The Cleveland Browns, at 3-9, are one of the worst teams in the league, and they were last season as well. However, they are still one of the most talked about and analyzed teams in football.
The reason why is rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The fifth-round pick is one of the most popular, and polarizing, players in the league, and everyone is curious to see how his career will play out.
That has resulted in fans and media members dissecting everything about Cleveland. As a result of that dissection, many people are now questioning Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. The coach hasn’t had a good year leading his team, and that’s playing out on the national stage.
Ultimately, his struggles, with the increased attention, could cost him his job.
National attention could put pressure on Browns to fire Kevin Stefanski
A moment in Cleveland’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers best demonstrated this reality for Stefanski. In the third quarter, with the Browns trailing 10-8, Stefanski decided to go for a fourth-down attempt, with one yard to gain, from Cleveland’s own 32. The play call was a quarterback sneak, except rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. was the quarterback.
The Browns struggled to get the right players on the field, resulting in the team scrambling up to the line of scrimmage and quickly snapping the ball. Fannin fumbled the snap, and Cleveland was unable to convert. The 49ers turned the short field into a touchdown, then two special teams blunders later, the Browns were down 23-8.
As soon as Fannin fumbled the snap, things got loud for Stefanski. Local media, Browns fans, national media, and non-Cleveland NFL fans all criticized the head coach. Some asked why he would even go for it in that situation, and others wondered why he wouldn’t just burn a timeout when his offense was clearly frazzled. Many people also questioned why he put Fannin under center, instead of allowing the quarterback to take the snap.
All are valid questions, and questions that would’ve been asked even if Sanders wasn’t on the team. However, the famous quarterback’s presence made the questions go from die-hard fans and local media, to a national discussion. Typically, no one would care about a botched fourth-down play by a 3-9 team during the early Sunday slate. With Sanders on the team, a lot of people care, and as a result Stefanski has far more negative attention headed his way.
That doesn’t guarantee that Stefanaki will be fired, but it does mean he can't hide. The head coach can no longer be protected by his two Coach of the Year awards, Cleveland’s poor offensive roster, or the lack of an established quarterback. With the increased attention on the Browns this year, Stefanski’s shortcomings have been exposed and magnified.
While the masses don’t have the power to fire a coach, the noise could ultimately be the final straw.