The Cleveland Browns have made the decisive move to part ways with head coach Kevin Stefanski, bringing his six-season tenure at the helm to an abrupt end. The dismissal follows a deeply disappointing 2022 campaign where the team finished with a 5-12 record.
A Sudden End for a Decorated Coach
Kevin Stefanski, 43, leaves the franchise as a two-time Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year, an honour highlighting the peaks of his time in Cleveland. He took over in 2020 and swiftly led the Browns to a playoff appearance in his first season, ending a long postseason drought. The franchise's first playoff victory since 1993 came under his watch, a 48-37 AFC wild-card round triumph over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ironically, Stefanski was forced to watch that historic win from the basement of his home after testing positive for Covid-19. He guided the team to another playoff berth in 2023, but the failure to build on that success this past season, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year, proved fatal for his position.
A Franchise in Constant Flux
Stefanski's firing underscores a prolonged period of instability for the Browns. He becomes the sixth head coach to be dismissed since Jimmy and Dee Haslam purchased the team in 2012. The five coaches hired by the current ownership group have collectively managed a dismal regular-season record of 73 wins, 139 losses, and one tie since 2013, the second-worst mark in the entire league over that span.
His departure was confirmed after the Browns closed the season with two consecutive wins, including a narrow 20-18 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18. Despite this late rally, the overall direction was deemed insufficient.
Joining the NFL's 'Black Monday' Casualties
The move places Stefanski among a growing number of NFL coaches who have lost their jobs this offseason. He is the fourth head coach to be fired, joining Tennessee Titans' Brian Callahan, the New York Giants' Brian Daboll, and the Atlanta Falcons' Raheem Morris. The search for his successor begins immediately as the Browns' ownership seeks a formula for sustained success that has eluded them for over a decade.
The decision marks a significant turning point for a franchise that has seen moments of promise under Stefanski but ultimately could not achieve the consistency required in the highly competitive AFC North. The focus in Cleveland now shifts entirely to a crucial and high-stakes hiring process.
