If you were hoping a week off would help the Browns, you were surely mistaken as Cleveland lost to the New Orleans Saints 35-14 coming off the bye week. This would bring them to a 2-8 record on the season, marking their worst ten-game start since 2017. When a team has an awful start to the season like this, usually coaching staff firings occur. For the Browns, no one has been handed their walking papers yet, but several reasons suggest Kevin Stefanski could very easily be fired.
The Browns aren't just losing - they are losing ugly.
The NFL is hard and is truly competitive week to week. People aren't lying when they say "any given Sunday" because any team on any given day can show up and win. The competitiveness leads to close games, but for the Browns, it hasn't been the case. Of the eight losses they have this season, half of them were by double digits.
To make matters worse, five of the eight teams that beat Cleveland currently have a losing record. Even when you include playoff-hopeful teams like Philadelphia, Washington, and Los Angeles, the total record of opponents they lost to through 10 weeks is 37-45. It's one thing to struggle against good teams, but the Browns are struggling against teams that are at the bottom of their respective division.
Read more: 4 bold predictions for Browns vs Steelers in Week 12
They weren't losing to contenders, they lost to teams like the Giants and Raiders, teams who were considered to be rebuilding before the season started, it's flat-out disappointing. The Brown's lone wins on the season were an ugly defensive game vs the worst team in the league the Jacksonville Jaguars and a statistical anomaly against the Baltimore Ravens. I say anomaly due to the multiple dropped interceptions and Justin Tucker, an All-Pro kicker missing routine field goals.
The offense is still terrible.
There are two reasons why Kevin Stefanski was hired to be the Browns head coach back in 2020. One is his even-keeled personality, allowing him to be a consistent presence, and his ability to put together a great offense. Well, outside of one single game the past 11 weeks, the Browns never scored over 18 points in a game.
Yes of course you could point that to the injuries on the offensive line and the bottom-five quarterback play from Deshaun Watson, but the line the past few weeks has been the healthiest it's been all season and Watson hasn't played a snap since his season-ending injury a month ago.
He even turned his playcalling duties over to new offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey and nothing changed. Sure, Jameis Winston has higher passing yards than Deshaun Watson did, but the Browns are still dead last in the league in converting 3rd downs. How many teams have a quarterback throw for 395 yards at a 65% completion rate for two touchdowns, and zero interceptions and still lose by three scores?
Stefanski already changed the play-caller and got better quarterback play, so what other change can he make to help this offense? To make matters worse, the run game, something that was a staple of Kevin Stefanski's offenses, is non-existent this year. Even though they have a more talented and healthier offensive line this year, the Browns are 27th in yards per carry and haven't hit 100 yards rushing as a team since week 6.
Players are undisciplined
While many think the best quality of a head coach is scheme, it's actually leadership. Fans always point to who has the best offensive or defensive mind, but how a coach is able to get all his players to buy in and row in the same direction is why teams see consistent success. Look at some of the most complete teams this year: the Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens, and Pittsburgh Steelers. They don't have unique and specialized playbooks on either side of the ball but are disciplined teams that don't beat themselves and win when they are supposed to.
Disciplined is not a word anyone would use to describe this 2024 Cleveland Browns team. Despite being in the middle of the league in terms of total plays run (offense, defense, and special teams), the Browns are top of the league in penalties. They are 7th in total penalties and lead the league with 41 pre snap penalties. These are your false starts, illegal formations, offsides, and illegal shifts. It's nearly impossible to win when you are already shooting yourself in the foot before the ball is even snapped.
If the lack of attention to detail isn't bad enough, there's enough evidence to suggest some players are "checked out" with seven more games to go. You never want to accuse a player of bad effort, as a strong majority of players want to win in this league and realize the opportunity they have getting paid to play in the NFL.
Unfortunately, some players don't have that mentality. Take offensive tackle Jed Wills for example. Last week he told reporters he benched himself before the Ravens game saying it was a "business decision". This is coming from the same player who has shown multiple times giving up on a play throughout his career.
On the defensive side of the ball, the story is no different. After Sunday's game fans were quick to point out safety Juan Thornhill jogging instead of trying to take down Saints receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a 71-yard touchdown pass. No discipline and lack of effort on defense have shown itself all year with the high rate of missed tackles. Ten games into the season and the team has already missed 102 tackles this year. If they keep up their average, they will surpass the 146 missed tackles they had last year in the next five games.
Great look by Thornhill jogging majority of the long Saints TD. pic.twitter.com/GWtqZ1xOAA
— Brandon Little (@BrandonLittleBL) November 17, 2024
This article isn't to say this is Stefanski's last year in Cleveland. We haven't got a clue what Jimmy and Dee Haslam are thinking, but we shouldn't be shocked if a change is made. The team has made key changes with no different results, the play on the field is getting worse, and the head coach is losing buy-in from his players. Now if the Browns do decide to fire Stefanski, the question is who would replace him?
While it's all speculation, there is the former 2021 NFL Coach Of The Year who is currently on the coaching staff as a consultant. Mike Vrabel is a former player and head coach with wide respect around the league for his ability to build a culture. It's also worth noting Vrabel grew up in Northeast Ohio and went to high school at Walsh Jesuit, later playing his college ball at Ohio State before his 14 years as a player in the NFL.
What we do know is Cleveland has their biggest rival the 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers coming to town on Thursday for a primetime matchup. If Stefanski wants to cool his scorching hot seat, taking down the division leader would be a great step.