Kevin Stefanski held the reins as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns for six seasons, but the whole tenure shifted from the promising high to the sobering low. Even though he attained more success than certain earlier Browns coaches, his tactics came under scrutiny from former and current Browns players.
“When I was there for 100% fact, when we were struggling as a offense, I know Kevin Stefanski himself gave up play calling to AVP, to other guys,” said former Browns WR Jarvis Landry. “The same thing that he’s done that we have guys that have told us that he’s done throughout the years of not being able to get it done as a play caller, and then putting it off on somebody else. The team gets success, and then he takes over play calling again.”
As expected, he stepped into his first head coach assignment with a commanding presence, winning the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in 2020 and taking the team to the postseason for the first time since 1999. They reached the divisional round before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round was a historically significant ending, ending their playoff win drought after 26 years. Landry lauded his early success, but he failed to keep up the momentum, despite winning another Coach of the Year honor again in 2023 and taking the team to the playoffs after a gap of two seasons.
Kevin certainly instilled a great deal of hope among the Browns fans, hoping to find a long-term coaching solution for a franchise that was notorious for high coaching turnover. Unfortunately, the coaching disappointment continued in Cleveland. He had a disastrous last two seasons, finishing at the bottom of the AFC North division on both occasions. His regular season with the Browns ended with a 45-56 record.
Meanwhile, the former wide receiver wasn’t the only player to take a shot at Kevin Stefanski or his coach and his game planning.
Former players continue to criticize Stefanski’s system
The two-time Pro Bowler, Baker Mayfield, who is currently the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, once played under Kevin Stefanski. In his rookie season, the signal caller played for the Cleveland Browns but failed to prove his worth as the top 2018 NFL Draft pick.
After the 43-year-old was hired as the Atlanta Falcons new HC, the Bucs QB publicly expressed his frustration, noting his departure could have been handled better by the coach. Before this, he also took a shot at his coaching strategies.
Recently, the former Buccaneers running back, Leonard Fournette, also called out Kevin for mishandling the rookie Browns quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, saying he wouldn’t have played under a coach like him in his playing days.
Moreover, the former Browns offensive lineman, Jason Pinkston, questioned Kevin’s tactics last season. He attributed the high number of sacks against the rookie QB Dillion Gabriel to the coach’s failure.
Now, as the 43-year-old moves to the Atlanta Falcons, it remains to be seen whether he adjusts his coaching approaches and takes ownership when results don’t go in his favor.
