in just 12 of the 34 games the Browns will have played in the 2022-2023 seasons.
Cleveland’s strange decision to begin the 2023 season without a veteran backup quarterback hit the front office hard.
Watson’s season-ending injury makes the situation even worse.
Thompson-Robinson, who at this stage of his career is more of a rookie than a quarterback who will challenge opposing defenses, will start Sunday’s game in Denver.
P.J. Walker is the team’s other backup quarterback, but has been plagued by interceptions during his brief time on the field.
The Browns also signed 38-year-old veteran quarterback Joe Flacco this week, who at least gives the team some experience at the position.
Stefanski’s impressive start to his head coaching career will be tested by this year’s injury-depleted roster, which does not include star running back Nick Chubb, who suffered a season-ending knee injury suffered in the second game of the season.
But through it all, Stefanski, 41, has not only persevered, but thrived as an NFL coach.
The fingerprints of his steady hand and calm demeanor are all over his team’s last two games, both of which were last-second game-winning goals.
As a rookie, he was named NFL Coach of the Year.
This year it could be even better.
