The Cleveland Browns and head coach Kevin Stefanski have shared some significant highs and some ungodly lows across their five-plus seasons together, but both the good and bad times could be nearing an end following the team’s difficult start to this year.
Cleveland is 1-4 in 2025 and made the switch from veteran quarterback Joe Flacco to rookie Dillon Gabriel ahead of its Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings in London. Then on Tuesday, the Browns went ahead with a trade that flipped Flacco and a sixth-round draft pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for a fifth-rounder.
The move signals a complete shift to the team’s rookie signal-callers, Gabriel as the starter and presumably Shedeur Sanders as QB2 and/or the starter somewhere down the line. However, Bailey Zappe is on the practice squad and could serve as the backup to Gabriel for the next few weeks if Cleveland doesn’t think Sanders is ready for the role.
Moving a rookie into a starting job at a prominent position isn’t out of character for the Browns this season. In fact, it’s become a theme. That said, team insider Brad Stainbrook reported on October 7 that if the rookie class that GM Andrew Berry drafted continues to perform, but the team also keeps losing on the field, that could spell the end of Stefanski.
“I asked around this week about whether Andrew Berry and Kevin Stefanski are seen as a package deal in Jimmy Haslam’s eyes. The general feeling inside Berea right now? They are, at least for the moment,” Stainbrook wrote. “Most people still view them as connected, part of the same long-term plan. But there’s a sense that could change if the rookies keep showing promise and the team keeps losing, especially once the schedule softens up.”
Prominent NFL Voices Have Begun to Criticize Kevin Stefanski for Browns’ Struggles This Season
GettyCleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
While Stainbrook spoke to people in the Browns‘ building about Stefanski’s status as coach, prominent outside voices have cast criticism on his performance in recent days.
The Cleveland Browns had a rookie QB in Dillon Gabriel making his first career start and threw 2 TDs with no turnovers on foreign soil,” Robert Griffin III posted to X Sunday. “Had a rookie running back run for 110 yards. Had a defense force 2 turnovers and get 3 sacks. And still lost. That’s a coaching issue.”
The Browns’ otherwise stingy defense allowed the Vikings to score a game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s offense failed to surpass 17 points yet again, tying its season-high output.
Kevin Stefanski Won NFL Coach of the Year Award in 2023, Was on Hot Seat Last Season
GettyCleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Stefanski has been the subject of hot seat discussions multiple times in recent years, particularly last season when the team went 3-14 following a trip to the playoffs.
However, Stefanski has also won the NFL Coach of the Year award twice, in 2020 and 2023.
For his career, Stefanski is 41-48 as a head coach during the regular season. He is 1-2 in the playoffs.
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