The Cleveland Browns are in the middle of yet another one of their trademark coaching searches, although this is the first one Jimmy Haslam has conducted in a while due to the fairly satisfactory performance of Kevin Stefanski. However, the former Coach of the Year's time had run its course in Cleveland.
That didn't stop him from bouncing right back in the coaching ranks, as Stefanski linked up with an Atlanta Falcons franchise now being piloted by former MVP Matt Ryan. The new brain trust agreed to name Stefanski as the team's next head coach.
On one hand, Stefanski's offensive background and history at turning around a franchise that hadn't even sniffed the playoffs for years before this make him a satisfactory Raheem Morris replacement. However, Browns fans are well aware of his ceiling.
The Falcons may come to regret this hire sooner than they would have expected if Stefanski has not truly changed his ways following the end of his Cleveland tenure. It seems hard to believe that Ryan and Arthur Blank saw the last few seasons of his reign with the Browns and thought this is the perfect leading man who will ensure Michael Penix Jr. reaches his full potential.
Browns fans know Falcons made a mistake with Kevin Stefanski hire
In a sense, Cleveland and Atlanta aren't too dissimilar jobs. The division isn't as strong as it has been, the defense is stacked, there are young quarterback who need developing, and the franchise has not had a ton of postseason success in the last decade.
Stefanski is worth having around as an offensive mind, but he just won eight games in two seasons with one of the game's best defenses. Stefanski's offenses ranking near the bottom of the league, even with his expertise on that side of the ball, may be cause for concern.
Sure, the quarterback situation was a mess, but isn't working with quarterbacks Stefanski's whole thing? Deshaun Watson really messed the organization up, but are we to believe that Stefanski was merely an innocent bystander who had no say in the decision to pull off such a gargantuan trade?
Then again, Stefanski did end up breaking the Browns' playoff drought during the 2020 season, and he could be in for a similar resurgence in Atlanta. However, if they get the Stefanski from 2025 and 2025, fans shouldn't expect too many extra wins on the ledger.